i have started this thread as i have been experimenting with LATEX, now some of you are now thinking i am on the wrong forum and this thread may need removing by the MODS :D  i am on about the type you make castings from. i started a thread WALLS WALL WALLS in which i asked lots of questions about the subject.

the plan was to make latex moulds and sell the moulds on ebay to fund the hobby. i am taking things slow so i get it right. so far i have asked for 3 people to help out. i made a 12 inch wall that was 120mm high and sent this out as a tester. i then set about making a set of the following

1 4x high wall 80mm
2 4x butt rest 80mm
3 1x corner 80mm
4 4x low wall 40mm
5 4x butt rest 40mm
6 1x corner
7 low wall to high wall
8 high wall to low wall
9 high wall to 120mm
10 120mm to high wall
11 sleeper fence
12 pavemants x 8
13 pavement corner x4
14 pavement end x4
15 1x drystone wall
16 1x drystone wall with gap
17 drystone wall gate posts

this is what they look like during the making.

(Click to enlarge)

i have sent 2 sets out for testing. i am starting a third set today and also going to try some lineside objects like a skip amd electrical box. i am also attempting to bend a retaining wall around a bend which is turning out to be a challenge. i will update later.

it is a cheap alternative so i hope other members will take the plunge :wink:

GUINEA PIG 1.
Well i am one of the testers and so far i think the moulds he has made are very good.
The retaining wall is a fair size mould and so i made a smaller size by just dividing into a smaller section.
Retaining wall: Obviously i have not painted it or anything just thought i show what a good mould it is.

Then i recieved moulds of various kinds and so decided to make the pavement, i have put it along side a cottage for now just to show what it is like and of course the right height.
Pavement;


These for now a rough pic as to what they look like once made. I think they will look good once again painted and weathered, also as you can see the height is perfect for the cottage doors.
A very good job in making the moulds by Matt.
When a few more are made and set on the layout etc i shall post, also any other type moulds i have to make i shall post here.
Phill
Ps thanks go to Matt for having me as a Guinea pig, i dont mind i get fed once a day and watered, he also cleans the cage once a week, so it aint bad really  :D  :D

Phill

the walls and pavements you have moulded have come out very well

once you paint and weather them they will look superb.

I assume as guinea pig you are squeaking well now.

Are there butresses or colunms to use on the joints between walls or is tht someting that needs a mould made?

cheers Brian.W

As a tester Phill are you going to weather the walling so that we can see the different methods that people use and the results?

Brian yes there is some butts and coloums to use i think.
Bob yes i will paint them and weather them as soon as i have made enough for what i want.
I am on a weeks holiday next week, so kitchen to decorate then i can get some work done on my layout she says. So hopefully i have enough time to make some more and then paint and weather them.
Phill

That will be great Phill, looking forward to it.

Looks brilliant,even un painted. Good luck,should sell really well :D
Ive got 4 little squeakers,they love cucumber. Hope you sent Phil plenty or he wont shut up

Brian
they do come with butt rests both 40mm and 80mm and also corner sections, these are a git to get right when casting. i need to make a butt rest for 120 mm wall then the set is complete.

ok
i decided to experiment a bit and have a play. first of i wanted a red brick wall so i had a play with adding colours to the plaster. i got mixed results with this. the red brick was pink when set and then brown. i also tried adding food colouring but the sent the plaster off and it is still a solid block in the dish 8)  8)

i decided to do a retaining wall for a tunnel on a curved piece of track on the  layout so i need your thoughts on the finished colour. the curve


 i needed a curve wall and this was the first major problem :twisted:  :twisted:  after a few failed attempts i came up with this





this took some time to achieve and i had a few choice words along the way :roll:  the first attempt was masking tape and plastic, this was fine until i had the mould on and set and then i heard a twang then a smash :?  the bends are about the same on the layout so i can use this template on the other walls. i used my dremell vice to hold the mould as i can rotate the template.



and the mould in place and with plaster







and the finished castings





the next job was to paint the walls. i will just post the pictures and then you can give me some feedback on the colour. if anyone wants a how to let me know





















lots of pics i know :roll:  do i need to tone the walls ? this will be in a tunnel, do i add lights?
comments please :P

Difficult one Matt as there is such a huge variation in colour in the photographs. the second from last is certainly getting there so I can't understand the colour in the last picture. Are they all taken in the same light?

Matt,
    Great castings! Re the colouring,I'd tend to dirty them up a bit more.These type of features would date back from donkeys years ago,when the lines were first built,and you're running modern stock.In those intervening years,hundreds(or thousands)of steam engines would've passed by them leaving smoke and soot everywhere,not to mention rainwater weathering and general dampness.Also,where two castings meet,I'd put in a slightly more projecting bit…..dunno what the technical term is for it…is it butress??,to help disguise the join.

Cheers,John.B.

the two pics with the loco look about right to me,i  agree with Gjg they
would be a lot dirtier,but still o.k look well in place a good job.
       8)

Matt

A super job of the casting the cirves you have done and i can imagine the air was blue at the time on a few occasions.

The colour is difficult as it does vary a great deal in the photographs.

You certainly are showing the pointing off well with the dark wash or undercoat you did.

My observation is this everybody seems to be calling it a brick wall but correct me if i am wrong but the casting shows cut stone size in scale not a standard 225mm x 65mm brick.
Now to me i have not ever seem a red stone wall although i do not doubt in some parts of the country there is some.
I think ot may be worth you trying some greys of browns as the base stone colour which will may well blend into the scenery better.

cheers Brian.W

Matt,

I don't know whether or not it is my pc but they seem quite "pink" to me as if, rather than stone they are almost brick.. For stonework I prefer a more buff colour which can then be weathered.

Having said that the castings are terrific and feel a bit mad with myself that I live abroad and couldn't be a guinea pig.    

Les

As a simple guide as to degree and depth of colour this might help Matt. I appreciate it isn't red brick but I couldn't find a red brick picture.

good stuff matt ,your patience is rewarded. :D  :D

Bob
i took some pics outside on a gloomy rochdale morning. the castings worked out well and the pics shown are the wall placed on the layout and not glued etc.

John b
i agree with the dirt, these were a tester as the majority of the wall wont be seen as this is inside the tunnel. i will have to get the pastels out :D  when i fix the walls in place i will add filla to the gaps the use me trusted dremell to add brickwork to the flat surface. the next job will be ballast that part of the track up to the wall and add some railside junk. this should give it the grotty look 8)  i plan to add interest to the layout as i go, so when you look at each part of the layout you notice something new like a rusted barrel in a tunnel you didn't see before.

Brian
i think you have hit the nail on the head :D  when i was doing the wall i kept thinking something isn't right  the bricks would be huge in 00 :oops:  so the wall would be stone rather than brick meaning it would be a grey rather than a red 8)  i am glad i done this now :roll:  i think a coat of grey then a going over with pastels will make it look right. the different tones underneath will look ok.

Les some of the pics do look pink but not in reality, i wished i lived abroad then i could take pictures in the sun rather than a gloomy sky

Matt -brilliant work on the moulds and castings!
 You say you'll change them to stone, and I reckon that'll look great. I'd like to see them dirtier too.
 The colours do look a bit variable.
 Had you wanted to keep the bricks, and if they HAD been the colour we see in the last photo, then I reckon a wash or two of watery green would have worked very well at subduing the pinky red. Just a hint of green in each wash would mean you would have had a fine degree of control over the colour. And maybe a bit more green down low where they meet the land.
 Great job though. Looking forward to seeing the stone version.

 Mike

Very nice Matt.  Looks good.

They look really good,some of them do look a bit pinky and some look fine but too clean. With some experimentation they'll be perfect :D

Love the way you did the moulds Matt, i also noticed a pinkness in the last pic but most prob the light.
Look forward to seeing how you dorty the bricks more. Must do some more of my moulds, the paving i think.
Phill