My first mountain.

[Mr. D.]

This is my very first attempt at building a mountain. I have been reading and watching online for about a year now learning how to.

This started off as the tunnel for the train then I bunched some news paper up and went and got some Plaster of paris. They were out of cheese cloth so I used coffee filters, (My wife's idea).

Some burnt umber wash with a black wash spray.

I went to the back yard and got some real dirt (clay-ish stuff here) and ran it through a sifter. Whit glue spread and sprinkled over. Real rocks added for "bolder" effects.

Our property is covered with lichen, so I dug some up, washed it. dried it, glued it down and hit it with some clear spray paint for sealing.

I plan to go get some green foam cover to sprinkle around some, but not too much. I like the rocky look.

A water fall will flow down the mountain to fill the lake.

The mountain is named after my wife Rayven.

The whole thing can lift off the table so I can move it to lay my 2 inch foam later.

Ignore the lake painted on, it was to mark where the lake would go later.

Sorry I didn't take step by step photos. Got excited and didn't want to stop working. LOL



Any tips or pointers are appreciated. Thanks

 

[Burlington Bob]

Looks pretty good to me. They always say the first one is the hardest, so things should get easier with practice.

 

[railfan]

"First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is." (1960's scottish singer_Donovan)

That is a rightious mountain Mr. D.. Makes me want to try one. The sifted "real" dirt is my favorite component.


Mike

 

[VinnyV123]

Very nice! What general location are you modeling? Looks Western, judging by the (lack of) lush vegetation.

 

[Yourchoicebub]

Looks good, I went all out and used chicken wire, plaster cloth, and plaster. It made my table HEAVY. Like the fact yours is detachable.

 

[railfan]

A mountain with quick release snaps might be useful....you know...if you had to move or take it to the train show.

Mr.D, if you are still out there......how is your mountain doing these days?


Mike

 

[Trussrod]

Say Mr. D,
Your mountain looks pretty good and the use of real dirt can really enhance the overall effect.

What I've always done when I wanted to build a hillside/mountain is to cut out a general pattern of the slope's, if varying, from car board boxes and placed them maybe 12" apart and then cut smaller strips about an 1" wide and laid them over or attached them in between the uprights to form a web.

Then I used crumpled up heavy paper grocery bags which I opened up somewhat flat again and used it to form a base to attach to the web. When I say flattened out I don't necessarily mean really flat again, your choice, but I leave mine, in most cases, fairly jagged to form the hillside I'm after.

Then I make a mixture of Hydrocal and water into a semi-thin mixture into which I dip strong paper towels and lay them over the paper bag base as well as forming them against the base and brushing on a bit more Hydrocal as needed and generally the hill side has turned out fairly nicely. Before it almost dries a second layer can be added if desired?

This way you have a total hollow inside with a 'Thin Shell forming the Mountain', against whatever your backing might be, which is fairly sturdy, especially with a second layer!

Then I can ad my rock castings to suit myself and any real dirt I want and grass and trees and bushes etc.