Building bases and the layout or What I know now, but didn't then


I don't know if this exactly fits your problem, but since this is the only building I have on the layout at this time, I'll use it. The entrance to the mill from the pond (not finished) required cutting away some of the plastic base, leaving some rather large gaps to be filled along with smaller ones at the edges. In addition the building had gaps between the base and the walls. (Newbie construction deficiencies) It was necessary to use 2 wood screws to maintain some sort of level installation (pretty bad eh!)
The gaps were filled with Dry Wall Compound (crack filler). The filler remains pliable for long periods of time, and using a pallet knive (for eg.) it can be formed to the contour you want, be it a foundation wall or a sloping surface. The drawback to the compound is that it takes overnight to dry properly or at least enough to paint. While the compound is not dry, it will absorbe paint like an open sewer pipe. In the case of a wall or vertical surface I just apply one of the acrylic craft paints close to a cement or rock color. On the sloping surface I apply the same type paint but of a ground color hue. On the sloping surface, while the paint is still wet I apply the fine particle colored sawdust (Craft Supplys) it seems to hide everything. Now in the case of your first example I would fill the area as a vertical wall (a bit touchy) let the compound dry. Paint it with a cement color and let that dry. Then touch up around the ground edges with an appropriate color paint add some fine ground foam of sawdust to camuflage the edges. Anyway that's what I'd do :D
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Willis
 
Hey, Learned something new today. Modeling Clay is a great idea for a base. I have been buying some at the Dollar Tree's for quite awhile hoping to find a use for it. Now, I have a use. At the Dollar stores U get about 10 different colored pieces in 1 box.
I've tried to use it for a base for a hedge around buildings, but it didn't work to well. I used dish scrubbing pads instead. LOL
 
Modeling Clay is a great idea for a base
Hmmm! kind of curious about that. 1 Does it harden? 2 How does it react with paint? 3 Most inportant is does it shrink in time? Anyone have any ideas on this? Has to be a lot cleaner to use than plaster. :D
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Willis
 
Some modeling clays that you buy does harden & does not shrink. U would have to go to a craft store to get it though. I know Joann's etc store has about 5 different kinds of clay. The ones I buy are just regular clay. I think if you put the clay in an oven it "might" harden to a certain texture. If I was going to get a hardening type of clay, I would get it where the directions were in the box.
If you use patching plaster it hardens real nice & doesn't crack & is paintable. If U use sheetrock mud, it does crack as it hardens. That's what I use to make roads, because it cracks like an old asphalt road.
 



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