Cast or Carve? your method of making rocks?

GEF,

It seems that it depends upon the application. The foam carving is definitely the best method in my opinion for large coverage like you have shown. A cool tip that I picked watching a video is best demonstrated by your last mostly carved photo. The individual scooped up all of those little pieces and used them for the rubble found in the v's and base of rock formations. Just drop them around, drizzle some glue on them.

 

You may like the coloring result by diluting the paint and spraying with trigger spray bottles. It gives a nice natural blend and covers the foam quickly.

 

Your layout is coming along nicely.

That's the best carving I've seen since last Thanksgiving's turkey! Good job!!!

Hello GEF - I use Rock Castings • See Two Photos

 

I use rock castings, painted with an Acrylic Paint Wash. After that I use Chalk, India Ink Wash, & Testors Dullcote also called Spray Lacquer.

 

Click photo to enlarge & get the description. 

I use expanding foam from a can, let it cure, carve it with a steak knife, cover all nooks and crannies with joint compound, then use 5 plus shades of ink and/or paint from dark to light, then add ground cover and trees to suit. Looks realistic at any distance!

looks great Clifford.  I love that curved road with the guard rail.

 

Art

Woodlands Scenic Rock molds. (4) molds did everything. 

I like the cast rock method, but don't use plaster. I use two part resin and foam instead. Nice part about it is it doesn't absorb moisture and it doesn't chip or crack like hydrocal, so you don't wind up with white marks after you finish painting a scene. I think the detail is better in the rock, since it is actually a casting of a real rock :-). I use Bragdons rock molds because they are larger in size, so you get better coverage.

Here are a couple photos.

 

Before

After

I do roughly the same thing, except: I use spackling paste instead of joint compound following by different of flat latex.  Then apply groundcover.

I personally like carving foam for the entire scenery.  Here's a scene on my layout modeled after the gallitzin PA. You can see how it quickly comes together.

Carved foam with expanding foam and spackle compound.

I like using a variety of methods, cast and carved, in the same scene. Using all one method can make everything look too uniform. Nature displays an almost infinite variety.

 

 

 

 

Jim

Hello fellow O Gage Railroaders

 

A lot of excellent rock & scenery skills on this thread.

The photography I have seen has got me motivated to re-think, how I do rocks.

 

Cheers from Michigan 

I enjoy cast for smaller areas where I want to have some nice visual eye candy, the rest can be carved.  These are cast...

 

 

Mostly Castings  with a little carving mixed in

Good afternoon

 

personally I like the least amount of mess to clean up. I don't like paint, grease, wet plaster, wet glue, wet foam. I normally carve blue insulation board with Hot wire tools and a 4" grinder. Its fast and  easy to clean up, accepts latex paint well. And its movable and reusable when done. most carving,painting and texture is done outside. Initial base foam piece and final finish is done inside. I do agree that plaster rock castings and carvings look better.To me making the mess outside out weighs the mess of plaster and paint on the layout.

 

Clem