I’ve been modeling for years but in this month’s MRR there was a concoction called “ground goop” that was used by Lou Sassi on his West Hoosic subdivision RR which use, i’ve never seen done before…the concoction was a mixture of Celluclay, vermiculite, elmer’s glue and earth tinted latex paint…the stuff was mixed and then spread over the layout with an artist’s spatula as aground texture…I think I’d like to use this technique someday even though i believe that plain old “zip texturing” will yield the same results…my question is where do you find Celluclay and vermiculite…can i get it at lowes, the home depot or hobby lobby?..chuck
I saw the stuff, too. Hadn’t gotten around to actually thinking about making some yet, but may well try.
Lessee:
- Vermiculite is used in gardening, to expand soil that tends to be compact (i.e., rich in clay) so that it will drain better, IIRC. Look for it in gardening centers- Lowe’s and HD may well have it.
- Celluclay looks to be something like an “instant paper-mache”, according to what I see on the web. I don’t know Hobby Lobby, but Michael’s, Ben Franklin, or other “craft stores” might carry it, or a reasonable fascimile.
Lemme know if you find the latter. [:)]
Brian Pickering
I was wondering, what is celluclay, looks good enough for my railroad
My version of ground goop is covered in my FORUM CLINIC on here:
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=2&TOPIC_ID=32122
From that FORUM CLINIC:
My mix looks just like Lou’s minus the latex paint. And my mix can be made from commonly available stuff. As an option, you can leave out the portland cement and just use patching plaster, since I use the cement to give it a nice gray color and to speed up the setting time.
Sassi describes “Ground Goop” at length in his book Basic Scenery for Model Railroaders, which is, incidentally, a great book. He shows some ways to use the goop that are just fantastic.
Celluclay is (I’m reading from the package) “Instant Paper Mache. Non-Toxic, Fast & Easy Mixing, Casting, Modeling & Sheet Forming,” etc.Basically, dried ground-up paper with some kinda stuff in it. Just add water. Their website is:
Vermiculite is available at Lowe’s or HomeDepot or any garden store. Sassi’s original goop recipe called for Permascene instead of Vermiculite, but it isn’t around any more.
Ray
I use Structolite, a slow setting plaster with perlite. It costs $13.00 an 80 lb bag at Home Dept.
I describe my terrraforming at:
http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/4x8/terraforming/
Thank you if you visit
Harold
Yet another great technique for creating some realistc scenery and setting buildings into the ground instead of floating on the layout surface looking like a misplaced toy.
[2c]
Will
I have used Lou’s Ground Goop recipe / technique with great results. It worked beautifully over a styrofoam base. My HobbyTown USA carries Celluclay in both regular and jumbo sizes. I found Vermiculite at a local yard and garden center. Lou and one of his “tree group” buddies demonstrate this technique, as well as many other scenery innovations in Allen Keller’s GMR #23 on Lou’s West Hoosic Division. You can check it out at
http://www.allenkeller.com/GMR23.htm
I can recommend both ground goop and Allen’s video wholeheartedly!!!
The Allen Keller video Cliff mentions is the episode that got me into the ground groop thing after I first got a video a few months ago. I plan on using this technique on my upcomming module, I want to give it a try. If it really does give as good as reasults as in the article(And in Cliff’s layout photos too!!) then I’ll probably use it on my next layout.
Noah
I read the scenery book, but couldn’t find the stuff. I used Dry wall mud, sawdust and paint for my plawed fied and it seemed pretty good. I haven, got to any more of than kind of scenery so I don’t know which I will play with next. I use premixed drywall mud over both my foam and plaster clothe with good success. It takes a day to dry and can be carved for a day or two. I liked that feature. I have come to the conclusion that it is the next few steps that the artists do their magic with.
Has anybody substituted perlite for vermiculite? Does it take color well?
Vermiculite absorbs water and remains somewhat rubbery while perlite is essentially fine glass powder (like volcanic ash), so it would behave differently in the mix. Both are lightweight, so would work to keep the mix lighter than plaster alone, but I would expect a perlite mix to be much more gritty and brittle than a vermiculite mixture.
I’ve used “Ground Goop”. It works really well, and is a fast way to get some scenic base down. I like it better than “Zip texturing”, as it’s pretty much a 1-step process. You can lay it down as deep as 1/4" to 1/2", and it’ll dry overnight or in a day or two. To answer your questions: You can get Celluclay at any craft store (Michaels, Hobby Lobby). Vermiculite can be found at a garden center, including Lowe’s & Home Depot. And any brand of white glue can be used - a gallon of the stuff is quite inexpensive at Lowe’s.
We made the ground goop recipe with Perlite and it worked great. I liked the texture of the various sizes of pellets.
Sue
I am early in the modelling scene but do use this and I like how it works…Vermiculite I found at Walmart - Garden Center, Celluclay-Craft store…
My Walmart doesn’t have vermiculite this year. Only perlite. There’s a few more places locally I can check, but my choices are running thin.
According to both Lowe’s and Home Depot’s websites, neither one are carrying it this year, either. Nearest one’s 40 miles away and I haven’t been there in a while.