I need help with two issues. First I am building a water fall out of foam and hydrocal. I need a longer set time for the hydrocal as it is only really workable for what seems like only minutes. Initially it is to watery, then it is to hard to dip and soak the brown paper towel strips into it, lay them, then get more paper strips dipped and on the layout. My other issue with hydrocal is how do you get the surface relatively smooth? Where I apply it with my fingers, after I can't use it to dip paper strips into hit because it is starting to get too thick, I end up with a surface that is very uneven, following the path of what my fingers have applied. It isn't that big an issue as rock castings will be covering much of it, and dirt on the rest, but I would prefer where the dirt is going to be somewhat smooth. The second issue is the use of dirt. I understand it is best to sift it, bake it at 450 degrees for one hour to stop the wild life from growing, and then to run a magnet through it to get any metal out. Are there any other considerations around using real dirt on a layout I should be thinking about?
Sounds like you have the dirt part all sorted out. I dont use dirt, but from what I have read thats how to do it. For the plaster , You could try regular patching plaster. It sets up slower than Hydrocal, but not quite as strong. Hydrocal really sets up too fast for my tastes. .Mike
Dumb question, but is patching plaster the same as plaster of paris ? I would like to find some kind of plaster that sets slower than plaster of paris. Jesper
