ABS Plasticard - LARGE RECTANGLES Textured Sheet - A4

A bigger block for coarse masonry

Eight by two millimeters is the largest rectangle this range of textured boards offers. The elongated shape changes the resulting impression: the wall comes across as more massive and suits farm buildings, retaining structures, embankment walls and station ramps rather than a fine city facade. The relief and the joint alike are pressed into the material, so the surface has genuine depth, not just artwork.

Within the range a simple rule applies: the larger or the more broken-up the subject, the coarser the resulting wall. The large square pattern and the fine rock face belong to the same group of larger subjects, and the coarsest of all is the rough rock.

Working with the board

For a build it is practical to start with a drawing on the back and always to cut in the middle of a joint, because the joint of two parts in a corner then practically disappears. Corners can also be dealt with by sanding both edges to forty-five degrees. The coloring comes out best starting from a dark base, through a dry brush on the edges of the blocks, to local patches of damp and moss at the foot of a wall. The material will take careful weathering with oil paints too.

Before gluing it is a good idea to level the surface underneath, because the relief emphasizes every unevenness and in raking light it cannot be overlooked. On large walls it proves itself to glue the board down in sections from one corner and to keep checking whether the rows of blocks hold a horizontal line. The offcuts will serve as ruined parts of a wall or as heaps of rubble and need not be thrown away.