Catastrophic Scenery Fauilure

[Guest ___]

My head is spinning. Plastercloth Cut collapsed today. I think what hap happened was that I applied latex paint for the ground cover, it seaped in softening the plaster cloth (both layers, and the newspaper) The form lost shaped, and splat like a suphlay. Now, I remember why I NEVER paint mountains. On the up side, the height of the cut is more along what I originally planned to begin with. I had felt that the cut was taller than I would have liked.

[CaptOblivious]

My head is spinning. Plastercloth Cut collapsed today. I think what hap happened was that I applied latex paint for the ground cover, it seaped in softening the plaster cloth (both layers, and the newspaper) The form lost shaped, and splat like a suphlay. Now, I remember why I NEVER paint mountains. On the up side, the height of the cut is more along what I originally planned to begin with. I had felt that the cut was taller than I would have liked.

 

Yow! I'm sorry to hear that! What were you using to form the cut? Perhaps newspaper? I suppose your experience is a good argument for chicken-wire, or at least something sturdy under the plaster…

[scott]

Earthquake and land subsidence--sounds like accurate modeling for Japan...  :-\

[Guest ___]

My head is spinning. Plastercloth Cut collapsed today. I think what hap happened was that I applied latex paint for the ground cover, it seaped in softening the plaster cloth (both layers, and the newspaper) The form lost shaped, and splat like a suphlay. Now, I remember why I NEVER paint mountains. On the up side, the height of the cut is more along what I originally planned to begin with. I had felt that the cut was taller than I would have liked.

 

Yow! I'm sorry to hear that! What were you using to form the cut? Perhaps newspaper? I suppose your experience is a good argument for chicken-wire, or at least something sturdy under the plaster…

 

Well, that's the strange thing. I used the same construction method as I did for Plastercloth Mountain, which did not suffer the same fate. The only thing is that I did not use the Latex paint on the mountain. Chicken mesh would not have worked on the cut becasue the maximum height was only about 4-5" ion a tightly confined area. So the collapse was a pretty big surprise, especially with two layers of plaster cloth.

[Guest ___]

I noticed recently that Plastercloth mountain is slowly collapsing in on itself. It's not looking good. If you notice on the two recent pix I posted of the layout (in the gallery and in my blog) you can see that the stupa is leaning to the left pretty good. Further inspection shows that the other building are falling in toward the center. What gets me is that there was decent pace of flat foam about an 1/8" under there so somehow the mountain is collapse and that the foam underneath is failing as well to stay rigid.

[scott]

That doesn't sound good....is there some way you could cut an opening, stuff some more support in there, and then fix the ground cover over the hole?

 

I dunno--I'm just making this $#!^ up.  :-\

[disturbman]

Like I said on the other topic, you should rebuild the mountain from scratch and maybe use some other type of structure this time (foam, foam core or things like that) to make it sturdier.

[Guest ___]

It's not an option to rebuild at this time. I need to find a way to get in there and shore it up. I found the area where the collapse is coming from through my access point. I think I have space to get a vertical support in there. I also think I've found the cause.

[scott]

I found the area where the collapse is coming from through my access point. I think I have space to get a vertical support in there. I also think I've found the cause.

 

Good--sounds like it was a good idea to have an access point for that. I'll have to think about how to do that, or add one on the stuff I've already done.

 

What's the cause?

[Bernard]

Aaron - Is this a possibility for you to try. Take a sharp razor blade and make an incision at the top of the area where it's collapsing. Using stiff cardboard, foam board, or wades of newspaper and make a thin support skeleton inside the mt. you probably are going to have to manipulate it inside & you might have to do a cross support too if you use cardboard or foamboard. When you feel it is now supported, take a piece of hydrocal cloth and seal up the incision. 

[Tenorikuma]

Aaron - Is this a possibility for you to try. Take a sharp razor blade and make an incision at the top of the area where it's collapsing. Using stiff cardboard, foam board, or wades of newspaper and make a thin support skeleton inside the mt. you probably are going to have to manipulate it inside & you might have to do a cross support too if you use cardboard or foamboard. When you feel it is now supported, take a piece of hydrocal cloth and seal up the incision. 

 

I wonder if making a hole and filling the mountain with packing foam chips would work to keep it supported.

[Guest ___]

Aaron - Is this a possibility for you to try. Take a sharp razor blade and make an incision at the top of the area where it's collapsing. Using stiff cardboard, foam board, or wades of newspaper and make a thin support skeleton inside the mt. you probably are going to have to manipulate it inside & you might have to do a cross support too if you use cardboard or foamboard. When you feel it is now supported, take a piece of hydrocal cloth and seal up the incision.  

 

It appears that was actually the cause. It was not that the plaster was giving way as so much as the cardboard, paper wads and foam board started to warp. I suspect between the weight of the plastercloth, it's dampness and I think the IPA used to help set the ground covering soaked in to the foam and cardboard sub-structure causing it to warp resulting in the failure. The great amounts of scenic cement only exacerbated this issue. I got inside and had a pill container that is in one part to keep the ground from sinking more, but I need another one to place in the other end to assist.

 

I assume this was not an overnight failure but one that is occurring over time.

[Guest ___]

UPDATE: Seems like I am find where the seams of the Plaster cloth is separating. On a plus side it looks like the the level of collapse has settled and maybe the collapse is due to the mountain itself settling.

[Guest ___]

Well, I learned a new lesson, or rather a reminder of something I use to do in HO and clearly stopped doing for a reason--making my own scenery cement. When I'd get low on scenic cement of matte medium, I'd add water and elmers white glue. Yeah didn't work. I went to vacuum up some loose ground cover today to run my EF5861 set for a sexy new YT model train video when the dust buster started to suck up huge clumps of ground cover around Plastercloth cut. Bad deal.

 

Had to drive to town, buy more ground cover, then while there I had to buy fresh cement, and to make matters worse, I had to buy trees,. Hell, I didn't even lose any trees from the ground cover duster buster ordeal, but low and behold, I had to buy trees. Now, I'm hungry and had to spend more moeny for a cheeseburger. And I overheard two teens arguing over typical relationship stuff. The GF was asking if the shorts made her look fat to which I interjected and replied, no its the fat that makes your arse look fat to which her BF laughed. As a result, I got home late and missed Judge Judy, all because of somebody else's fault!

 

With that said, I'm going to destress with that toy I got from the kids meal I had for lunch at McD. And by that I mean torment the cat with it.

[Guest ___]

Looks like the new WS cement I bought did the job.