Earlier I posted that I had started to put my base scenery down on my home layout.
I use a method that I picked up from the 'Ten Mile Creek' scenery videos by Joe Fugate for my hills, mountains and other uneven terrain features.
The first mix of 'paste' that I mixed up followed the recipe closely, here it is once more for good measure:
4 parts Vermiculite
3 parts filling plaster
1 part portland cement
mix these up first, then slowly add water to get the consistency of soft (but not too soft) ice cream. Too thin, then add a bit more plaster, too thick, simply add a little water.
It is important to use filling plaster, NOT plaster of paris. The reason is that Plaster of Paris sets very fast, and the Portland Cement does too, so before you have a chance to apply it to the scenery, it will have set. (Don't ask me how I know, okay do, yes it sets VERY FAST, I had an unusable mix within less than 5 minutes of mixing, and that was my second batch). I should have paid a bit more attention to the video (read stay awake as I nodded off while watching it :-) ) , as it says to add a little baking powder (not baking soda) when using plaster of paris, about a tea spoon of baking powder to the above 3 parts plaster is enough.
Filling plaster has a retarder in it, Plaster of paris does not, that's what the baking powder provides, so the mix stays usable for much longer.
Here's a picture of the mix that I made , and yes, this is the one that set after the picture was taken, so I had to make a new batch, this time with baking powder added....
I use a method that I picked up from the 'Ten Mile Creek' scenery videos by Joe Fugate for my hills, mountains and other uneven terrain features.
The first mix of 'paste' that I mixed up followed the recipe closely, here it is once more for good measure:
4 parts Vermiculite
3 parts filling plaster
1 part portland cement
mix these up first, then slowly add water to get the consistency of soft (but not too soft) ice cream. Too thin, then add a bit more plaster, too thick, simply add a little water.
It is important to use filling plaster, NOT plaster of paris. The reason is that Plaster of Paris sets very fast, and the Portland Cement does too, so before you have a chance to apply it to the scenery, it will have set. (Don't ask me how I know, okay do, yes it sets VERY FAST, I had an unusable mix within less than 5 minutes of mixing, and that was my second batch). I should have paid a bit more attention to the video (read stay awake as I nodded off while watching it :-) ) , as it says to add a little baking powder (not baking soda) when using plaster of paris, about a tea spoon of baking powder to the above 3 parts plaster is enough.
Filling plaster has a retarder in it, Plaster of paris does not, that's what the baking powder provides, so the mix stays usable for much longer.
Here's a picture of the mix that I made , and yes, this is the one that set after the picture was taken, so I had to make a new batch, this time with baking powder added....
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