Here are a couple of pictures of my layout extension with the first layer of plaster (paper towels) of my rock work. What is the best way to do the final coat? I was thinking of a thick layer of plaster then place crumpled aluminium foil over it to replicate a rocky outcrop. Any other suggestions? [ 07 October 2001: Message edited by: Colonel ]</p>
Paul,I don't do plaster on my layouts but your idea sounds good to me. By the way buddy,it is definately looking good
With a rock face that large, you might not want to model smallish rocks like you would get with crumpled aluminum foil. Big rock faces generally have large features (long crack systems, aretes, corners). I would get some photos of the type of rock you want to model (granite, limestone, sandstone, etc...) and go from there. What you have there appears to be a few hundred feet tall, and actually looks very natural the way it is. You might be suprised after painting it with some washes (Woodland Scenics earth undercoat, and burnt umber for sandstone) and sprinkling some dirt and grass on the ledges, that it looks perfect as is. Pete
Thanks for your comments guys, Pete, your comments make a lot of sense the only problem is that it is too thin as is. What I might do though is to pour plaster straight over the shell and use a knife to make crevices etc to look like a large fault etc.
Colonel, I think your wall looks very nice. Too bad it is too thin Then again, you could put on another layer or so to strenghten the thinness, as you have the technique of the texture down. good luck. And no, i have never built a layout. [ 07 October 2001: Message edited by: Benny ]</p>
Hi Colonel, When I have placed the plaster onto the interlaced cardwork, I use a knife to carve the effect I want. Never use anything else, if you don't like the effect, smooth it over and start again. With plaster (Undercoat plaster not plaster of paris) it takes around 5 hours to go off. Paul
I am nowhere near clever enough to carve rockfaces, so I use rubber molds. Moulds filled with poured plaster Castings from the molds But they still don't work out as good looking as Paul's
There is a way to makle beautiful rock faces. If you have acces to large chunks of pine bark, lay it in layers, and the bark looks like rock strata. It does have to be pretty big pieces for HO but smaller works for N. Lynn
I think Paul's work is greatly enhanced by his use of highlighting colors. Paul, what strikes me about your work is your willingness to try new things and then your ability to describe how you do it-it takes a certain amount of "daring" to attempt and master a new technique, but there is no magic in it-just hard work and practice. I think a lot of us need to realize that Paul really believes any of us can do what he does, and we can if we work at it as hard as he obviously does. Thanks for being an inspiration instead of an aloof expert Paul-you inspire me a great deal to dive in and learn more techniques that really work! Curt
I think Curt is right about the highlighting colors. I use a modification of the techniques taught by Bragdon Enterprises. Regardless of what technique you use to make the rock work, paint the areas to be exposed rock with acrylic Gesso. In this photo, I have painted the ground areas with "Trail Tan" craft paint, and the rocks with Gesso. Gesso is like an acrylic primer that allows the rockwork to take washes of color in a more predictible way that you could get with straight plaster, Hydrocal, sculptamold, or anything else absorbent. Once the Gesso is bone dry, I dry brush the area with powdered black tempera paint (wear a dust mask!). I then take a spray bottle of water and mist a small area at a time with plain water. I use an old T-Shirt to wipe the now-wet paint off the top areas. This leaves darker shadows and brings out the details of the rock work. I then use a 1" brush with just tiny amounts of acrylic color and lots of water, to streak bands of minerals across the rock face. In this example, I used burnt sienna and raw umber. I've used blues and greys for Sierra peaks. I then took a very fine brush to put in bands of light rock (antique white). It works best if you let it dry between colors. I then applied the WS foams to the dirt areas. This last photo shows the rockwork during the foresting of the layout. I wished I had some better photos of the rocks to show you, but I sold this layout a couple years ago. It certainly doesn't match Paul's great work, but I was proud of it.
<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Lynn: There is a way to makle beautiful rock faces. If you have acces to large chunks of pine bark, lay it in layers, and the bark looks like rock strata. It does have to be pretty big pieces for HO but smaller works for N. Lynn<hr></blockquote> I have seen this method used, Lynn, and it looks excellent. Another variation, is to use bits of hardboard, of fibreboard broken in to pieces, and lay them in strata, like the bark. Probably a bit easier in the larger scales, but bark should be great in N scale
Before you paint your rockwork spray it down heavily with a black wash (india ink, water and alcohol I belive is best). It really brings out the details and will get back in those hard-to-reach areas where a brush won't and gives it an aged and dirty look like the real thing. Haven't tried this, but it is suggested in all of the Kalmbach scenery books.
<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by justind: Before you paint your rockwork spray it down heavily with a black wash (india ink, water and alcohol I belive is best)...<hr></blockquote> The problem I had with this method is the rivulets of ink that ran into areas I might not want stained. Also, there were no highlights, as everything got a uniform grey with some darker areas. With the powdered tempera technique, I have much more control, plus I can have great highlights as well as shadows. I have found that BOTH are necessary for depth.
Today I finished my rock work i used 5 kilograms of plaster to do the final layer. I made sure the plaster was thick then I used a knife to spread the plaster along the wall. I then used a toothbrush to work the plaster and I also used the knife to cut crevices. I'll post some pictrues in the next few days, I have also used coffee to add colour to the plaster.
Paul, Nice! Glad to hear of progress! Anyway, one comment, from a coffee fanatic to any other coffee fanatics out their.. They will enjoy the smell of coffee i'm sure but beware they may take it the wrong way! Anyway thats a great idea... coffee stains almost anything brown...... good color for ground/dirt cover paint in the plaster. Pre-colored. Good idea! Can't wait to see some pictures!
Thanks for everyone's inputs. Whenever I see Paul's photos I always say 'How did he do that & that & that. So in this case how did you do the following: 1. with the deep gorge walls did you fabricate the water first or did you inseert it from the bottom? If not how did you work in such a deep cavity? 2. Same thaught: How did you detail the cavity walls? Did you work from the sides with a curved knife or did you prefabricate the deep sections? Unbelievable work. Thanks, Jim
Here a photos I've just taken of my rock work, you will also notice I have added a road and tonight started preparing for ballasting track. I also added a retaining wall in front of the top track. I'll post a couple more photos in the next few days [ 19 November 2001: Message edited by: Colonel ]</p>
