Plaster cloth, Alumilite foam, or ??? - requesting experiences and opinions

I like plaster cloth. Cheap and easy to work with. I also use rigid foam for larger areas. Cut and carved to shape.

@RSJB18 posted:

I like plaster cloth. Cheap and easy to work with. I also use rigid foam for larger areas. Cut and carved to shape.

That's a great look, RSJB18. Thanks for sharing your method.

After watching several videos of people working with plaster cloth I'm struck with how much simpler the process is than something that has to be mixed often, has a short working time and needs to be glued together as is the case with Alumilite foam. I also like that it doesn't have to be messy as I had envisioned.

Dan, I’ve always used a cardboard strip grid covered in strips of plaster cloth, and then a thin coat of Scuptamold to cover the plaster strips, and give a smooth base for further scenic work. Here’s a shot of mine, with just painted Sculptamold to resemble rock. Eventually, I’ll cover it with foam coated balls to represent trees. To the left is carved and painted pink foam.

@Artie-DL&W posted:

Dan, I’ve always used a cardboard strip grid covered in strips of plaster cloth, and then a thin coat of Scuptamold to cover the plaster strips, and give a smooth base for further scenic work. Here’s a shot of mine, with just painted Sculptamold to resemble rock. Eventually, I’ll cover it with foam coated balls to represent trees. To the left is carved and painted pink foam.

That's a beautiful scene Artie. I take it that the plaster cloth needs a little filling with the Sculptamold to complete the package?

Several years ago, I discovered a very different method on YouTube.  Ended up ad libbing and adding expanding spray foam to the mix.   I was so happy with the results, I made some "How To" videos and put them up on YouTube.

I'd recommend you go check this OGR thread from 2017/2018.  It's only 2 pages long total and there's links to the "how to videos" which are still up on Youtube.    I never make my rolling hills/mountain scenery any other way.  But everyone has their own preferences.   

Check it out:  https://ogrforum.com/...abric-batting?page=1

The photos are typical of the results you can expect to achieve.

Hi Dan, yes, the plaster cloth hardens, but has little holes from the mesh, and seam lines from the strips of cloth. The thin layer of Sculptamold fills and smooths that all out, and gives a base for further scenic work.

If you are not making a rock face, I've had good results using carved foam covered with thin furniture batting (white glue) Once dry,  soak with a dirt colored paint and then cover with ground foam or grass. I've also used plaster cloth, packing paper and foam coated with thin coats of mortar mix or grout (left over from home projects).  If I wanted realistic rock faces I would probably use rock molds and create them that way. Rich at Black Diamond does something similar.  I've seen guys carve rock faces, I am not sure I would get decent results.

@turkey_hollow_rr posted:

That's a beautiful scene Artie. I take it that the plaster cloth needs a little filling with the Sculptamold to complete the package?

I use joint compound thinned with water and applied with a small brush to cover the fabric. I like cheap and easy for scenery. I'd rather spend money on the trains. 🤣👍👍

I highly recommend Fusion Fiber, especially if you are worried about weight. It can be colored, shaped, reused if wet again, and needs no separate glue for ground cover. It also works with static grass quite well. I have used it over cardboard, rigid foam, wood, ceiling tile, and plaster cloth. It also helps deaden sound near track.

Geology to the rescue ...

When traveling along an Interstate in hills or mountain country, notice the cutaways in hillsides made by the highway construction crews.  Exposed bores from drilling (for placing dynamite) reveal the rock strata which often shows a pattern of "rock flow" set at an angle - close to 22 degrees, which shows the uplift of rock when our planet was young and convulsing. That eons-old pattern can be carved into Sculptamold and then painted as layers of strata like a sedimentary rock formation.

Volcanic rock formations are a different category, but there is a "flow pattern."  My Earth Science teacher called those rocks a product of "igneous fusion" from volcanic activity.

The scenery on your layout could make a visiting geologist excited.

Mike M.   LCCA 12394

I really appreciate these responses!  You folks have created some beautiful scenery and have given me several options to consider.

Scenic Express has a very good website.  Some of the Product descriptions have tutorials.  Plaster cloth is a basic, IMO.  There are a lot of different rock molds that would detail the different strata, that an individual is looking for.   

@Mike H Mottler posted:

Geology to the rescue ...

When traveling along an Interstate in hills or mountain country, notice the cutaways in hillsides made by the highway construction crews.  Exposed bores from drilling (for placing dynamite) reveal the rock strata which often shows a pattern of "rock flow" set at an angle - close to 22 degrees, which shows the uplift of rock when our planet was young and convulsing. That eons-old pattern can be carved into Sculptamold and then painted as layers of strata like a sedimentary rock formation.

Volcanic rock formations are a different category, but there is a "flow pattern."  My Earth Science teacher called those rocks a product of "igneous fusion" from volcanic activity.

The scenery on your layout could make a visiting geologist excited.

Mike M.   LCCA 12394

I know exactly what you're speaking to. I see many rock formations along the interstate that seem to have moved along a slope as the magma blended. And I have often thought of using wire to somehow re-create the bores from blasting that are still visible.

Ok, I'm getting way ahead of myself.

@chris a posted:

Several years ago, I discovered a very different method on YouTube.  Ended up ad libbing and adding expanding spray foam to the mix.   I was so happy with the results, I made some "How To" videos and put them up on YouTube.

I'd recommend you go check this OGR thread from 2017/2018.  It's only 2 pages long total and there's links to the "how to videos" which are still up on Youtube.    I never make my rolling hills/mountain scenery any other way.  But everyone has their own preferences.   

Check it out:  https://ogrforum.com/...abric-batting?page=1

The photos are typical of the results you can expect to achieve.

Chris, thanks for putting that thread together and for sharing it here. My wife is a quilter so I believe I have materials on hand to do some experimenting with this method. I'll most likely need to use different sub-structure materials for different parts of my layout beyond just card board lattice. The expanding foam could be the ticket in a certain corner I have in mind where I'll need a sizeable hillside.  The batting should cover anything that will take glue.

@John H posted:

I highly recommend Fusion Fiber, especially if you are worried about weight. It can be colored, shaped, reused if wet again, and needs no separate glue for ground cover. It also works with static grass quite well. I have used it over cardboard, rigid foam, wood, ceiling tile, and plaster cloth. It also helps deaden sound near track.

Thanks! Interesting stuff I'd had not heard of before. Still researching this.

Dan, I have used several of the methods described above for contours/walls/mountains, including Sculptamold and plaster cloth.  Both are very effective for their purposes.

Depending upon your purpose, I would also recommend Shaper Sheets, a product from Woodland Scenics (https://woodlandscenics.woodla....com/show/item/C1178).  It can be easily cut to desired dimension, moldable, and can be configured into many shapes.  Lightweight, but also can be made rigid with plaster or plaster cloth.   Can be painted. Can attach rock molds, but I have not done that.

I am still learning skills on scenery, so always try to create practice sections before going to the layout.  I attached several photos of different applications on my layout, which show the practice items first.

My first use was for the edge of a lighthouse scene. Here are photos of practice using small pieces of Shaper Sheet for rock contours, grandson assisting in application of plaster over the Sheet, and final product. (Handles are to swing the unit up on hinges to allow access to interior of round-the-room layout.)

Here are photos of sledding slope for Christmas/winter scene. For this one, I used plaster cloth over the Sheet to create a smooth slope.

Here are photos of mountain backdrop for Lionel Rocket Launcher platform, currently under construction.  For this one, I used spray paint directly over the Sheet, then various acrylic colors and grass items for highlights.

Hope these help to show another useful product for mountains and rock walls.

Enjoy,

Michael

Depends on the look you are going for.  Check out this video of a mountain built in 2 days (built, painted and covered in surface texture).  But again, depends on what kind of rock look you want.

Rock wall is cardboard, Fusion Fiber, and plaster of Paris stained with various washes. Houses are on rigid foam, with Fusion Fiber and ground cover.  Farm is the same as houses, but also static grass.

Just worked on an area with Fusion Fiber. Spent under two hours on the project.

Nice work John, and fast. The texture of the Fusion Fiber must work well next to plaster rock formations.

I use it everywhere. If tinted with acrylic paint, you just rewet it to add more ground cover or even remove parts, such as for a building. It won't chip or crack, either. I get it here.