My scenery is formed with foam. I’m going to cover it with plaster-soaked
paper towels. Is it that important that I use Hydrocal? I can get Hydrocal if I
want to drive about 30 miles, while I can get Plaster of Paris right in town.
I’ve read that the brown paper towels like you find in public rest rooms are the
ones to use. I can’t find these either! Suggestions?
I use plaster of paris. I buy it in 25lb. bags at the hardware store. Works fine.
At a home depot or wal-mart you should be able to find heavy paper towels or shop towels. It’s just easier to work with a heavier weight paper towel - does’t fall apart while your working with it. Although I’ve made lots of scenery with regular old kitchen paper towels. It’s amazing how strong a shell can be made with simple paper towels and plaster.
Why not use Plastercloth from Woodland scenics. It’s much neater, easy to use, inexpensive, and very strong. Cut of pieces from the role and just use as needed. I’ve used it for years, our club uses it, and I will be using on my new layout.
Ron K.
Or why not just paint over the foam, and not use plaster at all? Adding plaster of any sort will add cost to the layout without much in the way of benefit. Plaster is a “wet mess”, meaing it’s harder to work with than the “dry mess” of foam carving. Adding plaster will also add a brittle, easily broken skin to the surface of the layout, meaning any casual bump can cause catastrophic damage to the layout. Foam will just dent a little.
Yeah, it might take a bit more time and effort to sculpt the foam realistically, but with a little elbow grease and strategic bush placement, you can get as nice results with foam as with plaster. With a little practice you won’t even need rock molds, and will be able to carve rock formations right into the foam.
I’m mostly concerned about strength. Is the Plaster-of -Paris as strong as Hydrocal?
If I have to move this thing someday, I’d prefer not to have to repair it afterwards.
I’ve considered just painting over the bare foam, but the rock formations I’ve seen done
this way looked more like “painted foam” than “rock”. If not for that, I’d do it!
I have used drywall joint compound in the past. As far as the “heavier” paper towels go to a resteraunt supply store ( Gordon Food Service) Or buy the “shop toewls” from home depot. My layout that I am building now is all foam the only plaster on it is the river bed. I agree that by adding plaster you are adding a brittle shell.
Just my 2 cents, now I’m broke
jeff
It is always risky trying to move something that is not built in modular form. I have used several forms: Plaster, Paper towels soaked in starch, then painted with textured paint (Ala John Allen) and the WS plaster roles. The plaster roles are great and quick. I have never used hydrocal. Plaster dries very quick.
Cletus
I have found that the easiest to work with is joint compound as it can be worked for a long time (30 minutes or more) after it is applied. It also provides a strong foundation over the foam. I just had to remove an old section (over 20 years old) a few days ago… As I said, it is strong. I dilute the joint compound with water until I have a solution about the consistancy of pancake batter. Then dip the paper towels in and lay them on the area being worked. I have not used this over foam but will be in the new section I am building now (I go way back to the crumple up some old newspaper and make hardshell over it days [;)]). The joint compound has the advantage of giving you plenty of time to work and can be purcheased in one gal. tubs up to 5 gal. pails and keeps, if sealed well, for a long time.
Have fun. Experiment and see what works best for you.
Ray
The layout that i am working on is foam base & foam mountains. I rough up the foam mountain i built with a knife & rough file not being concerned how it looks, then i mix up some plaster of paris & apply it with a basting brush keeping the brush fairly clean & damp getting some nice results. When dry i use india ink & alcohol mix to stain, then use some acrylic paints for added effects. All of this with limited use of the right hand so i know you can do it.
Larry
We used 20 Minute Casting Plaster on our club layout. This can usually be purchased at lumber yards. It comes in 110 pound bags, though, so you will have enough for several people to share. Hydrocal might also be available at a local lumber yard or concrete block plant in bags, instead of paying the rip-off prices that hobby shops charge for it. You can usually get 100 pounds of Hydrocal at a lumber yard for the price of one of those 1/2 gallon boxes from Woodland Scenics.
Floor leveler at a home convenience store is the equivalent to Hydrocal and comes in small quanties, pint up to 25 pounds. Available at Home Depot, Lowes, Sears Hardware.
Just a thought
Harold
I have used this stuff. It does work great, but I have to take issue with “inexpensive.” Plaster soaked paper towels are a tiny fraction of the cost of WS plastercloth.
Ron
I have used the floor leveler. I bought it at Lowe’s. I have never used Hydrocal, so don’t know how it acts.
I have used it with paper towels to make mountains, and also for casting with WS tunel liners too. It has a long or short set up time, depending what consistancy that you mix it to.
The thinner the mix, the longer it takes to set.
You can mix it so that you can pour it into a mold, such as a rock mold, or thicker to put on with a spreader.
I use the spreader that that you can get for spreading fiberglas putty to repair cars. They are plastic, flexible, and come in different sizes.
Sam