Killashandra - Irish Nn3

[Chris333]

Dang, I could hop on my bicycle and get it from 3 different places.

[DKS]

http://www.dickblick.com/products/amaco-sculptamold/

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/American-Art-Clay-Company-SC3-Sculptamold-3lb-Bag-p/amaco-41821c.htm

http://www.amazon.com/AMACO-Sculptamold-Modeling-Compound-3-Pound/dp/B0016ZXY8I

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Amaco-Sculptamold-Modeling-Compound-3-Pounds-White/24419083

http://www.kmart.com/amaco-sculptamold-modeling-compound-3-pounds-white/p-021V002612035000P

Google is your friend...

[VonRyan]

Walmart didn't mention that it was specifically just sold online. So I'll stop in and check there tomorrow.
If they don't care it in-store, maybe I'll get lucky and my LHS will have it.
I'm currently not allowed to buy things via paypal since it is linked to my mom's credit card, so I have to buy it in-person with cash.

Didn't have a chance to get onto my laptop tonight, so pictures will come tomorrow.


-Cody Fisher

[packers#1]

Walmart didn't mention that it was specifically just sold online. So I'll stop in and check there tomorrow.
If they don't care it in-store, maybe I'll get lucky and my LHS will have it.
I'm currently not allowed to buy things via paypal since it is linked to my mom's credit card, so I have to buy it in-person with cash.

The website says it can be in-store pickup, at least for me, so you should be able to request that

[VonRyan]

My LHS had it in stock. But they've finally exhausted their remaining reserves of Floquil rattle cans. So I spent 30 minutes staring at the rack of Tamiya rattle cans. I finally chose "Red Brown" to paint my track. I figure if anything I'll find a grey among my grandmother's stocks of Duncan paints and use that to do some drybrushing.

-Cody Fisher.

[rickb773]

Home Depot didn't have sculptamold, Joann Fabrics (and Crafts) didn't have it.
a search of both Michaels and AC Moore's websites didn't provide any help.
I decided to trawl through Michaels site, and they do sell something called FastMâché, made by a company called Actíva.
-Cody Fisher

Cody, I have gotten Sculptamold from the Michaels in "Sicklerville" multiple times and they usually have a stock of multiple bags.

[VonRyan]

Got my box of it at AAA Hobbies.

Sculptamold is the strangest and most uncooperative material that I have ever worked with. It doesn't feather out like spackle does. And it doesn't smooth out entirely either. I'm going to roll with what I've done so far, but I more than likely just wasted $15 on a 4lb box.


-Cody F.

[packers#1]

Actually, the secret to working with the material is to mix it so it's more thick, with almost like a playdoh consistency; I usually mix water into it at a slightly less than 2:1 ratio if I remember right. It is kind of tricky to work with, but it will smooth out. Once it's been layed down, let the sculptamold set up a bit, then work it down; the blobs will smooth out.

Although if someone else has a better technique, feel free to post away! It's been a while since I did any scenery work

[Chris333]

This might be the first time anyone has disliked it 

You can make it thicker. And you have about a day till it dries where you can keep smoothing it. Doubt you could get it like glass unless you pushed a sheet of styrene on it.

[rickb773]

Got my box of it at AAA Hobbies.
Sculptamold is the strangest and most uncooperative material that I have ever worked with. It doesn't feather out like spackle does. And it doesn't smooth out entirely either. I'm going to roll with what I've done so far, but I more than likely just wasted $15 on a 4lb box.
-Cody F.

Michaels has 40%-50% off coupons every week (and they take A C Moore coupons). 

[DKS]

I've used the stuff for decades. You can mix it to any thickness you want: just add water a little at a time until it's the desired consistency. You can also get the surface quite smooth: wait until it seems as though it has set, then rub it with wet fingers. Keep at it. Experiment. Add other stuff to it--sometimes I'll add a little regular plaster powder while mixing to make it feather better, plus I always tint it.

[VonRyan]

So what do I do about all the fibers? Do I sift them out and send them through a blender?

I mixed it two cups sculptamold to one cup water. To me it never looked "mixed", just wet and lumpy.
I added more sculptamold to it to thicken it up, and it still didn't want to stick to much.
I guess maybe it was starting to set or something because it finally got workable, stated that way for maybe 2 minutes and got difficult again. Needless to say out of the amount I mixed, I only used a fraction of it. I really don't know if I want to use it again.

[DKS]

The fibers stay in--they help prevent shrinking. This is not something you can pick up right off the bat; you need to work with the material for a while, get to know how it behaves when mixed to different consistencies. I can tease bits of the stuff smaller than pencil eraser to just the shape I want--but like I say, I've been using it for a long time.

I recommend you not experiment on your layout--mix some small batches and try it on scraps of foam to get used to it. And whatever you do, don't start with two cups of Sculptamold--yikes, that's about four times more than I've ever mixed at once! You'll wind up wasting a lot of it that way. I don't bother measuring anything; I just mix up batches of no more than, say, about a quarter cup, and add water a little at a time until it's the consistency I want--wh8ich will very depending on what I'm doing. It has a long "open" time, and you can manipulate it for quite a while, and even after it seems to get hard you can continue to re-shape and smooth it. It'll go through stages, and when you get used to it, you'll be able to create different effects at different times.

While it's possible you may never warm up to it, I know many who have grown to prefer it over any other material. Just keep at it--mix small batches, and experiment.

[robert3985]

As for painting track.  I use Krylon Camouflage Paint, both black and brown.  It's more than merely "flat" and is listed as "non-reflective".  Comes in regular old Krylon paint, which eats plastic, including polystyrene foam, and a "Fusion" mix, which is plastic friendly and bonds like hell.

I spray from the tops and from the sides with the black, then let it dry for about ten minutes.  I then take an old Bright Boy and rub the paint off the tops of the rails.  Then, I dust on the brown from directly above at least a foot or two away, using quick strokes.  This dusts on the brown so it covers the ties, gets a little overspray on the sides of the rails (but the sides of the rails are still darker than the ties).  Then, let this coat dry for about ten minutes and Bright Boy the railheads again to get it off before it's completely cured.

I do this on ME/Railcraft Flex, code 55 and 40 hand-laid turnouts and hand-laid PCB code 40 track with PCB ties every fifth tie (standard gauge).

Then, I go over the ties with different shades of brown, mixed from combining Camouflage Black, Brown, Khaki and Sand by spraying some of each on a plastic "paper" plate, and mixing them up.  I hit several random ties every foot until I think it looks "right" with several brown/gray colors.

This works well for me, and before Camouflage colors, I still used Krylon Flat paints and masked off the track with tape and newspapers so my Styrofoam scenery base wouldn't melt.

After ballasting, I take my airbrush and spray a light coat of reddish brown on the tracks, thickest down the middle of the ties, feathering it so there's just a bit of color on the ballast slopes, which is what the UP weed killer looks like after a few years of being sprayed on the tracks.  Also, the rocks and dust in the area I'm modeling are reddish brown too, so the light coat on both track and ballast "ties" them together.

Here's a photo of the three code 40 tracks in my Park City Yard done the "Krylon" way:

[Chris333]

Here is some sculptamold above the portal:


These castings were blended in with it:


Here: