Royal Gorge hanging bridge update: A real model railroad.

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I have worked very hard with this scene and today, something strange happened. I looked at the model railroad and I was dreaming as usual. Wow, this feels like a real model railroad, for the first time since I started. A very great feeling. It’s amazing how much some vermiculite mix (vermiculite, plaster, cement, water) can do to the overall look of a scene. I think it’s the gray cement color that makes that happen. Here are some photos:



















2

oh

this is going to be nice

I can tell

Ken

3

Judging by the number of pics, you’re rather proud of your handiwork.

Looks very nice, even without any structures.

Keep it up, post more pics.

Brad

4

Great stuff. I’m near to reaching the same point and hope mine looks half as good.

What’s your mix consist of anyway? Ratios, what sort of plaster, etc. I really like the texture you’re achieving.

Kris

5

Kris, This is vermiculite mix that I learned from our friend at this forum, Joe Fugate. The mix: 4 parts of vermiculite, fine grade less then 1 mm in size is the best but I can never find that here in Sweden so I used 1-2 mm. 3 parts of plaster, I have tried different kind of plaster and right now I’m using plaster that are normally used for fixing walls. I don’t know what you guys call this plaster. 1 part of portland cement, you will get a very nice gray color with this, and the plaster will also harden quicker with cement. So use a plaster with a long setting time, like an hour. 4 parts of icecold water. If you use cold water you will get longer time to work. I mix everything except the water in a plastic container. Then I add the water and mix it good. protect your eyes because it’s not good to get plaster or cement powder in your eyes.

6

Progress, progress, progress. I love your reality. Let the fun continue.

7

That looks very good. I’m looking forward to your next post. Also thanks for posting the vermiculite mix. I missed Joe’s posting on it.

8

Excellent job !!! I am sure that when Joe sees this, he will be very happy with your results!!

9

This mix sounds similar to the commercial products ‘gypsolite’ and ‘structolite’ which can be found in large sacks at any lumber yard. Great stuff!

10

Yep, saw this, lookin’ good there electro. [swg]

The vermiculite mix has many advantages, but one small disadvantage … it shrinks. This means over the next week you can expect some cracks in your rough scenery as it sets up real good once the water completely evaporates.

The mix has many pros that I have come to really like:

  • a nice gray color instead of stark white (hides chips well, and drilling it later for trees doesn’t give you lilly white plaster smears on your finished scenery.
  • it’s lighter weight than just plain plaster (on multi-deck layouts this could be a concern since you can get hundreds of pounds of finished plaster scenery on an upper deck after a while)
  • it has a slight “grit” which makes for especially nice looking rocks
  • it’s not as brittle as regular plaster, which means you can poke holes in it with an awl for trees fairly easily
    I find the pros are so valuable to me that the shrinkage/cracking problem is pretty minor in comparison. I just mix up a small runny batch of the stuff and patch the cracks … takes only a few minutes. No biggie. [swg]