Don't like Hydrocal? Try this instead…

[CaptOblivious]

Over the past few days I've seen references to Hydocal here and elsewhere, and complaints about its fragility. In the wargaming world, where our terrain takes a beating, Hydrocal has a really bad reputation. If you are having problems with crumbling and chipping and scratching, you should try what the wargamers swear by:

 

dental plaster

 

This stuff dries hard as a rock. It's designed for castings that need to take a bit of abuse, and it is almost impossible to break or chip (at least in the contexts where we use it!)

 

Here is a review from Hirstarts, makers of molds for wargamers of plaster, Hydrocal and two brands of dental plaster:

http://www.hirstarts.com/casting/dental.html

 

(incidentally, I've got a lot of his molds, and I've some some to make H0 scale tunnel portals. Most of it is best suited for O gauge (as it the molds are largely 28mm scale), but some of it might be useful in N)

[Martijn Meerts]

The real question is, if it dries up so hard, how will we be able to carve it to make it look like mountains and such? =)

[CaptOblivious]

The real question is, if it dries up so hard, how will we be able to carve it to make it look like mountains and such? =)

 

Oh, yeah, I don't know about carving it. I'm talking about for use in rock molds, either Woodland Scenics, the "aluminum-foil method", or home-made rock castings.

[Guest Powersteamguy1790]

I practiced Prosthetic dentistry for over 30 years and used dental stone every day to make castings. It is an extremely hard and durable stone material. It can be carved if you use sharp dental instruments which you can obtain commercially. The dental stone can be obtained from your local Dentist. Most Dentists use dental stone to pour models.

 

Stay cool and run steam..... 8) 8)

[cteno4]

I have been meaning to experiment with sculptamould more. its basically paper fiber and a glue binder, add water and you have something between plaster and clay to work with. lots of folks like it as once its dry its so light weight and still very sturdy. some folks will give it a glue misting after its dry to further give it a strength. folks on the scenery list use paint in it to give it a good base color and if it gets chipped its not white or gray. sposta work well to let it almost set up then use the foil technique to make rock textures or use latex rock moulds. folks just spread it on a rough foam base usually.

 

i expect its moldable somewhere between good olde scenery goop and plaster.

 

i grabbed a bag at ac moore with the 50% off coupon to try some experiments. has anyone here had good or bad experience with the sculptamould?

 

cheers,

 

jeff

[CaptOblivious]

I've tried it, and found it really hard to work with. Too pasty, and the paper fibers are hard to get just right. I think it could be great for a base coat over plaster cloth, but I was using it to blend stacked and sliced foam and some FineTrack on a small diorama. It just made a mess for me.

 

It would totally suck in a rock mold, however.

[cteno4]

Thanks for the feedback. Ill give it a try for some experimenting and see what it does for me. a number of folks on the scenery list swear by it. always found scenery is something you have to experiment with and see what works for you and your needs!

 

cheers,

 

jeff

[Bernard]

I love working with Scupt-a-mold. One of the members at TB turned me onto it and what I like about it is that it gives texture to flat areas on a layout. I've experimented throughout my layout, one mountains is made with styrofoam as it's base with hydrocal cloth covering. Another is newspaper wades covered with with cloth, and I've even used cardboard strips interlaced attached with a glue gun and then covered with cloth. Basically you have to find what you like to working with and I recommend experimenting, its fun.

Here are two photos of a lake I'm still working on (I ran out of water) it was made with a combination of cardboard weaving, hydrocal cloth and scupt-a-mold for additional texture.

[cteno4]

Bernard,

 

yes it was the potential for easy texturing that seemed like it might be more fun than fiddling with plaster.

 

i agree the experimenting to see what works for you. over the last 30 years i have tried a lot of different scenery techniques and read a lot of other folks stories and procedures and what works for them may not work for you! Also i have found its usually working out the process and set with the experimentation that is the most important thing for success. trying something right out of the box on your project directly is taking a gamble!

 

thanks for the info, hope to play some soon with it.

 

jeff

[Bernard]

Jeff - I love your Avatar is that "Astro Boy?"

        On my first layout that I built, lets say if was a more of a learning experience. I made tons of mistakes but I learned from those mistakes.

I was back in the 80s and materials and techniques have changed. At the time one of the recommended methods to form mountains and different terrains was working with screen mesh or chicken wire. The advantages were that is was strong and you could shape it. For me, it was a lot of bleeding  :D (that wire can be sharp) Some modelers I know still love it, I'm just not one of them (I was spending most of my modeling supply money on band-aides  ;D) 

[Guest ___]

Hey Jeff, as per our conversation there are two Astro Boy statuses in front of Kyoto Station, the first sits on top of a 8' pedistol at the bus terminal entrance announcing the Osamu Tezuka Experience, as Kyoto was his home town. The second Astroboy sits atop an Information Kiosk at about 14' There is also a third statue standing upright at roughly 4' inside the shopping arcade.

 

I love working with Scupt-a-mold. One of the members at TB turned me onto it and what I like about it is that it gives texture to flat areas on a layout. I've experimented throughout my layout, one mountains is made with styrofoam as it's base with hydrocal cloth covering. Another is newspaper wades covered with with cloth, and I've even used cardboard strips interlaced attached with a glue gun and then covered with cloth. Basically you have to find what you like to working with and I recommend experimenting, its fun.

Here are two photos of a lake I'm still working on (I ran out of water) it was made with a combination of cardboard weaving, hydrocal cloth and scupt-a-mold for additional texture.

 

I was looking to try the Sculpt-a-Mold when it was suggested to me the other day at the model shop by a guy from the Waynsboro club, but I couldn't find anyone that had it. Since I already had the other material I didn't bother looking any further.

[cteno4]

yep this is astroboy from Kyoto station. Aaron and i were trying to figure out which was which. arron this is the one at the bus terminal i think. i remembered him like 10' long (does that sound right to you aaron).

 

when i did my first layout in the 70s it was fine mesh and scenic goop (vermiculite and glue)!

 

you can get the sculptmould at AC moore and get it 40-50% off using the ac moore coupons you can download. same probably goes with michaels, but never shopped for it there. i have a bag here if you want to grab a handful to experiment with. also have some posts from the scenery archive on how folks have used it.

 

cheers,

 

jeff

 

 

 

Jeff - I love your Avatar is that "Astro Boy?"

        On my first layout that I built, lets say if was a more of a learning experience. I made tons of mistakes but I learned from those mistakes.

I was back in the 80s and materials and techniques have changed. At the time one of the recommended methods to form mountains and different terrains was working with screen mesh or chicken wire. The advantages were that is was strong and you could shape it. For me, it was a lot of bleeding  :D (that wire can be sharp) Some modelers I know still love it, I'm just not one of them (I was spending most of my modeling supply money on band-aides  ;D) 

[CaptOblivious]

I got my Sculpt-A-Mold from Michael's, as I recall…

[cteno4]

if you go to michaels or AC moore's web sites you can usually find a 40 or 50% off coupon for one item if you look for a link for the advert and coupon. great for when you are buying something thats $$ at those stores! i do try to buy lots of my little stuff from them so i think they end up making their money back! this week is a 50% week at ac moore!

 

aaron if you want i can give you a small tub of the stuff to play with.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Guest ___]

if you go to michaels or AC moore's web sites you can usually find a 40 or 50% off coupon for one item if you look for a link for the advert and coupon. great for when you are buying something thats $$ at those stores! i do try to buy lots of my little stuff from them so i think they end up making their money back! this week is a 50% week at ac moore!

 

aaron if you want i can give you a small tub of the stuff to play with.

 

Not really much of a need for it at this point.

[cteno4]

might be the stuff to do some small berms, filling in, and for rice patty walls. it sounds like it may be more mouldable than plaster to make small details.

 

cheers,

 

jeff

[Guest ___]

might be the stuff to do some small berms, filling in, and for rice patty walls. it sounds like it may be more mouldable than plaster to make small details.

 

cheers,

jeff

 

Good point, though I'm a way's off from the rice field. Right now, I'm still waiting for the scenic cement to dry from the little bit of work I did around the south portal.It takes forever to dry when the room temperature is 65 degrees.

[cteno4]

heat lamp! just dont leave it alone! the ir does wonders to get things to dry out and set up, but dont singe stuff! also just a tad of air circulation also really helps dry things out faster.

 

when i was a kid i worked for a contractor remodeling houses. he had me set up a box fan on med air in the doorway of the room i would be painting. i asked why the fan, the latex paint didnt smell that much and he said it made the paint dry faster so i could get two coats in quickly! sure enough just exhausting the moist air from the room and allowing the dry air to come in more passively (and not bring in too much dust and dirt) the paint did dry much faster!

 

jeff

[Guest ___]

heat lamp! just dont leave it alone! the ir does wonders to get things to dry out and set up, but dont singe stuff! also just a tad of air circulation also really helps dry things out faster.

 

when i was a kid i worked for a contractor remodeling houses. he had me set up a box fan on med air in the doorway of the room i would be painting. i asked why the fan, the latex paint didnt smell that much and he said it made the paint dry faster so i could get two coats in quickly! sure enough just exhausting the moist air from the room and allowing the dry air to come in more passively (and not bring in too much dust and dirt) the paint did dry much faster!jeff

 

I was going to use the heat gun but thought better of it.

[Tenorikuma]

I've been using plaster intended for casting plaster models and figurines. It's extremely cheap, hardens in 10 minutes (I'm impatient), and seems quite strong and rigid once dry. If you add enough water to make it runny, you can pour it into forms and make roads, parking lots, etc.