Terrain Cover – Plan B
After completing the first section of the layout with the terrain cover mixture, I decided I didn’t like it. I’m sure they’re are many folks out there who used this same technique with good results, but it just wasn’t happening for me.
- Inconsistent mixture. Even with using the same measurements each time, I would end up with a different mixture consistency everytime. Sometimes it was lumpy, sometimes is was smooth, sometimes to thick, sometimes to thin. This resulted in inconsistent ground covering as well. It was hard to get it to blend together on the layout sometimes.
- Messy. Mixing up three powered items, then mixing with water, and getting it on the layout seemed to make quiet the mess to me. I’ve gotta give my office good vacuuming now to pick up all the poweder that kept going *poof* as I opened the bag or scooped it.
- Fragile. I found the final setup of the mixture to be rather fragile. You really need to get a good 1/2″ layer down if you want it so have some strength. But I found this hard because the mixture was not very smooth when applying, and it stuck to, well, everything. If you accidentally bump an area where the mixture was a little thin, it would easily result in a crack or shattering of pieces.
- Needs Patching. Like I mentioned in the previous post, the mixture shrinks so you end up with cracks. Lots of them. I spent almost as much time trying to patch cracks and blending new/old mixtures as I did putting it down the first time. A lot of extra work that I’d rather not have to do.
While I think the finished product results in a good, natural looking ground, I think requires way too much time and effort needed to get there.
So.. PLAN B! The old tried and true Woodland Scenics plaster cloth with a layer of Sculpt-a-mold (or mold-a-scene, whatever they call it now) on top method. I’ll break up and remove the concrete mixture that I did the other night, clean up the layout and room, and then start working on the plaster cloth in the next few days. I’ll have to order more up though. Only have 1 roll I think.
Well, so much for my previous comment
Jamie
Hum . . . interesting observations. So many folks rave about Joe’s system. He’s generally a really responsive person – have you considered sending him and email with your recnet experiences?
Jamie: I’d say mock up a little test section you can try this technique on and see how the results come out for you.
Maybe I was a little to impatient with the mixture, the applying, or something. It certainly seems like it’s a very time consuming process because of the rework it needs to fix up the cracks and stuff. That’s just too much work I don’t care to deal with.
Philip: Not yet. Reading up on the MRH forums, it seems a couple folks simply go with a 50/50 mixture of Vermiculite and Plaster, completely leaving out the cement.
The result is a mixture that won’t shrink and crack (yay!) it seems. I wonder if it’ll produce a less gritty mixture too. The gritty texture seemed to make it hard to apply to me.
So I think I’ll give this mixture a shot tonight and see how it comes out.
interesting. It might also be that what works for HO may not work for N (your grittyness issue). I’ve also seen the parts of Oregon that Joe is modeling also have a different texture to the ground then your part of the world.
Anyway, it’s fascinating to watch folks on line. The feedback is tremendous, and helpful as I move between stages of my layout.