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Cripplebush Rubber Rock Wall Shale 18
What’s a Rubber Rock?Let’s start with what they are not. Rubber Rocks are not molds. We sell textured, natural rubber castings that are ready to paint and install.The castings are stiff enough so they require minimal support, but flexible enough to bend around curves. Because the castings are flexible, the details bounce back when touched and don’t break. So we can reproduce a level of fine detail that cannot be produced in plaster or other commonly used brittle materials. Rubber Rocks can be easily trimmed with heavy scissors to fit any required space. Anything trimmed off can generally be used elsewhere on the layout, so there’s no waste.This product is 32″ inches by 7″ inches. When your Rubber Rocks arrive, you’ll see a plain, gray sheet of stiff, but still flexible rubber that can easily be painted or air brushed. This is not a mold. Instructions come with each rubber rock.Painting Rubber RocksWe recommend acrylic paints. Their ability to stay stuck on flexible rubber is truly remarkable. Poly Scale’s military and model railroad paints work very well, and come in a variety of brown and gray colors that are well suited to coloring rock surfaces. For larger projects, the thick acrylic paints sold in artist’s supply stores are very good, and far cheaper as well. However, these require that you blend your own colors, and you need to be careful not to allow thick globs of paint to dry on the surface.You must avoid any paints that are not water based. The solvents in other paints will soften or deteriorate the rubber surface, sometimes permanently. Acrylics work so well that there’s no need to use solvent based paints, anyway.There are three basic techniques to use to achieve realistic looking coloring in a short time: dry brushing the high spots, brushing dry pigments into the low spots, and usingdilute washes to put subtle coats of colors over wider areas. All three of these techniques are familiar to anyone who has painted plaster rocks in the past, or has applied weathering to locomotives and rolling stock. Both techniques are easier to use on the workbench, but they can be performed after the castings are installed as well.Dry brushing refers to a technique in which a fairly stiff, short-haired brush is used to apply paint only to the high spots on a model. It’s pretty easy to master. Dip only the tip of the brush into the paint, and then apply most (but not all) of the paint to a piece of scrap. Just as you notice the paint is no longer coming off the brush evenly (that is, when you start making streaks on the piece of scrap, rather than a smooth coat of paint), then it’s time to apply the rest of the paint to the model. At this point, there isn’t much paint on the brush, so as you brush the irregular surface of a rock casting, the paint only adheres to the high spots. That’s just what you want.Typically, the colors dry brushed onto the rock will be a shade or two lighter than the overall color of the outcrop. There are some exceptions to this, so let your own eye be your guide. Of course, if you have photos of the area you want to model, that will help guide your selection of colors.At least some of your dry brushing should be from up to down, simulating the effects of rainwater and mud dripping over the face of the outcrop. However, it is often easier to give individual beds a distinctive color if you brush from side to side, parallel to the bedding. Either way, you’ll only be able to dry brush a small area each time you load up the brush.Don’t try to rush this step. The most common mistake made in dry brushing is to leave too much paint on the brush. You’ll recognize this problem immediately, because you end up painting the low spots as well. The solution is simple: either put less paint on the brush to begin with, or remove more of it before painting it on the model.As you work, you’ll notice that paint makes its way from the tips of the brush bristles farther up. Once this happens, it’s time to dip the brush in water and clean it. Pat it with a paper towel to get it properly dry before continuing.If you want to really emphasize shadows in the low spots, you can use dry pigmentsfrom an art supply store or very fine-grained, dried soil that you prepare yourself. Burnt Sienna pigment is particularly good at establishing dark shadows in a hurry. Use a thoroughly dry paint brush to apply these powders to the surface, then spray the surface with wet water. The water will redistribute the powders into the natural low spots on the casting. It’s a very realistic effect, and a nice way of covering up any mistakes you may have made during dry brushing.Applying thin washes of slightly different colors of paint is very easy, and it helps tone down any excessive contrast you may have introduced when dry brushing. We use Poly Scale diluted about 1:4 (paint:water) or Woodland Senics Liquid Pigments diluted about 1:2. The secret here is to wet the rubber surface beforehand by spraying it with a thin mist of wet water, which is simply tap water with a drop or two of detergent added. You want to just barely moisten the surface, without leaving a mobile layer of water there.When a paintbrush carrying dilute acrylic paint is touched to a wetted surface, the paint seems to jump off the brush and rapidly disperse onto the surface. The result is a feathered edge, a gradual fall-off in color where the paint gets progressively thinner with distance away from the brush. Let the paint dry before you put too much on the surface, then go back and apply a wash of a slightly different color. Remember that you’re not trying to cover the surface evenly each time.If you produce an effect you don’t like, don’t worry. As long as you use dilute paints that don’t build up to obscure detail, you can always keep applying different washes and pigments until you get it right. Some of our best results have come after several different techniques were applied in succession. After all, that’s how nature colors rock surfaces. The last technique worth mentioning is the use of felt tip pens (such as magic markers). One of the most effective ways of emphasizing the bottom of a rock overhang is to simply run a black magic marker along the bottom. Poofinstant shadows! Artists’ supply stores often carry a variety of more expensive markers in more subtle gray and brown colors as well. These can be used to either add highlights or darken shadows.
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Category: Toys and Hobbies:Model Railroads and Trains:HO Scale:Parts and Accessories:Scenery and Trees
Location: Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania