Monday, February 27, 2012

Plaster of Paris (PoP) stuff

Not sure about you, but in the little modeling I have done so far I have went through quite a bit of PoP.  Buying it from the hobby store in smaller quantities is very expensive.  Going to a Michaels is only a little better.  What I found is the local home improvement big box store is a real good choice.  I was able to get 4 times the quantity for a little more than what I had paid prior.

Tip for using PoP - dry times are quick (usable time about 5 min)  so make small batches or you will be scraping out your mixing bowl/bucket a bunch.  If you add 1 teaspoon of a cheap baking soda to the dry mix prior to water the cure time is increased to about 30 min.  A small side effect is the texture of the plaster does change a little which is not necessarily a bad thing, think of it as another way to add a different texture to your plaster work.

Another way to add another texture is to mix in play sand (another big box low price item) into the mixture.  roughens up the texture a bit.  I would suggest you try it to see if that is the texture you desire.

If you like hydrocal know that is a different texture and color than any of the plaster basic mixes.  Even after drying it takes coloration differently as it seems to be less porous than straight plaster so stays more whitish.

 Another big box store item that might work out for you is to get a bag of pine tree bark ground cover.  The large chunks that is.  if you carve them to fit to your hill they can look like a nice rock out cropping.  All you have to do is glue down and paint.

More tips and tricks I have found on-line or from experience to come.

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