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Jerry,
Your groundwork's looking fantastic! The fresh mud mashed up through the top layers is particularly eye-catching.
Are you using horse hair for the tangled brown weeds on top of the one wall? The mix of vegetation is also very nice and natural looking.
Did you do the stone walls with scribed plaster? I know you scratch-built them somehow. Would you mind briefly describing your technique? I want to make some stone retaining walls on my universal carrier vignette and don't think I could do any better than try to use the same technique.
As always, I'm waiting for the next up-date!
Mikey!!
Thanks for the generous comments. The bushes,sans leaves,were made from pieces of stuff that is exactly like an old buffer floor stripper pad. As a former EM,I am sure you are familiar with buffers? Heehee
I pull pieces off and cut them until they look OK to me. I have learned from experience,to put dead leaves under them first as it is impossible to go back later and do it!! If you observe bushes in the winter,there are usually a lot of dead leaves collected under there.
The stone walls are cheap plaster of paris. I mix a small amount and keep it kind of thick so it will hold a bit of a shape. Slather it on with a butter knife for larger areas or the non working end of a tweezers for small bits. While still damp i cut down the excess with the knife till I get the basic shape. If it dries too much I just wait and then carve it down to shape. You really can't go wrong.
The scribing is started when still damp. I scribe very gently with a number 11 blade,alternating between sharp and blunt sides. I carefully scrape away excess while scribing but don't clean up totally. I finish the clean up and improve the scribing when the plaster dries.
The cool thing about plaster is the way it takes paint. It's more like staining as the plaster absorbs a lot. This property makes it super nice for replicating deep water and waves,etc,as you can deepen the colors in the wave troughs and then seal with varnish. Do you remember my USS Constitution dio at Hayes hobby?
Anhow,hope this answers your questions. Happy to elaborate.
J
J
