In a new application I’m working on I’d like to contour my ballast edging along my roadbed with Sculptamold and then cover it with my Arizona Rock & Mineral Ballast. Is the Sculptamold stable enough in that it won’t crack under the ballast after its dried and also take my alchohol soaking before I add the white glue mix? I have the drawings for my prototype’s roadbed and would like to contour it just like the real thing.
I use Sculptamold for a lot of things. It sticks great, sturdy, and and gives a good ground effect. Try not to put on more than you want to keep. In other words should be perfect. IMHO.
Have fun.
Lee
Sculptamold is a terrific product, a mixture of gypsum plaster, ground up newspaper, and glue. While heavier, it is much sturdier than plaster and will stand up to much more abuse than plaster will, You won’t have any trouble with it supporting anything you want to put on it, provided there is some support below it (IOW, I wouldn’t use it for bridging gaps more than about 1/2" across, but otherwise it will do fine).
It also paints differently from plaster. While plaster soaks up paint, especially water based ones, even water colors sit on top of Sculptamold. This is really only an issue if you’re trying to paint a rock face after you’ve installed it, for instance.
It also paints differently from plaster. While plaster soaks up paint, especially water based ones, even water colors sit on top of Sculptamold. This is really only an issue if you’re trying to paint a rock face after you’ve installed it, for instance. Quote
I’ve never had a problem but even if you did, wouldn’t a spray of wet water solve that? Just asking.
Assuming your using water based paints.
Lee
I didn’t mean to imply that it’s a problem. Just that I can stain rock castings in place using WS earth colors. The plaster soaks it up as soon as the brush hits it.
This doesn’t happen with Sculptamold. If you apply too much color, it will run down the surface. Assuming the Sculptamold is fully cured, that is. I learned a technique of slopping Sculptamold over a slope, then using the edge of a palette knife to create square lines in the wet Sculptamold, for a very realistic effect. I paint them with thin washes of acrylics.
If I were going to use it for making a prototype ballast profile, i would lay the cork, then the sculpta-mold, then paint the cork and sculpta-mold with an acrylic paint, THEN lay the track and ballast it after the track work is done.
But at any rate, I would paint the sculpta-mold just to be safe.