Best Of Making roof molds in white glue

[wm3798]

Okay, I tried this, first with straight up white glue, following the directions (more or less), and got a good result.  My first try was indeed a little brittle, but after I applied the second layer, I realized it was critical to pull the sheet from the mold BEFORE it dries completely, leaving it a little flexible and easier to pull up.



Then I got a brain fart.  For years I've used plastic plates as a paint pallet when I'm working with craft acrylics.  Over time, the paint builds up and forms a pretty solid layer, that can be lifted with the aid of a bit of warm water and some effort.  What if I combined these two methods, and was able to create an acrylic casting that was not only durable and flexible, but already tinted?...



Not perfect, but also a reasonably good result with just two coats of paint (mixed with some white glue) and about 4 hours drying time...  I'd say we have a solid proof of concept here, with further refinements required to get a more polished result...

[wm3798]

Used some of the Elmers panels and the Acrylic Paint panels.  I like the way the Acrylic paint version works better.  It's more flexible, less prone to warping, and easier to cut.  I used a 60/40 (ish) mixture of paint:white glue.  Drying time is pretty fast (when placed under a ceiling fan) and I found that the master I used, which was painted with spray silver-aluminum, cast off some of the silver onto the gray paint panels... I almost done feel like it needs much more than a little weathering.

Lee

[wm3798]

Reposting here from Weekend Update to show the results of the Acrylic Paint molding experiment...

Made some more progress on my wood shed for an as yet determined lumber yard scene for a yet to be built module/layout/diorama.



Added corrugated roofing using a modified version of this:
https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=38108.0

I tried the white glue, and the result was satisfactory enough to use...  The several white patches on this side, and more on the back side were the white glue method.  The rest I made with a mixture of white glue and pewter gray acrylic paint, using about 4 coats fully dried on the original.



Instead of pulling the whole sheet up at once, I scribed smaller panels and peeled them up.  Not only were they thinner and more flexible than the glue version, the paint grabbed enough of the silver paint I had applied to the original roof to make them virtually "finished"

Here's a look at the original roof panel juxtaposed to the peel and stick roofing it begat...


I really liked the way the roofing settled in around the original details of the roof panels I used as a base... seen here:


Next I have to paint the bits that are still white, and put an overall patina of rust, and also to dull down the walls and paint the timbers.



By the way, this is my subject for the No New Model Modeling Challenge, which you can join here: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=38288.0

Lee

[martin t]

Hi!

Impressive work with the corrugated roofing!
The building looks really nice.  It´s much like the look I will go for in my sawmill. Very inspiring!
Thank you!