Got sloppy today. I added the Sculptamold into the transition for all the base plates at the front of the layout including the Heritage Park and the Idaho Hotel base. Again, I mixed it with some W-S Earthtone base to kill the whiteness. I put protective masking tape on all the track.
Before doing the plastering, I added a filler strip to the exposed Heritage edge so I wasn't stuffing plaster underneath the baseplate and wasting plaster. I measured, cut and painted some heavy strathmore, and then fastened it to the plate edges using that very helpful 3M transfer tape. Once you learn how to handle it—it's really, really sticky—it's not too hard to wok with it. I also boxed in the remaining open area around the crossing signal base.
This picture shows the filler before painting and final fastening.
I started the plater filling with the fire house and appliance store base edges. I also masked the base to keep the plaster where it belongs. Again, it will take a couple of days to fully cure before painting and ground cover.
Here's the filler at the Heritage Park. Notice, I knocked over one of the columns and two fence sections. I'll wait until all the terrain work is complete before putting it back together. It was kinda delicate.
This image shows an in-process shot of how I first glom a blob (technical term…) of STM and then spread it with some sculpting tools. I wet the tools so it slides on the plaster and doesn't grab it. I mixed the STM more on the dry side so it didn't slump and stayed where I put it.
The STM was actually starting to set at the far right end of this wall and I had to hurry to get it shaped.
Here's the finished plaster work on the long wall. I tried cleaning of the plaster slop on the painted parts of the wall, but it's still pretty sloppy so I may have to apply some paint before I landscape. With dirt, grass, weeds, tall grass and some bushy things, will finish this all up.
After plastering I got to work on the Sherman. Since the fellow who gave me the model had done so much work on it, I was able to almost complete the assembly in the hour I had left today. All that's left is some photo-etched stuff, a lot of painting and the tracks (which also get painted). It's a nicely detailed model.
I still don't have a solution for the printing problem and the Elegoo Service Dept in China is closed for New Year's celebration until Feb 21st. They may be able to answer before then, but I'm not expecting it.
