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Terry's Layout
Terry:
When my dad got older he used to call me on the phone and ask me when I'd be near his house again. I'd ask him if the train was off the track again. That layout was up for about 22 years, and toward the end my dad would say "Don't touch the ceiling" when I was on the layout because there were black fingerprints up there. Given the option of being impaled by a gateman or streetlamp or putting another greasy fingerprint on the ceiling, I choose the ceiling everytime.
Here's the layout with the mountain mostly carved and the first application of plaster cloth. I'm putting plaster cloth on the seams where the foam meets the wood so it doesn't crack.
Here's the mountain ready for first coats of plaster.
I need to do the sides in the marsh area shown below. I'll fill the sides with spray foam and then round it off.
I'm trying something new. I am going to put three coats of plaster on the mountain. The first will be a hard black coat, second will be a softer gray coat and top will be a soft tan coat. Then I can wire brush the softer areas to get texture and color. I tried this outside on some scraps and it makes a nice look for the sheer walls.
Terry
starfire700:
This looks like a major construction project. I can't wait to see it completed. Of course I realize that most model railroaders say that a layout is never completed.
I have to get back to working on mine and will post some pix.
Terry:
First coat of plaster. This coat is as dark as I can get it, and as hard. I used about 30 pounds on what you see below.
For this coat I used a mixture of paster of paris and 20 minute drywall compound with black oxide mixed in for the color. The first batch went well, but later batches kicked too fast. I even made the later batches smaller about 5 pounds instead of 10, but I guess the heat outside where I was mixing was too high. It was 115 when I mixed the last batch.
Next coat will be thick brown, then a thin tan. The blue areas get grass so they don't need as much plaster to cover.
Terry:
Here's the second coat of plaster. This was just plain paster of paris from a 22.5KG bag I bought at a place where they sell plaster molding supplies. I mixed the plaster with ice water - I put cold water in a bucket and added lots of ice. Before adding the water to the plaster I mixed in colors.
I mixed about 10 cups of plaster at a time. With the cold water it didn't set before I could finish it. Once I got the areas that needed thick plaster covered, I added ice water to the mixture to make it thinner for the vertical areas.
Tomorrow I'll do another lighter colored coat of soft plaster on the vertical areas using premixed drywall patch. Then next weekend when everything is fully dry, I can start working it.
I realized yesterday that I spend 20-25 percent of my work time is spent cleaning up.
Terry:
This is the second coat after drying for 2 days:
I found a 3 pound package of sculptamold which seems to be plaster and some kind of filler. I put thet on in some areas, then mixed up a watery coat of plaster using the last of the bag.
The plateau on the end of the mountain has cloth soaked in the plaster mix. That will cover the seams in the wood.
I'm glad I took the track up.
Interesting note. The dog comes down and watches me work. (there is also a box of dog treats so she might be coming down for food.) She doesn't come down when I work with plaster.
Tomorrow I can pick up the free paint from the town recycling place so I'll be putting grass on the mountain this weekend.
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