Getting ready to do some serious scenery work [:D] and wondered about these two products. Are they basically the same and is one better than the other??
Thanks,
Bob
Mold-A-Scene-Plaster is Woodland Scenics version of Sculptamold. Both appear to be a mix of plaster and some kind of ground up paper material. The Scuptamold product is a white/grey color, and IIRC, the Woodland Scenics stuff is a sort of buff color.
Mold-A-Scene-Plaster is priced at about $12 for a 2 lb milk container full(MSRP). Sculptamold comes in 3 lb bags for around $9, and they even have larger 25 lb bags available(but I have never scene them). Places that stock Woodland Scenics should have the product(and maybe at a small discount). Many craft stores have Sculptamold, It is usually 1/2 the price of the Woodland Scenics product. Both will do the job - It’s just a matter availability/cost…
Jim
Never used the WS product, but it’s hard to say enough good things about Sculptamold. There are well over 200 pounds of it on my layout. How do I keep track? It’s not an exact figure, but I know I went through 3 big bags of the 50 pound Sculptamold. Pricing there is very reasonable and you’ll be set for some serious scenery production. The stuff keeps well, so long as you twist-tie the bag shut.
Walthers carries the 50 pounder and it can be found even cheaper (@ $1.74/pound) at Dick Blick:
I use the Sculptamold for all my scenery work. I usually pick up a bag every other trip the the LHS just so I will have a stock when the ‘scenery mood’ hits me. I didn’t know it came in 50lb bags or I might have gone that route. This stuff is great. I haven’t used the WS product but most of their products are a little higher priced than the brands I use.
-Bob
Well, sculptamold seems to be everyone’s choice when doing scenery although I’d like to hear from some one who has used the WS product. So far the only difference from 1st hand experience is price.
Looking at WS’s video it looks like the WS may not mix as smoothly as sculptamold so there may be times when one is better than the other.
Thanks for the replies.
Bob
That’s possible. I will say that if the WS product allows a wide range of moisture to be mixed in, it would share another great characteristic of Sculptamold. It’s not very picky about getting the exact amount of water like plaster is. You can make a drier mix if you’re working veretical surfaces or go with a wet mix to provide a smoother surface, etc.
The extra water does take longer to dry and may keep where it’s setting too moist, so you don’t want to use more H2O than you need. It’s still extremely versatile.
Several years back, my wife was helping to clean out the “Art Room” at our kid’s school. They were going to throw out several bags of Plaster of Paris so she brought it all home. When I got to the scenery point of my current layout, I figured I’d make use of all that Plaster of Paris. However, I realized I’d need some sort of filler to make it more useful. Looking under my table saw, I noticed the catch bag full of sawdust from the bench work construction phase. I mixed the sawdust about 3 to 2 with the Plaster of Paris and found I had a material that filled gaps well, could be spread and worked into shape with my fingers, and cleaned up quickly with water. It does not shrink and dries to a hard consistency similar to dense fiberboard. It keeps the color of the sawdust, too. It can be sanded like wood and takes paint well. Best of all, it doesn’t cost me a dime. It is a little messy but undesired fingerprints or dropped material washes off easily.
I love working with Sculptamold I always use earth colored paint instead of just water and it always comes out great, although it might add a little bit to the drying time
You might want to explore using Plaster-of-Paris (POP). I use that on my layout for all scenery. The stuff is easy to use, clean, cheap and plentiful. HD sells a five pound package for about $6. You just add water and mix into the POP.
The stuff is a great sealant before I put down water and use it for hills, rocks, covering elevation changes, etc.