Help

[trainmetomodel]

Hey gang, this is my first time on any kind of a forum, blog etc. bear with me please. I'm new to model railroading, I have reached the stage with my set up that it's time for me to consider scenery. Could you please tell me if using plaster cloth (the kind you just dip in water and lay on a structure) directly on top of chicken wire is a bad idea. i was told that the chick wire may rust and the colour could seep through... is this true? I know that lacing together cardboard strips is another idea.. but chick wire would be soo much easier Let me know what you all think.. thanks.

 

[Nomad]

First off, welcome to The Gauge.
Unless your going to have a snow scene, I don't think the rust bleeding through is a big issue. Your going to paint and stain the plaster anyhow, so it should never show.

Loren

 

[jeffrey-wimberl]

Make sure you fill the area beneath the chicken wire with wadded up newspaper. This will help keep the wire from sagging under the weight of the plaster until it dries. Once the plaster has dried, the newspaper can be removed.

 

[60103]

When I started modelling, chicken wire was a tried and true technique -- that was 50 years ago. Back then, the covering was paper towels dipped in plaster, or furnace cement or ... Since then, people have gone through window screen, cardboard strips and newspaper balls covered with paper towels. Don't let the chicken wire touch your rails.
Plaster cloth is the new part. Our scenery expert cum medical man says that its problem is setting too fast -- the medical use is for casts for broken bones and they don't want to wait 2 to 4 hours for it to dry. You won't get much time to work it up or reconsider.

 

[trainmetomodel]

Thanks guys. big help. I suppose if I'm painting over it, then it shouldn't be a problem. Even if it does, I'll just tell people that the mountain has a rich iron deposit
Once I get my wiring done, I'll be playing with scenery for a LONG time. Never painted anything before, should be interesting...
Off to the hobby store, big sale.. 50% off all locomotives and rolling stock!

See ya

 

[TrainNut]

I form my scenic terrain (mountains) with wadded newspaper and then plastercloth over the top. When that dries, I remove the newspaper, spread a very thin layer of Wall joint compound (slow drying) on top of the plastercloth shell with either my fingers or a small paintbrush, paint and scenic the area.
Check out this post in this thread for a good example...
http://forum.zealot.com/t112916-7/#post417232
I have other examples throughout that thread, but that post is one of the better examples.