Thank ya hound...appreciate all the advice..I used plaster cloth on two shoeboxes with paper and the tunnel came out awesome.  I mixed up P of P to brush over it to strengthen it a bit more. Yes I'm not making rock molds as my croppings are tree bark...a little kept secret that thank god finally came out, because I didn't want to spend too much on molds and hydrocal. At first I was going to try hydrocal , but that's really for rock molds as most modelers have recommended. Tree bark for rock croppings are awesome!  

The brand name for the 'current' sculptamold is AMACO.  I did a search on sculptamold alternatives and did notice celluclay, so I called both my local craft stores and they did not carry it.  I think their brand name is Activa? Now I just have to wait a few days until I get my bag of sculptamold, so my tunnel will just have to wait! lol

After more research on all three of these products I found that what I actually need to set my rock cropping's (tree bark) on the side of my tunnel is sculptamold, where I cannot find anywhere.  It used to be sold by Woodland Scenics, but not anymore..can't find it at Michaels or any other craft stores.  The only place was online at Amazon.com so I orders a 3lb bag.  Hydrocal is best for castings as mentioned, but sculptamold is not...It has cellulose bits and easier to work with in sculpting on top of plaster cloth or plain plaster.  It has a little longer working time too before drying and you can add color to it.

Thnx Len! I'm going with Hydrocal for placing the rock croppings.  I'm going to use painters putty for the gaps.  Thanks for the advise.

I've seen videos of hydrocal being used for that but when I saw how realistic tree bark can be and saw a few videos, I experimented with them.  It makes cool rocks when painted the right way by dry brushing different layers of grey and lighter colors. They also can be used for outcroppings. I might just give hydrocal a try.

Hello all,
Just got my train tunnel portal mnt. all plaster clothed up and now I'm ready to add some rock outcroppings before painting, and was wondering what would be recommended to adhere the rock cropping's to the mnt. side.  I'm actually using tree bark for the rock outcroppings. There's also a Sculptamold product I've seen used, but not sure which one would be better.  Any suggestions?  Thanks!

Now I never thought of that...using double sided tape on this type of track definitely escapes the glue mess that's for sure. And if you ever need track replacement, it's a cinch to just pop the track off...hmmmm...great suggestion, thnx!

Hello all...I have the KATO Unitrack set on a 4X8 layout with 1" foam board already glued down in place.  I'm now ready to glue down my track, which I have already outlined my track configuration on the foam board.  Is there any special gluing process you would recommend? Type of glue? Do I even have to glue it down? I read somewhere that if I ballast my tracks, I don't have to?  If I don't ballast my tracks then I have to?  Not sure how much merit was in that statement.  Any advice would be helpful.  Thanks!

Hello all.  I am just about ready to lay down ground cover for my HO scale 4X8 desert layout and was wondering what kind of spray cement substitutes you would recommend other than buying the Woodland Scenic spray.  It's kind of pricey and I've been trying to cut cost on my layout as much as I can. Cutting foam for my rock formations, using tree bark and plaster of Paris, and plaster cloth worked out nicely lowering cost, and now I'm ready for the paint and covering process. Is a 50/50 solution of Elmer's glue and water doable with a few drops of detergent in a spray bottle ok, or will it dry to a kind of chalky coating?  I've heard that some modelers use hair spray? Any tips of what to use and ratio would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Hawk4117

ok so I went out and bought two kinds of small shot sinkers at Big 5 sporting goods and used the smallest one first, thinking if it wasn't heavy enough I would resort to the larger one.  I flattened the sinker with a pair of needle nose pliers and using the double sided tape that came with a package of square weights for rolling stock that I bought at a train hobby store, I cut off a very small piece.  Then I loosened the pony screw, not taking it off, just loosening it enough to swivel it outward to the side and with tweezers I attached the sinker to the tape and then to the top of the pony truck and then screwed the truck back in place.  SUCCESS! No more derailing issues! Thanks for the tips guys!

Thanks Jonathan! I didn't think of that at all.  I'll take your advise and add some weight on the pony truck area and see if that will do the trick. My rolling stock has no problem on the Kato turnouts. It really doesn't look that bad running without the pony truck and not to noticeable, but to the seasoned railroader, it would probably look a little bare on the front end. lol   Thanks again!

Hawk

Hello all. I'm a newbie to this wonderful hobby so I seek your council. I have a problem with my new loco derailing at the turnouth areas of my layout.  It seems to handle the 19" curves ok. I have the kato unitrack 3-103 set and Kato power supply.  I really love the loco, but just to play with my new toy without frustration I unscrewed the 2 front wheels and now it runs perfect. Any suggestions on what to do would be grateful.  Thanks