Plaster Cloth

A shell that holds its shape without supports

A hill on a layout has to be light, stiff and quick to build at the same time. The classic solution joins three layers: a frame of crossed cardboard strips or of shaped foam, a thin shell over it that closes the frame in, and a surface finish at the end. It is precisely the middle layer that this material takes care of. The gauze is saturated with plaster from the factory, so mixing and measuring fall away - a piece is cut off, dipped in lukewarm water for two seconds and laid onto the frame.

How the strip is worked

The work goes quickly and a wet layer forgives mistakes: as long as the plaster has not set, a hollow, a ridge or a bed can be modeled in with the fingers. The pieces are laid with an overlap and gone over with a damp finger, so that the mesh of the fabric is filled and no cavity is left under the surface. Anyone who wants a smoother result draws one more thin layer of thin plaster over the set area, while anyone who needs texture lets the fabric show through and uses it as the texture of rock.

Besides landscape the material is used for lining tunnel tubes, for strengthening the underside of a board where an opening is cut and for quick repairs of cracked terrain. The dry surface is absorbent, so it takes thinned paints as well as glue under scatter material. The rest of the roll has to be kept dry, because moisture ruins the plaster in the fabric before it can be used.

The strip can also be cut dry into narrow strips, which suits gullies and the space between the tracks on an embankment. Anyone working above finished track covers it with foil beforehand, because the thinned compound runs into the tie grid and once it has hardened it can be got out of there only mechanically, with the risk that a rail is loosened in the process.