[wt?]Woodland Scenics

Say terrain building dudes...I was visiting my favorite local hobby retailer,
and I saw something interesting in the train terrain area. I have spotted some
"rock" moulds. Made of rubber, you pour plaster (or somesuch...) into it, let
it harden, pop it out, paint it, and presto! Rocks with a realistic texture
and appearance. There seemed to be several varities of the "rock moulds".

> On Wed, 22 Sep 1999, Donald Hosford wrote:

> Say terrain building dudes...I was visiting my favorite local hobby
I
> have spotted some "rock" moulds. Made of rubber, you pour plaster (or

These're very nice molds, very detailed and made out of a tough material
that will stand up to more rock-casting than any wargamer will ever
need; I think they're designed for model railroaders who want to rebuild the
Rocky Mountains in their basement...

You do use plaster - any molding plaster will do. Woodland Scenics sells
that too, but you can get it WAY cheaper elsewhere, probably in the same
hobby shop. Ask about Hydrocal - if you can get it, it's a plaster
variety that's stronger and a bit lighter than the usual stuff. Great for
wargame tabletop scenery, in other words.

You can also make your own molds, using latex rubber painted onto a real rock.
Lots of layers, reinforced with medical gauze between the layers. These
homemade molds can be very detailed if done carefully, and they'll stand up to
moderate amounts of use. I've still got several knocking around that I made
six or so years ago, when I was still into model railroading. Several of the
miniatures casting FAQs mention latex rubber, if you're looking for more
information. It's not great for
metal-casting,
but it works for plaster.

Hope this helps, and if anyone wants more info, contact me and I'll cudgel my
brains for more, or dig up some URLs if I can find them.

> Brian Burger wrote:

> On Wed, 22 Sep 1999, Donald Hosford wrote:
 I
> > have spotted some "rock" moulds. Made of rubber, you pour plaster

Quick tip, something I read in a gaming magazine way back: when you mix the
plaster, add some appropriately coloured powder paint (grey or red /
brown depending on what colour you're going to paint your finished 'rocks').
If you later chip or otherwise damage your rocks, you don't then get ugly
white patches showing through.

Quick tip 2: mix short lengths of corron thread into the plaster mixture; it
acts like the steel rods in reinforced concrete and makes the finished casting
much tougher (apparently -  I have to say I haven't tried this one).

> Quick tip 2 : mix short lengths of corron thread into the

I assume you mean cotton, unless corron is some spiffy man made fibre?

A cheap source of strong fibres are glass fibre rovings used in canoe
building.

Thanks for the mould tip & other tips btw.#

> Tim Jones wrote:

> >Quick tip 2 : mix short lengths of corron thread into the

Whoops, too early in the morning to type straight :-(

> Donald Hosford wrote:
I
> have spotted some "rock" moulds. Made of rubber, you pour plaster (or

I considered getting some, but styrofoam is cheaper and easier to work with.
Besides, if you have a mould, everything looks more or less the same.

If you glue bits of styrofoam together and then spray with black lacquer or
enamel, dissolves into a nice, rocky style surface ideal for drybrushing. For
the Full Thrust player, spray some styrofoam balls for
that arid, moon-like effect.

Of course, I have something of an aversion to mixing and pouring things,
primarily because it usually ends up all over my desk, so there you go.

Ach,

> On 22 Sep 99, at 19:03, Donald Hosford wrote:

> Say terrain building dudes...I was visiting my favorite local hobby
I
> have spotted some "rock" moulds. Made of rubber, you pour plaster (or
I have used these for years to create instant scenics. They work well and
should last forever. However, do not use plaster! Instead buy a small bag on
Fix All or Durhams Rock Putty or the equivalent. These are non shrinking
plastic compounds that are cheap and durable. They have the added plus of
working well to patch the holes in urethane models. Dark brown or black paint
can
be added to pre-color the putty, but it does increase drying time.

KR, Geo-Hex

> On Thu, 23 Sep 1999, Paul Lesack wrote:

> I considered getting some, but styrofoam is cheaper and easier to work

I agree. Mount it on some cobbled together bases. Spray it lightly with paint,
let it melt a bit. Spray again, the paint already there will protect it. Spray
some more. Then, spray it with the Stone texture paint. Then do another light
coat of black to dull it out again.

I did this and have a nice box full of asteroids of various sizes.