I used wide masking tape to

I used wide masking tape to form the scenic shell over the cardboard strips and spread a ground texture mix over that.. I didnt do the plaster sheets. I have some pics on my blog showing the webbing half-covered:

https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/scenery-continues-on-the-johns-river-12184605

I really need to update my blog.. I have completed putting on a dirt texturing and am getting ready to work on the various scenic details such as trees and the the railroad bridge.

I am using a modified version the the method Joe Fugate demonstrated. Model-Trains-Video site has relatively inexpensive downloadable video showing this being done from soup to nuts that may be of interest. I modified my mix by omitting portland cement and adding some paint tint (a tip from Dave Frary's scenery book..).

Chris

Greetings Chris, Thanks, I

Greetings Chris,

Thanks, I will check out your blog.  I have all of the how-to DVDs from Joe.  Really cool.  I will be using alot of his techniques (or at least trying to use them).  I did not want to use that much masking tape but I did not consider using the tape to fill in wide open areas of the grid.

I was not keen on the ground materials because of the cement.  I was planning to add the ground Zip texturing material over the stained/ painted plaster shell.

 I have not purchased Dave's book yet.  I think that will be on the shopping list very soon.  I will liketo see your ground taxturing material done without the cement.

Christopher

I wasn't too keen on the

I wasn't too keen on the cement either.

I used a 50/50 mix of vermiculite and plaster of paris with baking soda added as a retarder per his video. To that I added sufficient paint tint (Raw umber) to give it a nice basic brown color which performed the same purpose as the cement would have.. to color the plaster.. without the cracking or the giant 90lb bag of cement in my basement.

Chris

ed: Here is a pic of my plaster mix applied. I have since made it darker. My paint tint was more seperated then I realized when I did this batch..

No to plaster cloth

I tried using the cardboard web with cheese cloth stretched over the top of it (and hot glued in place). Then I went back and painted the cheese cloth with a very runny plaster mix. After 3 coats of plaster it was relatively stiff.

However, it sagged (as you noted) rather badly between the card board ribs. Made the mountain side look a bit like an anorexic super model with ribs clearly evident.

If you borrow from Joe Fugate's method and cover the cardboard lattice with masking tape you'll not get anywhere near the sags and the ribs can be on 2 or 3 inch centers. Speaking of ribs, don't feel like you have to have a perfectly rectangular mesh under the scenery. It's ok to have discontinuities in the 'fabric of space' (so to speak).

Here's what's under the hills next to upper bear creek on my layout.

1. Cardboard mesh and masking tape. If you look carefully you can see the cardboard is not always orthoganol. You can also see that I often use quite a mixture of techniques under my scenery - pink foam, cheese cloth scenery, and cardboard mesh topped with masking tape.

2. Starting with paint to seal the masking tape and give it some tooth so the plaster will adhere better.

3. Plaster/Vermiculite covering is started.

4. Airbrushed clouds. I sprayed artists white air brush acryllic (much cheaper than Polly Scale) on the plain blue sky for clouds. I added a drop or two of black and went back to touch up the under sides of the clouds to make 'em more 3d

5. Distant mountain, hills, and backdrop trees.

6. Coloring the fore ground hills with dirt paint - this is probably to dark but once covered with other scenic layers is ok.

7. Lets run a train through the newly roughed in hills!

8. I dusted the hills with a plaster and tempera powder mixture to give the ground some texture then carved rock faces in the cuts. Bridge installation over upper Bear Creek is also in progress.

I used a plaster and vermiculite mix to cover the masking tape. I used US Gypsum No.1 Casting Plaster (which has no shrinkage and is relatively stong). A 50lb bag will make a lot of scenery and costs very little. I spread it about 1/4" to 3/8" thick (although I apparently got it down to 1/8" in some places). The thickness of this makes the scenery shell tougher and if you have trees with metal mounting spikes it will hold the spikes securely.

I don't bother with a retardent so it won't set so quickly. I get about 10 minutes of working time out of a batch so I do about 1.5 sq ft at a time (rushing back to the cleanup bucket to clean the mixing tools and bowl). This is a place where a 2 man crew could really speed the work - one guy mixing and cleaning while the other spreads and smooths.

After putting on the plaster mix I wait 3 days for it to completely cure/set before slapping on a coat of cheap latex house paint in a dirt brown color.

The masking tape/plaster-vermiculite method works better for me than plaster cloth (except that it's messier).

If you really want to stick to the plaster cloth you might try supporting it with chicken wire bent to shape and hot glued and wired together. I did this for my 4x8 layout's mountain spine. It works but you can cut your self badly with loose ends of the chicken wire.

Hope this is helpful,

Charlie

How does the mixture without

How does the mixture without the cement compare to the one with it.  I tried applying my first batch the other night per the video but didn't have good results.  It was pretty brittle and broke easily. It also seemed hard to apply because I could never get a smooth mixture.  It was always kinda lumpy and gritty, which I think was from the concrete.

Sounds like one advantage to leaving out the concrete is you don't get the shrinkage and resulting cracks.

I can't compare it to the

I can't compare it to the cement mixture, I never used it.. However the material should be a little gritty.. the vermiculite gives it texture.

Because I work with a smaller layout in N, I found myself trying to form into smaller places and felt that the tool marks showed through too much. After I had applied most of the material I fill the container with some water to make a thin mix. Wearing a latex glove, I dip my fingers into the soupy mix and use them to smooth and shape the material a little. I try to get rid of the tool marks and get some of the shape a little to my taste. I try to thin areas that are too thick.

I did find that at times I would not get a mix right or maybe it was too thick to dry properly. I go back and press with my fingers after I dry. If it crumbles, cracks, or feels like its not drying, I pull it up and redo.

Chris

Shaun, from your description ...

From your description, Shaun, it sounds like you didn't have enough water in the mixture. It needs to be just short of "watery", and just barely stiff enough to hold its shape.

The concrete part of the mixture does not really matter - it is mainly to add color. You can leave out the concrete part and use powder pigment instead if you like.