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| Last updated on December 1, 2020
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Mr Pop, have you ever thought about using the cheap plastic disposable icing bags for applying hydrocal to the gaps between rock castings and other similar sites when installing scenery?
You'll make us all masters – we just need to get started..
Thank you again!!
Hello Alan,
The rock painting video should be up in May. We're going to cover foam rocks first, and then paint them all at once.
Thanks for watching MRVP!
David
David: Wonderful video. I don't know how many articles I have read about rock castings but none included some of the techniques included in this video. I'm working on my version of the Salt Lake Route and rock castings are next on my list. Kudos to MR Video Plus!!!!
Hello Trevor,
All three materials you've mentioned have plaster in them, but not the same quality. You can mix them to your heart's content when building a layout, however, as in the case with working with the plaster rocks shown in this video, sometimes you'll want to use the same material as filler. With the plaster rocks, using the same Hydrocal plaster as filler that was used in making the castings means that it will take stains and paint evenly.
Plaster of paris is fine for ordinary layout scenery. You can use it for rock castings as well, although the grain of the plaster found in plaster of paris does not yield as crisp of a finish as Hydrocal will.
Hydrocal is a lighter weight material than plaster of paris, it has a finer grain, and it sets much harder. It is great for rock castings, but I've seen it chip and flake easily when used for basic scenery work.
Sculptamold is more papier machie than plaster, and the paper fibers in it make Sculptamold ideal for forming and filling gaps in scenery because it is lightweight. I have known modelers to use it in rock molds as well to make rock castings. Although I've not tried that yet, it should work, but give the rocks a more textured look.
As with a lot of model railroading, scenery materials are a matter of preference. There really is no one correct material for the job in this case.
Best wishes on your layout.
David
The Working with Plaster Rocks, Part 2 is very good. Looking forward to the painting video!
Sorry could you explain when you would use plaster of Paris vs sculptamold vs hydrocal? I believe these are all relevant materials?
Hello Michael,
Thanks for asking the question. Unknown to us, part 1 got lost in the shuffle and never got posted to the MR Video Plus site. It's there now. Just look under scenery in the How To section.
Enjoy!
David
Where's part one?