I’m working with some nice castings I made, and I’m curious to know some of the different techniques that are used to transition between castings. There’s always a gap of sorts between each outcropping. How do you fill the bigger gaps so they look natural? I’ve seen some foliage hide the transitions, but what if you want just rock? I’m reading that chipping the edges with a screwdriver can work, both before and after placement…are there any others?
I use a Dremel to make matching cuts in the two edges, to get them as close to each other as I can. I’ve found that the big thing to avoid is straight-line joints. The eye will pick those out right away, but if the joints are jagged and irregular they are much easier to disguise.
I’d suggest you read up on a product called Sculptamold. It is a lightweight plaster designed for filling gaps. Or as my Dad would have called it, half inch putty. I believe it is a combination of paper mache and plaster.
Joe Daddy
Are you planting the semi hardened castings to the scenery, or are you glueing on previously made ones? An exact puzzle like fit isn’t that critical. Smaller broken pieces can be glued in place. I find that some old ceramic tile nippers or even channel locks work good to shape pieces. The most important thing, is if is a large or near vertical cut, the orientation of the strata and type of casing (cut, weathered outcrop, shale, sedimentary) can make all the difference in the world. On a hillside with outcroppings, it is not that critical to have interlocking continued molds. Tallus, debris, weeds and trees can fill those spots.
On one area @ my club I’m presently working on is a 12 ft long cut that is 15" high at spots. The massive size of this project can be overwhelming to do with individual castings. The cut is at the isle and in your face. No sort of cheating or modeler’s license would work here.
I decided to use the large rubber rocks from Cripplebush models. MR had an article a few mo ago (Jan or Feb) about rejuvinating scenery. I am at the stage right now ready to apply the rocks. This is totally new to me so I’ll have to keep you posted as to how they work, best glue and install techniques that I find.
One thing I have already done is to use expandable foam to fill any of the voids on the 6 rubber Santa Fe rubber rock pieces. Once the foam fully expanded, I cut it flush to the backing. Where these will be so close to the isle, I felt that any sizable hollows needed filling. You now all those visitors w/ kids poking the rock cut.
I fill with ground goop when I finish the scene. That way it matches the other ground cover. If I need rock, I use an artist’s knife to fill and carve with the same material I used in the molds.
sculptamold is my choice!!..i usually wait until i glue a pile of rocks on and then mix a batch of the stuff and fill in the voids…i then take some aluminium foil and crumple it up…use this to blot the sculptamold that you put in between the joints and it will look like all one continuos rock with no gaps or seams…the foil gives it a natural rock look…
If uou are going to use stains or washes to color, use the same material you used to make the castings, made into a paste. This way the filler will take the colors the same as the castings. If you are going to put on a layer of paint first, any of the above will work just fine.
Good luck,
Try this thread…
http://www.trains.com/TRC/CS/forums/988219/ShowPost.aspx
and this
http://www.trains.com/TRC/CS/forums/989562/ShowPost.aspx
[8D]
[#ditto]
Works great for me! Of note, I often wait like 5-10 minutes after the scultamold has been in place, spray the aluminum foil with wet water and then do as noted above. Otherwise, if the sculptamold is still tacky, you get lil “points”…
Brian
When I fill the gap between pre-made rock castings I find it handy to use my “poor-man’s-caulking-gun” which is a cheap sandwich bag that I put about a tablespoon or two of slightly thinner plaster, usually the same p-o-p that I used to cast the rocks, then I clip a tiny bit of the corner of the bag and use this like a pastry bag. Twist the open end shut and you can squeeze out the amount of plaster you need to fill the joint between rock castings.
When the plaster begins to set you can use several knives to carve and chip out the plaster to match the surrounding rock. Be sure to mist the rock castings so they don’t wick out the moisture of the new plaster too fast.
You will find these baggies handy for applying just the right amount of plaster in hard-to-reach spots, then just throw it away… no muss, no fuss!
Sculptamold is great for broad expanses but for casting I like casting plaster or plaster of Paris better.
ED
I like Gypsolite for general surfacing. It’s also good for filling gaps. It’ has a grainy, gritty texture that only requires a bit of paint to look very realistic. I usually mix mine with some cheap brown acrylic paint so that it goes on a light tan. You could mix it with your rock color to make a gap-filler.