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MRVP Contributing Editor Gerry Leone completes this How-To Library mini-series by demonstrating the steps for casting lightweight plaster rocks using the molds created in Part 1. He then shares his expert techniques for staining rocks to give them a natural-looking appearance.
Good video. Clear and helpful. Took lots of notes.
For the first two or perhaps three “washes” i prefer sponge brushes as they seem to provide a more realistic uneven flow of the paint wash. I then use a bristle brush for final highlights and what I call the seal coat. It works well and seems to be a little quicker which is great when your doing large rock walls or canyons.
I lost it before I could type Southern New Mexico. Sorry. But thanks for a great video.
Wonderful show Gerry. I am an old model railroader since 1962 but because of moving around with military service and then corporate relocations, I have built four layouts and had them pretty much running but had to tear them down before the scenery process. As a result I had no idea how to model rocks and paint them. Now I’m building my “retired” layout- a desert layout that will be free lanced to resemble our home scenery here in Souther New Mexico
Morgen — You don’t have to use coal! Just keep your eye out for smaller rocks that have a lot of detail in them. They’re not easy to find, but they DO exist. As for granite colors, take a look at the Vallejo paint catalog. They have several different shades of gray and blueish gray paint that would work really well. Micro-Mark and Testor’s have some wonderful colors as well, and Testor’s also has military colors that would work great for coloring rocks.
And Morten — my apologies for misspelling your name! VERY SORRY!
Although a Norwegian and not modeling US Railroads, I have been subscribing to MR since 1973 (now only digital) and to MRVP since it was launched. I get great inspirations and new knowledge from very skilled modellers through your videos, latest from Gerry Leone. I have used rock castings before, but never learned how to make them from scratch. Will be hard to find coal in Norway though.
One question to Gerry. Which colors would you have used if you were modeling granite or a more grey rock than limestone?
Nice rock scenery tips Gerry. I’ve used rock cliff and rock wall images from Google and Bing that are regional to my layout to understand both rock texture, jointing and coloration to add more realism to my layout. I’ll get a fan brush for highlights, good tool technique…..Thanks Gerry.