SimonT - Hobbyboss 1/35 Russian T-18 Light Tank

[SimonT]

Morning all,

made a start on a base yesterday - plasticard trough with 60thou base and 40thou sides

insides then padded out with pizza base foam (thanks to Ron) stuck down with splodges of NoNails

Foam may need trimming once glue is set

I saw a recommendation on another post for Sculptamold so acquired a bag via Amazon to try

Previously been using Celluclay but have had problems with shrinkage over time, ruining finished bases

[JR]

Morning Simon.
Nice work on the smaller mud splatters.
That's a neat base, looking fwd to the Sculptamolud.

[SimonT]

Thanks John - spatters were another bit of experimentation for me but it kind of worked


Sculptamold layer done. It mixes and acts pretty much like Celluclay - hope it sets better.

I mixed it with brown powder paint just so any bits that flake off don’t appear bright white. There will be another layer over this with the groundwork so it shouldn’t really be seen anyway but better safe than sorry as they say

Hmmmm, chocolate cake......

[Jim R]

Hi Simon
Productive few days

splashed on using the airbrush to blow it off the paintbrush method.

How long did it take to clean the walls and the carpet? :tongue-out3: Looks good though :thumb2:
That Sculptamold looks good. Hope it dries out OK. I suppose it's lighter than DIY fillers which are sometimes advocated.
Jim

[Neil Merryweather]

looking promising Simon!

[SimonT]

Jim - :smiling5: Not bad actually as you only need minimal pressure in the AB. If pressure is too high it just atomises the paint like spraying it through the AB so you get actual coverage rather than spatter. Fingers crossed for the Sculptamold. I used to use Tetrion wall filler years ago as it was the only stuff I could get my hands on - it worked but it did weigh heavy even on a small base

Thanks Neil


this is roughly how it should look if all goes to plan

[JR]

Looks good Simon, think that's a success with the Sculptamould then.
I'm impressed with the texture, that another web trip then !

[SimonT]

Verdict not in yet John - although it has gone hard it isn’t actually dried out. It is gradually changing to a pale brown

Still don’t know how bad the final shrinkage will be

Texture you can see is pretty much down to me stabbing it with a large cheapo paintbrush - as mixed texture is like porridge

[JR]

Simon I've read that it can take several days to dry, depending of course on thickness and how much beer water was used. It's doesn't shrink not crack, that is from 4D Model shop and several US railway forums .

[SimonT]

Morning John - yes the thicker 'hill' part will take a while but the thinner bits around the edges are drying nicely

I've read that there is no shrinkage as well - so far it is looking promising

Bases are now sitting in the nice warm cupboard on top of the heating boiler

[SimonT]

The bases are continuing to dry out - so far there is no cracking or obvious shrinkage :thumb2:

[Guest]

I tried to use Celluclay on a recent base I put small pins all over the base as a key and followed the destructions, left it to dry and the damn stuff still wanted to fold up. Aha!!! thought I, mix in a dollop of white glue to the mix - even worse. So it is tetrion for me from now on over a thin core of foam. But watching and taking notes....
Mike.

[JR]

From reading up on the uses of plasters and other wall fillers for dio's, the main concern with railway modelling is weight from them .
Looking at the various videos of DIY versions of basically a paper mache a lot of them look really good, but they all lack the cellulose which is in Sculptamould. This seems to be the constituent that allows time to shape and smooth out. The casting plasters of course dry out so quickly, so even adding the paper to then to lighten would be pointless.
My trial with normal wall fillers , mixed in equal amounts volume wise and a spot of pva seems to have worked for small areas of debri.
Off this morning to look up the prices of Sculptamould.

[Neil Merryweather]

Admittedly my use of it for Tracy Island was not as critical as we require with our stuff but I don't remember any issues apart from the drying out time.
I would definitely use it again

[minitnkr]

I used plywood profiles, old nylon window screen, & wallpaper paste soaked craft paper for the base & drywall finishing plaster for stone outcroppings on my early RR layouts. I still use the screen & topping compound for crowned roadways today. Weight has not been an issue w/this method nor has cracking/shrinking, even when left in an unheated garage for several years. The last few dios have used packing foam & foam board as the base w/topping compound as a finish. Not thrilled w/foam board. Prolly my fault. PaulE