IN PRAISE OF SCULPTAMOLD

Sculptamold is incredible stuff and can do almost everything (except make Car payments). If you're going to make scenery, definitely get some Sculptamold. Sculptamold has many uses, but for Scenery-Building it will be one of the last layers you put on the Scenery before you actually start coloring it and putting in the Grass and Trees and Buildings and such. In my wee Diorama, Scuptamold played a key role in making the Landscape into the final shape it has. It was also used to make rock cliffs, and it can be used to fill in errors along the way.

To get an overall idea of when Sculptamold will come into use, you will use Sculptamold after using the Plaster Cloth.

STEP BY STEP- BUILDING THE SCENERY.

PLAN the Layout
DRAW the Track Plan
Build raise or lower the Roadbed for the Track
Lay the Cork or Rubber (or whatever) Track Bed
Lay the Track (considering the eventual wiring for switches etc- ugh!)
Build the Rough Landscape around the Track, (oh and what about those bridges!)
Finish the Landscape with Plaster Cloth
   > > >  APPLY da SCULPTAMOLD IN A THIN OR THICK LAYER OVER THE PLASTER CLOTH OR SCENERY SKELETON
Lay down the ground color on the Scupltamold and under everything that will be visible in the Landscape
Put down the Buildings and Ground Cover
Plant the Trees
Populate with Wee People
Get them Jobs, etc

*****It's really important to let every Layer of Plaster and Sculptamold DRY before going on to the next layer. WHY? Because wet stuff that stays wet too long gets... MOLDY! YUCK! Mold stinks, and will Rot its way through everything evernutally! A hair dryer to speed drying (not always a good idea), or better yet adding Lysol or some other disinfectant to your mixing-water (NOT bleach- too Toxic) or using old fashioned Patience between applications to let everything air-dry is the best approach.

USES FOR SCULPTAMOLD:

Sculptamold  can be layered over and over to build up an area.
It can serve as 'Bondo' to patch errors and Re-Do's on the Landscape.
It will putty-in Rocks that are Cast or Bought off-site and then added to the Landscape.
It can be Mixed, Laid-Out and Sculpted into Rock forms with Freehand. TRY IT!!!
It can be Mixed THIN or mixed THICK depending on what you wanna do with it.
It can be moxed thin and POURED down a slope to take on a NATURAL Gulley, Ravine or Wash Shape
It can be mixed into a thick glop and used to Build Terrain on top of Plaster Cloth or StyroFoam
It can be Sculpted or Carved, wet or Dry.
It can be Mixed with Lightweight HydroCal to various proportions for various purposes.
Sculptamold cannot be used for making Rock Castings. It's too fibrous and lacks the detail and strength of Lightweight Hydrocal.

I like laying out gobs of Sculptamold on 9x12" Cookie Sheets and pressing into it with a butterknife, exacto knife, pencil, dentist's implements, fingers, anything after it sets-up a bit and is almost dry. It can be left rough-textured or rubbed-down smooth. It can be re-wet if necessary to aid in the process of making detailed Cliffs and Rockfaces that can then be placed into the Landscape. Add more Sculptamold around these forms to merge them seamlessly into place.

In the Picture below, the entire Rock Face that extends under the Steam Engine and continues along that level on both sides of the stream is Sculptamold that was made off-site and added to the Layout. The entire blue Cliff face (12" x 20") is Sculptamold patted onto the verticle-standing Styrofoam understructure and sculpted in place while still wet.

(Higher picture resolution in these articles would be nice, Ebay)

Sculptamold is very lightweight and is easy to build up without weight considerations being a problem even on Portable Diormamas and N-Track Modules that need to Travel.

Buy Sculptamold in the Big Sizes that come in Plastic Bags. (I use Sculptamold by Amaco) The Milk-Carton size will go very fast and you'll def want more. Buy that Item if all you want is to see what it can do.

What else? Sculptamold is Great Stuff!