how do you tell when Celluclay is really dry?

Hum....Maybe with a house plant moisture meter, I don't know. This is why I build with plaster, I used to hate waiting for the Celluclay to dry. Some folks bake the stuff in a warm oven, but you risk having the edges curl up if you didn't put some white glue between the Celluclay and your base. Personally, I'd bake the stuff at about 250 degrees for an hour and worry about fixing the edges later, otherwise, if you seal it now, it may never fully dry. If you want to build ground-work quickly, plaster is the way to go.

thanks, perhaps the next time.
Hydrocal ?
how long does that take to dry?

It should be a light grey color and actually it will have a shrunkin look to it, there will be no sign of dark grey anywhere.

ok, that's a start!
:-)
it is definitely much lighter, but it was not even when i left for work.
i don't want to bake it, as i am afraid it will crack/shrink/warp
and then i will wish i waited.

thanks, Thundergod.

ww,
Put a fan on it. The resultant air passage over the surface will help dry it out, but not so fast that you'll have problems with it curling. The celuclay should return to the same color it was when you started, should be hard and not compress.

The plaster is a texture additive and does not aid in drying. It makes for some very interesting surface texturing and allws a working consistency that is almost like frosting. The celuclay itself should be applied no more than 1/4" thick. You don't need any more than that and should be completely dry in 24 to 48 hours tops. Any contours should be made with your ground substructure. (foam, board, wood, etc.) The celuclay is just a ground covering to allow simple contouring, application of ground work (sand, rocks, grass, plants, texturing). The white glue is an adhesive issue and is there to keep the rocks that you may have mixed in, any sand you may apply and to help the celuclay adhere to the base or ground substructure.

You can force dry celuclay in an oven but only put the temp to 100-110 degrees. What you want is the air in the oven to be dry to aid in evaporation of resident water. This heat is accumulative and will build up in the material and raise the temp. in the celuclay so watch it. 4 hours in the oven will go a long way to dry out the material.

If it cracks, its a simle fix. Just mix up some more celuclay and patch the cracks. No worries. and it will be seamless.

Your working consistency of the celuclay should be like peanutbutter or oatmeal. A wet finger should be able to smooth it out and allow you to feather it into a borderless base or up against rocks, buildings etc. It will act a little like cement when you apply it and a spoon or spatula should be able to "float" it like cement. By rubbing it lightly with the flat of the spoon or spatula it should smooth out and you'll see the water "float" to the surface giving it a shimmer.You can lay a paper towel down on this and wick some of the water away. Just don't leave it on as it will adhere to it if it dries (especially) if you mix plaster and glue into it and make a mess trying to remove it.

Celuclay can be worked to make anything that looks like just about any material, from what it is (pulped paper and celulose) to carved stone. With the right treatment you can make it look like cast iron if you want.

Mike,
thanks a ton! i really appreciate you taking the time to respond in such detail.
i guess i should have thought of the fan, but i did not.
it is looking "pretty dry", tho the color is nor uniform yet.
but overall it is hard and not damp at all.

i will give it the fan treatment and wait another day or so.
i am in no rush.

i purchased clear acrylic in a spray can (gloss)
to seal with once it is cured.
i looked at water based polyurethane, but the containers were pretty big,
and about $15, and i did not want a lifetime supply just yet.
was also put off by instructions recommending humidity under 50%.
was not planning to wait until September!!
my intent is to seal w/ the spray, then paint the base w/ earth tones & greens
then i will do the static grass, dirt, mud, etc route.

if it sounds like i overlooked anything major,
or if you have a spray acrylic horror story (it dissolved my base!!)
please let me know.

You really don't need to eurothane the celuclay. If the paint you are going to use is acrylic it will cover it and will seal it enough. Thin the paint down and use it as a heavy wash. Once it dries, add a darker tone wash. This will make the detail stand out and will create some really nice effects under the grass. A dry brushing on top of that after the wash dries will also give it a very nice illustrative quality. Enhance detail and really just make it pop.

I do use eurathane on my bases because I use mdf for the actual base. This reacts with water if its not primed or painted or sealed with eurothane. I use the little cans of minwax from the Depot or Lowes. (About $5) and it works fine. You can use it over styrofoam too without any bad reactions. Unlike enamels or laquers that will eat styrofoam.

Use an awl and some white glue and for tall grass and plants, make a hole, drop in a bit of white glue and stick in your clump of tall grass material. I use cisal rope or cord. Then kind of pat it with you finger and make it spread into a relaxed clump (if that makes sense). The static grass is easier. That you just apply a mix of white glue and water (I mix 50/50) and then sprinkle your static grass over it. Blow across the surface and it will stand up. One of the new tricks I've been playing with is to take a piece of plastic or baloon and rubbing it on one of the dogs. This creates a static charge and when you pass it close to the static grass, it will make it stand upright. It doesn't do it to all of it but enough that a nice effect is created.
You may have to apply it in a couple of sessions. I spred some newspaper out and do it on that. Any excess grass gets recollected and re used. (stuff is expensive). Once this is dry and secure you can dry brush it and add some variation to the grass.

A good test of how dry the celuclay is, is to touch your cheek to the surface of the ground work. If its chilled or cold, then its still wet. Moisture is still evaporating out of it.

Pick up some kitty litter to mix in with it too. It adds nice ground texture. Depending on the type of ground material you're doing you can add a little or alot.

The more you do the more you find yourself scanning the ground for cool rocks and stones, looking at roots of woody plants (make great scale treees with scale bark) and I've resorted to carrying small plastic containers in my truck so that if I come up on some nice looking gravel etc.I can grab a handful and take it home.

Mike,
Wow! thanks again!
i left the base on my table under two (60 watt) incandescant lights
and a window type fan.
looked better this morning, but i left the fan on when i went to work.

my buddy had suggested the waterbased MinWax,
but they did not have it at the mom & Pop hardware i went to.
(i try to hit the local before the trip to the 'big box')

not sure what the 'mdf' is that you are building your bases out of.

thanks for the many tips.

here is a look at the base, bare and w/ pak for reference.
basically, i am just trying to show the gun tucked in behind the rise.
there is a crew, but some lazy @#$%^! has not finished them yet.




the rocks are some styrofoam 'rocks' i got at the LHS,
just put here & there for variety.

as always, suggestions are welcome, provided they do not involve throwing this
out and starting again, or taking up knitting!
:-)

Renarts has pretty much covered the basics of Celluclay. One thing I'd add to his advice is to drill some hole in your base, 1/8 to 1/4 inch in diameter over the area the Celluclay will be contacting the base directly. The holes can actually go through the base. WHat this does is give the stuff more bite as you press it down to the base reducing hte likelihood of lifting.
I also add both white glue and earth tone acrylic to the mix so when I'm painting, I don't have to worry about grey or white spots showing up. I agree with Renarts as well in not needing to seal the stuff.
I dry mine under a 100 wat bulb about 10 inches away.

looks like i should have asked for a primer on the stuff before starting,
but the bug bit me and i went ahead.
("how tough could it be", he said, "the stuff says it's safe for children!")
:-)

well, lots of ways to do better next time!
thanks for the tips, ajlafleche.

mdf is medium density fibre board. It is used as an under base for counter tops, alot of furniture is being made with it and it usually gets a laminate put over it.

The nice thing about it is its inexpensive. a 3/4" 4'x8' sheet is usually anywhere from $10-$15. This stuff is heavy so it makes for a nice stable base. It cuts smoothly and machines really nice. (Router the edges). It is smooth and sands nicely. Once primed and painted you can paint it to look like anything from wood, rock, plastic or metal.

Do not confuse it with particle board. Its finer than that.

Looks like your off to a good start.

Mike,
thanks for the mdf info.
i guess i am not familiar w/ it, but may get aquainted soon.
sounds like a very economical way to go for bases.

i let the base be when i got home last night,
giving it some more time in the sun on the patio.
worked on my Quad, which is probably what i will do tonight as well.
might shoot some base color on the dio.
any sugestions for the browns & greens?
i was thinking Tamiya's 'flat earth' for the browns.
that's the color of the mud on the wheels.
should i do the parts that will be grassy (most of it really) green?
and should the green attempt to match the grass or be lighter or darker?

Originally I used the Tamiya paints for the ground colors but I switched to the American Acrylic paints for this. They offer a huge range of colors that are a pretty good quality. A 2 oz bottle will cost .99 and last a long time. Stuff dry brushes great and with some air brush medium mixed in you can shoot it. I have matched up most of my armor colors with it and have been using them to weather the vehicles, paint bases, and do a huge amount of mural and trompe'loiel work with them.You can find them in most craft stores.

I use greens and yellows under grass and browns and yeallows under dirt or mud areas. A drybrushing of a sand yellow or light grey makes details stand out.

Mike,
thanks again!
i bit down a base of flat earht to start.
but first there was som 'drama'.
when i built up the hill in the corner, i stuck it together w/ straight pins and ran some
hot glue along the inside edges.
when the celluclay dried, it shrunk or warped some and pulled up the corner!
but i was able to squirt some hot glue in there and secure it w/ clamps.
the celluclay flexed & did not crack or break,
and when i took the clamps off later, all was well.

another rookie move:
i masked the frame so as not to get it all crudded up w/ the celluclay,
but i should have unmasked it when the stuff was still a little wet
and tucked it in w/ fingertips.
i would have gotten a much better looking edge.
i suppose i can still 'mend' it w/ some more celluclay.

i am not discouraged.
just learning.
:-)

i will post some more as progress occurs.
going away for the 4th, so there will be no work until the 6th at the soonest.

thanks again for all your help.