Thankyou for that interesting procedure Johan. you should write a book. I'm sure it will work, ill try it immediatelly. ThanksQUOTE (Johan de Villiers @ 6 Jan 2008, 22:15)
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Hi there Harrison,
I agree, plaster cloth is an expensive option.
Here is how I go about making hills and mountains the cheap way.
Take some Polystyrene (throwaway packaging material available free from furniture and departmental stores), break it up in smaller pieces and build up a rough outline of the hill or mountain you eventually want. You can keep the pieces of Polystyrene in place with masking tape or construction glue which comes in similar tubes as silicone. Once you've got the basic hill/mountain form it is ready to be covered. I use hessian to cover the Polystyrene. Hessian is a light brown woven material originally used for potato bags in the agricultural sector. Nowadays it is being used for several other applications including the gardening sector and even for decoration purposes. Here in South Africa it is available from hardware stores and nurseries and it is relatively cheap. I do not know whether a similar product is available in Australia.
Take the hessian and cut it slightly bigger than the area it has to cover. Now soak the cut piece of hessian in water and then wring out the surplus water. The wet hessian is easier to form over the Polystyrene base. Take the wet piece of hessian and lay it over the basic hill/mountain. Form the hill/mountain as you would like it to be by pressing the wet hessian into position. The hessian can be kept in place with staples, hot melt glue or similar.
Instead of plaster to cover the hessian cloth I use Rhinolite or Stonecrete as both these products have a longer working time than plaster and is also much cheaper. Rhinolite and Stoncrete both are white plaster based products used in the building industry as a finishing plaster for newly plastered walls. In South Africa it comes in 40kg bags which goes a looooong way! I am sure that similar products are available in your country.
Prepare your first layer of Rhinolite by mixing it with water until you have a soupy mixture. Add some oxide powder or paint powder of the colour of the rock of the hills/moutains you are modelling to the mixture. This will ensure that when your hills/mountains are finished and dry and it gets bumped the white of the plaster will not show but instead it will appear to be a rock. Once the mix is ready take a cheap paint brush (38mm or 50mm) and work the soupy mix into the wet hessian. Make sure that all areas are thoroughly soaked. This is also the start of the final form of your hill or mountain. Once completed leave to touch dry.
Mix the second layer of Rhinolite exactly in the same manner as the first except that this mix must have more of a creamy consistency. Now apply the mixture onto the shell and once again work it into all areas of the shell and leave to dry. When dry you will notice that a relatively hard shell has already developed.
Mix the third and final layer as before but into a thick cream consistency. Spray the shell and then again apply the mixture onto the shell and while wet finalise the form of the hill or mountain with the brush, putty knife or the best tool of all your hands. You can also carve in basic rock faces etc whilst still wet and finalise the rock faces later when the whole shell is dry.
When the shell is thoroughly dry you should have a rock hard strong and durable shell. You can do the final touches i e painting the rock faces etc and adding the necessary plant materials and greenery. If you want to you can also add your plaster rock castings now and work them into the rock faces.
I have used this method many times and it always works for me. You can use it to make cuttings, tunnel approaches and also for general landscaping. I have built several modular layouts for exhibitions and the hills and mountains built in this way have withstood all the bumps and knocks from transporting, setting up and dismantling.
Good luck with your hills and mountains!
Kind regards.
Johan
