Best material for groundwork?

Hi Marty and welcome back to the hobby,yes alot has changed since even when I first started back in the 80s(been back now for 3or4 yrs),aftermarket stuff everywhere you look,not too much in the way of scratchbuilding nowadays and no Monogram armour anymore,it`s a different world now,lol!

That is exactly the very reason that I`m not using Celluclay in this second kick at the can here,I now use natural dirts,sands,Life-like and Seanic grasses,roots for trees,tile grout in natural colours,real pebbles etc. These are all applied straight to the base dry and sealed with whiteglue and water mix.Expirementing is the best way to develope a system of getting the right mix of groundcover,then comes the rubble. Crushed chaulk,broken plaster,broken plantpots,cat litter and real crushed brick are some of the things I use for rubble.

I use plumbers putty - 2 part epoxy paste, it dries really hard, has good working time and cheap, you can also apply some ground work - like trees right into it if your layer is thick, and that will hold it in place.

Welcome back!

I'm still a fan of Celluclay. I mix in some white glue, earth tone acrylic paint, railraod ballast for texture and just enough water to get this to the texture of thick oatmeal. Before applying this to a base, I drill a number of 1/8 inch holes to give the mixture more bite. It's pre-painted so tyou're ready to add a bit of highlighting. I'll then use Woodland Scenics fine turf, bushes and long grass, Armand Bayardi trees and stumps, (Pressed into the moist celluclay to get a better feel), 3 Guyz "Just Grass," various Hudson & Allen forest debris, and dried flowers from the local Michael's or AC Moore.

Here's a link to my gallery at Armorama. Have a look at the results.

http://photos.kitmaker.net/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=591