Foam or Cardboard Web?

I thought i would put up a poll about ways to build mountains, so do you prefer the foam board method or the cardboard web and plaster cloth method of building mountains, both , or some other way? And do you think one way would be better for one type of layout like a narrow one vs. one not so narrow or one that moves often vs. a more permanent one? So lets here your opinion!​

 

I prefer a cardboard web because it makes it easy to see what your going to end up with (and change it if you don't like it!). On my previous railroad I used hydrocal dipped paper towels for the hard surface. Since I am currently doing flat southern New Jersey, a plop of Scultamold is all I need!

 

I like foam. Its lighter, if you ever have to move it and its easier for me to cut, carve, glue extra pieces on, etc, until I get the form to look the way I want. It easy to dress it up, just glue rock formations or whatever right to the foam, spread some spackle or joint compound to smooth things out and off you go. Then I just brush cheap latex flat paint on it and start scenicing right away. Down here in the south, though, the foam is pretty expensive...

Todd

 

I'm a firm believer that different modeling goals call for different techniques. For rocky mountains I'd probably do the cardboard weave and get creative with the plaster. If there's going to be an artificial cut with a flat surface I might stick in a piece of foam or plywood. For low rolling terrain I'd be more likely to go with carved foam.

For a fixed layout the cardboard method leaves more room underneath to work and place wiring. For a module foam is lighter.

And so on...

 

I prefer Foam, easily malable, and provides support for the hydrocal looks great when done!

 

I have used both, and each have their advantages and disadvantages. Another method is to not use the cardboard strips, but create land forms using plastic grocery bags full of newspaper wads, then put cheesecloth over the tops of them. Wet the cheesecloth with a spray bottle, then sift plaster onto the wet cheesecloth surface using a flour sifter. Spray the damp plaster again, and sift more dry plaster on with the flour sifter. Use a wet 2" wide brush to "paint" the wet plaster on and into the cheesecloth layer. Let it harden (which won't take long), then add a few more layers by wetting the plaster surface with a spray pump and sifting dry plaster onto it.

This is much less expensive than buying and using commercially available plaster cast cloth, and it goes really fast. It is also fairly sturdy, but cuts and riverbeds can easily be cut in, and rock carving/castings can easily be attached.

After the scenery base is finished, you can simply remove the plastic grocery bags full of rolled up wads of newspaper from underneath, and use them on the next portion of your scenery.

I add both dry brown and black tempera to my dry plaster to color it, and sometimes I will also add real dirt which I've baked and screened to get rid of as much organic matter as I can (or kill the "bugs" by baking it at 450 deg for half an hour).

However, I don't use this very good method any more since I have been taking my modular layout to three shows a year. I prefer to use 2" or 3" extruded Styrofoam for my scenery base nowadays, as it's light, sturdy, easily carved and more durable than a plaster shell when moving things in the back of a trailer for several hundred miles. I also like the ability to easily carve both general land masses and fine detail into it. It greatly speeds up my scenery building.

Here's a finished scene representing Wilhemina Pass on the U.P. between Hennefer and Devils Slide using Styrofoam landforms with rocks carved out of plaster representing the unique sandstone found in this area.


Here is scenery done by my friend Kelly on two modules we built for our friend Art. This was done using the cheesecloth method I described.


Here is some scenery under construction using 1' pink extruded Styrofoam where I'm actually carving the sandstone rock formation at Echo Curve.


I am eager to see if directly carving Styrofoam will yield results as good as carving plaster.

Cheers!
Bob Gilmore

 

Bob, I like the way that looks even in the raw pink. good work!

 

Because of weight and mobility, I will stick with foam board. I think that the foam can give you the same quality looks as long as one does not limit oneself to the tools used to carve away.