Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Tuesday Touch Up - More Wethersfield Landscaping

I'm beginning to wonder if Ground Goop - at least the way I make it - is such a great idea. Maybe I'm not mixing it enough. Maybe I'm not wetting it enough. It's certainly not smooth enough. I get all sorts of lumps and bumps - which look pretty awful in HO scale.

So, out comes the wood rasp . . .


And yet-another coat of goop . . .




And another round of rasping . . .





And another - hopefully last - coat of .... not goop but paint!



I do like how the cardboard web/plaster cloth/ground goop combo creates random terrain undulations automatically, without having to be carved like foam (and with much less mess). But I have to say, this process isn't turning out not to be that much quicker - especially for relatively flat areas.

What would you have done differently here, if anything?

4 comments:

  1. If you are using Vermiculite in the formula take it out. I have used the goop with and with out. With out is smoother.

    Gordon Spalty

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    1. Hey Gordon and thanks for weighing in! Good tip about the Vermiculite - I stopped using that some time ago since the kind I had was all full of shiny flakes. And you're right - it would make the goop even lumpier.

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  2. Hi Chris: I generally try to get the cardboard/plaster cloth base as close to the finished contours as I can as it will not shrink. Then I use Sculptamold to smooth out any places that need it, making any final landscape adjustments using thin coats. Again, this does not generally shrink. Then paint it with your earth coloured paint. I only use ground goop when working on detailed landscape things like eroded hiilsides or filling in around the base of structures. As for roads, if using Masonite make sure it is well braced and securely fastened down as as it is bad for warping when exposed to moisture. Like you stated earlier give it a coat of paint to seal it. Finally, regarding vermiculite, if it you get the granular stuff run it through a blender to turn it into powder or it will be very lumpy. Just my 2 cents worth.

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    1. Thanks very much for the thoughtful comment Don! I'm just sorry it took me a while to reply. I will *definitely* try a tighter cardboard web next, focusing on making the base as close to final as possible, instead of relying on so much goop to make up for it. I also like waiting to paint afterwards - much less messy, I'd imagine. And as I mentioned to Gordon, I don't use Vermiculite anymore - no real reason for it that I can figure. Thanks again for taking the time to leave a comment!

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