Hello,
I decided to build/sculpt my mountains/terrain with foam. They actually turned out
pretty good. Any suggestions on what type of paint and methods to do this ?
It would seem that I should try to treat the foam with some overlay to avoid the
flaking-off that will result. I guess I’m asking how to deal with ‘foam’ and also the
painting process. Much thanks.
I use drywall to cover the foam then paint with latex paint.
glenn
You have to use acrylics and latex paint on foam. Oil base can eat the foam. I covered my foam with Sculptimold plaster. Some folks just paint their foam directly. Cheap craft paint from Wal Mart works OK. If you have a big area, you can get a gallon of base color mixed up at Home Depot or such.
[#ditto] I would still cover the foam with a thin layer of plaster or something like it, either plaster, or sculptamold to give it texture or like I’m planing to do and just use the plaster cloth. I guess it would depened on how much you have to cover. How big is the mountain?
Like Loathar, I used Sculptamold to cover my foam. While the Sculptamold was still wet, I sprayed the surface with various colors of Rit dye mixed with water. For grays I used india ink diluted in water. Doing this while the Sculptamold is still wet allows the dyes to penetrate. The key is to put more on than you think is appropriate. The dye lightens as it drys.
Once the dyes are applied, but still wet, I brush on Elmers and start applying ground foam and clumps.
Here are a few examples of the finished scene. This is N scale.
For real fine detail I use artist acrylics in a tube and LOTS of water. Use a drop cloth. Mix the colors right on the foam. A variation of WS/s leopard spot aproach. For a scene where there is some dirt I use dry wall mud as well, but add some saw dust and Lysol for texture.
ARTHILL-Could you explain the purpose of the Lysol?
I coated my styrofoam landscape with ceiling texture paint (you can buy different texture formats) and then painted a base coat of earth tone (flat latex). Once base coat dry, I added watered down mixtures of different hues to add variation coloring (again using flat latex paint). Most paint stores now sell small plastic bottles of paint as sample colors. I just stock up on these and then mix custom colors for variation. I allow darker colors to run into cracks and crevices to accent.
Finally I use multiple hues of gound foam to finish - try to identify areas that would naturally collect and hold organic material to support plant growth (fairly flat areas, crevices, etc.)
I think he uses the Lysol as a mold/mildew inhibitor.
Thank you for the great suggestions.
It certainly seems that Scupltamold is a popular covering.
My layout is 6x8 with about 20-25% covered with low terrain (1 inch) to the
highest mountain section (15 inches). If you do a section at a time, what would
be the biggest area you’d try with Sculptamold at a time ?
Also, if you’re concerned with general color match, do you suggest making up
a very large amount so your sections will be somewhat uniform in color ? Do you
do all the coloring at once ? Thanks.
Bruton is right, mold inhibitor. Got the idea from Sassi.
I premix a large amonut in a sealed gallon bucket. It lasts several months. By using premixed drywall mud, you can thin it later if it dries a little. I mix the basic color and go from there. A little too light is better than too drak. After carving I add washes of dark and black for shadows and then dry brush a little white for sunlit high lights.
I work on a few square feet at a time. With premixed drywall mud you have 24 hours to adjust things.
With a little practice it goes fast and you can paint over any mistakes.
I have never used sculptamold. What is the differance between it and drywall mud?
I use pre-mixed drywall mud over my foam. Then, I paint it with a base coat of flat latex wall paint, tan for most areas, and dark green for areas that will be covered with puff ball trees. I use artist’s acrylics to add other coloring.
Nick
All good advice. I use sculptamold, drywall mud, plaster of paris with fine sand or ballast mixed in and add color to the mix with black or grey or brown latex paint so I don’t need to worry about chips showing up later. I use the varying mixures and colors to vary the terrain just as in the real world. Shades and textures vary even in large areas with the same terrain. J.R
Hi Traintraveler,
I use a browncoat plaster called “structolyte” AKA “gypsolite”. It has a nice gritty texture, can be scuplted into rocks as you apply it and has approximately 20 minutes of open time. I mix as much as I can apply in 15 minutes. Generally this is about a gallon of the stuff. It’s also cheap by the 25 pound bag at the lumber yard.
You can add latex paint or dye to color it. Even without, if you chip it it’s brown not stark white like plaster of paris. After 24 hours I paint most of the surface with earth color, some with basic rock color, then fill in the details with latex and acrylics.
Karl
Sculptimold is a textured paper mache’ type of product you mix with water. It dries very slow so you don’t have to worry about mixing too much at one time. I’ve let it sit in a bucket overnight and used it the next day. I let mine dry before I painted it, but I’m going to cover it with ground foam later.
This was all done over the coarse of a few nights. I kind of spread it like pizza dough with my fingers over foam, screen and plaster base.
Still need to add ground foam here. It’s a lot stronger than plaster once dry. Not really something that can be sculpted when dry, but you have plenty of working time.
This is the stuff
http://www.dickblick.com/zz331/04/
They also make a product called Claycrete which is the exact same thing. I don’t know why this ad says it sets up in 30 minutes because it takes a good day or two to dry.[%-)]
I went ahead and decided to try ‘joint compound’, used it on a test piece of form,
and it worked out very well. I mixed in some water to get a thick paint consistency
and gave the foam a good covering, not really thick. When dry, it took paint well
and I have not experienced any cracking. And as was mentioned, it is a off-white
or very light brown in color, so it’s not like you’re painting a white surface.
Thanks for all the help.
Any of the above and sanded grout. Grout can be tinted or bought precolored. But if you use grout, wear rubber gloves as it irritates skin and read and follow all safety precautions. At least one other person buries his yard tracks in the sanded grout to simulate the low/no ballast found in yards.
I have used acrylic paint from a tube and/or latex paint for color, mixed in or painted on top, whatever was easiest at the time.