Plaster & celleclay???

We'll go round and round with this one, as everyone has their favorite. I have used both for many years, but I now only use plaster, for several reasons. Not to say that celluclay doesn't have some distinct advantages, it does. The first and most important advantage celluclay has over plaster is working time. If you want to play with your groundwork all day, form terrain, change your mind and do something else, celluclay is what you need. Plaster's work time is very short, 10 minutes at best, so you better think out what you want to do with it long before you mix it up and throw it down. The other main advantage with celluclay is it's texture. It's already lumpy and bumpy and doesn't need much work to look like dirt, rock, mud or whatever you want. It's just a matter of tooling it or smoothing it into what you want. You can also mix dirt, sand, plaster, kitty litter, tree roots, static grass and a whole lot of other things into it to change the texture. That said, there are some things I don't like about it, the first of which is drying time. You really need to bake the stuff in the oven, otherwise it can take days or even weeks to thoroughly dry. But you better make sure your base won't warp and put down a big blob of white glue underneath the celluclay so it doesn't separate from the base when it dries. The other thing I don't like about celluclay is that I use a very wet technique when I paint my groundwork, using lots of washes, filters, airbrushing, drybrushing and everything else. All this water soaks back into the celluclay and we are back to a soggy blob again. This is why I now prefer plaster. It's quick, it drys fast, I like the way it paints up, and if I buy it bulk at the pottery supply store, cheap. I build up the topography with styrofoam blocks, cut them to rough shape, cover them with plaster bandage and then with a thin layer of plaster. Before the plaster sets, I sprinkle dry plaster through a tea-strainer onto the wet plaster. As this collects and hardens, it forms a finely grained surface which paints and dry-brushes very nicely. Both products work well, it's mainly personal preference in what you use.

I prefer to usr plaster for flat things like roads,tarmacs and concrete.I use celuclay for the groundwork around it.I like them both but for different jobs.Just a personal preference.

Leopold is right. I on the other hand like celuclay for all the reasons he doesn't. I like the long working time as it gives me plenty of time to form, re form, nudge, plant and add rocks and grass, etc. I mix a little plaster in with my celuclay which speeds up the curing process and gives some interesting textures to the ground material.

Since I use only thin layers (1/8 to 1/4") curing is usually within 24 hours. I don't like to use the oven method as it cures the celuclay to fast from one side (the top) which can cause it to curl upwards. I mix white glue in so the adhesion problem is solved there.

I think its one of those things you have to experiment with on your own to find what works best for you. Each method has its advantages and personal fans. Looking at leopolds work, you'll see his skill and prefence pay off big. Look at some of the other guys that use celuclay and prefer it, and you'll see comparable results.

Other ground materials I've seen used successefully have been spackle, wallboard compound, a+b putty, miliput, resin, hydrocal (a plaster like material), gesso, modeling acrylic, sculpey, fimo and a slew of others.

Good luck.

Mike

Am I glad I read this post!
I am planning a simple desert dio for my M50 Sherman and am grateful to read the detailed descriptions for both products and the pros and cons of each. I am new at this and hopefully things will work out.

Regards, Dan

I use Celluclay because I have it around.
Okay, some hints.
AS renarts notes, thin layers arre best. I mix mine with a little brown acrylic so there's no white to cover. I'll mix in some ballast or old dirt stuff from the railroad shop as well if I want added texture. I also throw in some white glue and only enough water to moistne it to thick oatmeal/porridge tesxture. Before laying it on the base, I drill out a bunch of holes with a 1/8 inch drill bit to give the stuff more bite to the base. For drying, I leave it about a foot from a hundred qwatt bul;b overnight if I'm in a hurry or just set it aside for a few days if I have other projects to keep my hobby time filled.
For larger contours, I always use packing styrofoam to build up the groundwork so there's never a thick coat of Celluclay and that may make the difference.
It really does come down to preference and comfoprt level, though.

I may know something about armor, but dioramas are a little hard for me. I'am glad I read this!

Try some plain kitty litter for your ground work. It has sharp edges and contours that picks up dry brushing great, is cheap, easy to mix and provides some really nice texture for your ground. Not the one with the scent crystals though... just plain kitty litter.

Also hit your local craft store and look through the dried flower arrangements. You'll find moss (spaghum) [sp?] and little flowered bits that work well for foiliage and ground cover.

BTW, welcome Armormaster to the FSM forum. Great bunch of folks here and very helpful.

Mike