Hydrocal alternatives

SeattleSUPOGR Forum Member

I'm in the process of making a couple of mountains. The main structure is layered pink foam since I had a lot of the stuff laying around. I plan to cover them with a mix of Structolite and castings. I've been using a couple of the Woodland Scenics molds as well as some aluminum foil molds. Hydrocal is easy to work with but I'm not crazy about the fact that the finished castings are fairly brittle and have no give to them. The don't conform very well to the base structure. Are there any alternatives out there I should look into? I've watched Eric Siegel's videos and seen the resin technique he uses. Ideally that would be my first choice but that stuff is also pretty pricey and this is something of an interim layout. Has anyone tried casting with Celluclay? I used that on my N scale layout and liked that once dry it could be adjusted by spraying with water. Just not sure how well it will work in molds. Anything else worth trying?

7/3/1412:17 PM

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scale railOGR Forum Member

I use plaster paris. Big bags at Home Depot are cheap.don

7/3/141:04 PM

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L.I.TRAINOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

DITTO ON PLASTER OF PARIS!!!! INEXPENSIVE !! SETS REALLY FAST BUT DEPENDING ON THE WEATHER /HUMIDITY COULD TAKE A FEW DAYS TO CURE

STEVE

7/3/141:17 PM

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SeattleSUPOGR Forum Member

Other than cost I'm not seeing how it's any different than hydrocal. It's still brittle and can't be shaped to the terrain once cast.

Originally Posted by scale rail:

I use plaster paris. Big bags at Home Depot are cheap.don

7/3/141:19 PM

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L.I.TRAINOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

you can pour the plaster into the molds and after is starts to set and still wet slap it on the mountain then after allowing some time to dry peel pf the mold.

Steve

7/3/141:28 PM

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SeattleSUPOGR Forum Member

How do you hold the mold in position on the mountain? Standing there and holding it while it sets really isn't my idea of a fun time.

Originally Posted by L.I.TRAIN:

you can pour the plaster into the molds and after is starts to set and still wet slap it on the mountain then after allowing some time to dry peel pf the mold.

Steve

7/3/141:33 PM

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wsdimennaOGR Forum Member

FusionFiber www.truescene.com. Can be used for terrain covering without mess.

A well known layout (builder) in your area mixes it with hydrocal to increase strength and extend working time.

Does not work in rock molds, and not suitable for close up rock formations, its not crisp enough. It can and has been used to assist in placement of rock molds.

Here are a few summary threads

http://jcstudiosinc.com/TrueSceneModelingFibre

7/3/142:02 PM

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railOGR Forum Member

Has anyone ever experimented with Dryvit material? It's more more flexible then plaster or hydrocal. Hydrocal is a mixture of plaster and portland cement. Somewhere on another forum is the formula to make it. My brother and I used gypsolite instead of plaster when we were kids. Gypsolite is the base used under plaster.

Don

7/3/144:34 PM

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SeattleSUPOGR Forum Member

I had FusionFiber on my last layout. It's a great ground cover type material and also for doing transitions but definitely not sharp enough for use in casting.

On a whim I mixed up some Celluclay and pressed it into my Woodland Scenics C1235 Laced Face Rock mold which is a fairly large rock mold that isn't too craggy and full of sharp angles. I prepped the mold with wet water and let the Celluclay sit for 3 hours. I carefully turned it out and the results were pretty good. If I were striving for life-like realism it wouldn't be acceptable but I'm not that concerned about realism so the result was pretty acceptable in terms of detail. The Celluclay was still damp enough that I was able to conform it to the contours of my pink foam hill and blend the edges with my fingers (see photo). You can see in these pics how it looks compared to a hyrocal casting with the same mold. The hydrocal casting is generally crisper and more defined (somewhat hard to tell in the photo due to the color difference). One nice thing about Celluclay is that it won't chip the way hydrocal or plaster will. Also it's gray so if you do ding it there won't be an annoying white spot.

Hopefully it will be fully dry by tomorrow.