
Some suppliers stock 50-pound bags which sell for only about $20. The 100-pound bag is the smallest my supplier sells (about $40). If they sell bags of stucco, that's the right place. Instead, look for Hydrocal at a building supply, preferably one that sells plaster supplies. Home Depot and Lowe's typically don't carry Hydrocal. USG Hydrocal (white gypsum cement): About $20 for 50 lb. According to the directions, you simply re-wet the area needed to be re-worked and the material becomes pliant again. In contrast to Sculptamold (which contains plaster), Celluclay can be re-worked even after it's dried. Its biggest downside is that it can take several days to fully dry. It's not too messy, and has a long working time. It's also easily colored using Quikrete concrete colorants for color-all-the-way-through. bag: $12.49 with 50%-off coupon at Michael's.Ĭelluclay is an easy-to-use paper-mache product that dries rock-hard. bottle at Home Depot.Īctiva Celluclay 5-lb. Quikrete liquid concrete colorants: $10.49 for 16 oz.Type IV dental-stone plaster ≈ $20 for 25-lb.bag: $12.49 with 50%-off Michael's coupon. Use poles or some other marker to allow you to find the buried cables easier.Ĭommon bulk-scenery materials and where best to buy them: To hide the wire ditches glue paper over the ditches, then scenic over. Threading the wires through the foam or cutting ditches for the wires will also hold the track in place. This also makes track changes much easier. Cork and Flextrack ABSOLUTELY REQUIRE GLUING! Unitrack doesn't, it holds it shape and a few track nails will hold it in place until the glue from the surrounding ground cover seeps under it and does the job permanently. When adding ballast this bleeding gives it a dirty look, just like the real stuff gets.

This dulls the artificially bright colors and makes them more natural. One effect of using Tempra paint is that water rewets it and it will bleed into your ground cover. Thicker applications of Tempra leave a rough texture. By varying the ratio of Black, Brown and White, I've been able to get Illinois Black Soil to Georgia Red Clay. A mottled look, not a uniform color is what you are looking for. Tapping the brush into the paints and the surrounding surface will mix but not blend the colors.

It mixes the colors too much and you will get a Light Bruck color. Then bouncing the brush up and down, I start dipping into each of the paints. To create an uneven mix of the colors, I first just glop some of each color onto the surface. Rather than brush or use a roller, I stipple. I use Black, Brown and White paint, all at the same time. To avoid a uniform color, which often betrays that this is a model.

They add a rough texture as well as color. First a layer of paint as others have said.īrown and tans are popular, but as a Illinoisian, I go with a blackish base.
