Hand Carved Rock Faces for N Scale

[eric220]

That came out beautifully!

[Scottl]

Looks pretty good to me, much more like the rock you are trying to represent.  What you had before looked like igneous rock.   This new work has a convincing shale structure and texture, and the colouring is quite effective.

[tom mann]

The latest iteration looks very good.  I appreciate the taking of constructive criticism, ripping stuff apart, and doing it better.

[LV LOU]

 Very nice!!!

[primavw]

the colouring is quite effective.

Thank you sir. Actually the first picture most accurately shows the coloring in person. For whatever reason the lighting in the second and third pic subdues the coloring quite a bit.

[robert3985]

Lookin' much better!  No need to use Hydrocal, just plain old Plaster of Paris works fine.  Vinegar really does slow it up.  But, your results the second time around are exponentially better!

Nobody is trying to "win" here.  This forum is for the benefit of everybody, but constructive criticism is a good thing, even though it can be hard to take when we're used to unearned attaboys everywhere else.

A agree that you deserve kudos for tearing out your first attempts and doing them over again.   It's YOU who will benefit from a little pride swallowing (been there, done that too!   ) and learning a better method, and your layout looks a whole lot better too!

[peteski]

Shale is pretty interesting (oh god, did I just say that?) in this region. It's referred to as "Marcellus Shale" and stretches from NY state, through Pa, and into Ohio. It has layers of black shale, limestone, and shale containing iron (how the hell else did Bethlehem and Pittsburgh get their claim to fame?) which has a nice rich rust color.

And with my pride bruised, I tore down the other faces I carved, since I am way more satisfied with the outcome of my latest efforts. Yeah, you win Robert and Peteski. 

You asked for a honest opinions, and you received them. No pride bruising was intended.

Your first attempt looked ok for a train generic layout rock.  When asked to provide more details (or photo) of what type of rock you are modeling, you provided a photo of shale (sedimentary) rock. Your carving looked nothing like that.  To be honest, I'm really puzzled as to why you yourself did not notice the totally different features in your rock (random cuts and creases), instead of the very distinct layered look of the shale rock.  To me that would be the same as if you were shown a steam and diesel locos and you would think that they look the same. Both are locomotives, but each has a unique and distinctive look.

In my view, the the winner here is you.  You carved, asked for opinion, got the opinion, and you improved you technique.

You probably enjoy rock carving. But if you don't feel like carving, check out rubber rocks from http://www.cripplebush.net/shale/shale_category.htm  Those are really nice!  These are actual rock "models" you glue to your layout (not rubber molds to mold rocks).

[sirenwerks]

I'm not a big how-to video person but I was smitten by Mike Canfalone's Allagash Central and pegged the two DVDs released by the MRH guys.  The piece on rock coloring was very instructive and he's a master at capturing rock coloring.  I highly recommend these DVDs.