How to make a micro indoor rock course. Tutorial

[hugy]

Part 2 is up

[DickyT]

looks great painted!

[BOZINATOR]

Hugy,
You are doing an excellent job One thing I thought about was the grip or traction. I didn't know if it was even needed......time will tell. Thanks for taking the time to show us the way to make a rock climb DIY style.
jim

[hugy]

The grip/traction is pretty good, it is fairly realistic I think. You have enough grip to get over the most parts but it isn't so grippy that every climb is easy. So it is just the right amount for me. I don't like it when i just gun the throttle and climb over something you have to think about a path with grip to.

[k20man]

thatsss nice track !!!!

[jeepfreek]

I have tried my hand at the Woodland Scenics rock molds but I really like this aluminum foil idea! Maybe with the ones I've already made and these new ones my couse will be top notch! Thanks and waiting on pins and needles for part 3!

[sivad]

thank for the info looks good

[Stoovey2004]

How heavy is the plaster?

[hugy]

Originally Posted by Stoovey2004

How heavy is the plaster?

The plaster is heavy. If you use a bag of 20 pounds plaster it will be about 30 pounds mixed with water and dried. So it will be a pretty heavy course but it is firm and provides enough grip. But the table you are building on should be strong.

[Stoovey2004]

Bummer...I want something light.

[macruz]

good technique, nice tutorial, and great job. thanks

[Stoovey2004]

Where do you guys get your foam for sculpting the scenery?

[hugy]

It is just the cheapest styrofoam insulation board from the diy store.

[Stoovey2004]

Originally Posted by hugy

It is just the cheapest styrofoam insulation board from the diy store.

The pink stuff?!

[FireWire79]

Originally Posted by Stoovey2004

Bummer...I want something light.

There are a few other options out there for this scale application. The pink insulation foam is pretty high density, is easy to shape (provided you have an electric knife, which is like $20), is easy to paint, and weighs a lot less than plaster.

Let me dig up some links for you one sec. (I'm in Iraq, so my internet is really, really slow. Like dial-up would be a boost.) While I'm digging through the internet, let me explain how I know about this stuff. I used to play a lot of tabletop miniatures games, like DnD and Warhammer 40k, real nerd stuff. And in order to make things more exciting, you need scenery. Well, you can just buy it, but as we all know that gets expensive, so you learn how to build lightweight, but strong and portable scenery.

So, the standard is, at least for tabletop games, is pink foam. The stuff is amazing. Plus, add in some Woodland Scenics flocking, trees and whatnot, you can create a pretty impressive looking battlefield for less than $50.

Ok, here come the links. I tired to get some of the good ones, but you should be able to get the jist of it.

Here is one on a wasteland. Most of that stuff was done with pink insulation and cheap styrene tubing.

This one is a nice example of what a little pink foam and some plastic parts can do for you.

This is a pretty good article on how to make modular scenery, so that you don't have the same layout twice.

This and this should be some really good reading if they work. Looks like the company that taught me everything I know about scenery has decided to pull the plug on free knowledge. (Looks like the images have been pulled, but the info is there, old school style, just text. Yikes)

Anyways, if you have questions about it, let me know, and I will try to help you out.

[hugy]

Originally Posted by Stoovey2004

The pink stuff?!

No the white foam. Just the cheapest one you can find.

[Stoovey2004]

FireWire, thanks for those links! Very helpful.

Originally Posted by hugy

No the white foam. Just the cheapest one you can find.

My local DIY store only has pink foam. When I used to work in a building supply store years ago, they had white stuff in a wide variety of thicknesses.

Walmart has some white foam, but it's more airy, more open...not tightly packed or whatever. Will that work, or should I use something else?

[hugy]

I use the airy stuff. It is just an underlayer so it doesn't have to be shaped to much. Only the contours of the track will be made with this foam. Just the cheapest foam you can find it doesn't really matter what you use. I used the styrofoam with the big white balls.

[Stoovey2004]

Cool. I'm also going to use some pieces of cardboard taped up into various shapes. I can make some 3D rocks that way too, without the weight of the real thing.

I plan on covering it all with plaster cloth and maybe paper mache. Is grip going to be an issue with that stuff? I could always spray a glue wash and add some sand or something prior to painting.

[hugy]

I have plenty of grip on the bare plaster.