Rock Mountain Diorama


L

Laidoffsick

3 Railer
A 3' diorama I intend to use to showcase some custom cars/engines for picture taking. This is the second attempt as the 1st didn't stay together when I picked it up. I used regular hydrocal for the rock castings so they are quite heavy. On the 1st attempt, I used wadded up newspaper and taped it to the hardboard backdrop. Then dipped my own papertowels in Plaster of Paris and created the base to attach the rocks. Then used more P of P to glue the rocks to the base and fill in the cracks. When I picked it up, the weight of the rocks ripped the paper towels right off the back.

This time, I used wadded up newspaper and cardboard webbing that is hotglued to the hardboard back drop. Then used the Woodland Scenics plaster cloth to form the base. It's a bit more costly but you have much more working time being able to cut and use each piece seperately. I used the same heavy rocks, and cast some more rocks with lightweight hydrocal and used Scultpamold to glue them on and fill the gaps. It's now ready to be painted and track laid. I should of taken pix of the 1st attempt but was so pissed I just threw it in the trash.

It is not very light and was not cheap. I tried the cheap route and I got what I paid for..........nothing. I should have known, I tend to overdue things anyway so this one should last even if I drop the thing. The cold rainy weather is slowing down the drying process but I hope to finish it by this weekend.

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Have you considered using wire screen with junk wood support underneath, then apply regular light weight wall patching plaster that you can buy in the 5 gallon bucket?
Use a trowel or putty knife to apply the first layer. Next layers should first be thinned out with water in a mixing bowl do it can be applied with a paint brush to fill in the cracks of the dried plaster. One final coat of a thinner plaster will give ya the starting point for your ground cover. Be sure to mix earth tone in the plaster before ya mix it so chips don't look like white trash laying around.
 
I thought about using screen wire and patching plaster but I was using stuff I had at home w/o running to buy more materials. A lot of people use patching plaster from all the threads I've read here and elsewhere. I'm in the process of building a 19' x 3' industrial spur in 3 rail so I'm kinda experimenting with different techniques. I will have to try the patching plaster as the sculptamold and lightweight hydrocal work great, but are on the pricey side.
I can tell you, I will NOT be dipping papertowels into hydrocal again. ;)
 
Now that it finally quit raining and the sun came out, I was able to add some color and get it to dry. Time for some texturing now!

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that looks great, however, are you sure that with a larger loco or something, that you will be able to fit the entire thing into the photo without anything other than the diorama showing in the picture?
 
Well the only thing that would take up that much room is a BigBoy or Challenger and I won't be doing anything like that unless it is for a customer directly, and in that case I won't need the diorama for pictures. I made it that size as its 1 piece of flex track and i really don't do anything longer than 90' flat cars, which fit just fine with plenty of room to spare for close-up type photos. The photos I need are more close ups showing details of the car/engine, not necessarily of the backdrop. I'm just tired of seeing the plain white wall or clutter in the background. The 1st pix I posted were just to get an idea of the size, when I take pix for Ebay, they are very close up, so you won't even see the edges of the diorama.
 
I tend to agree the rocks are a little large and regular but I think that some vegetation is what's needed. Some bushes, vines, and a couple of small trees clinging to the cliff will break up the the rock patterns and make it look more like a rock cut.
 
Well thanks for the input, it is still under construction. ;) A little ground foam has been added, along with the track and ballast. Still have some bushes, broken branches, maybe a little trickling water etc etc etc ....details details details yet to come. 1 step at a time and watch the glue dry lol

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YES I KNOW, REAL TRAINS DON'T HAVE 3 RAILS! HA HA HA
 
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Very nice work! I agree that it could use a water fall.

What are the dimensions, and how much does it weigh?

I'll have to hire you to scenic my layout. I'm a mechanic, but not an artist.:D
 
Looks much better with the vegetation in place. The color variations in the rock also came out well.
 
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