As scheduled, all the sloppy Gypsolite got done today. I had some extra "soup" left over and put another 'lump' between the tracks in the layout's front.
I overlapped the sheets more this time than I did before and think it will give me a stronger base for the subsequent layers. Again, I'm happy that I did the fascia boards first. It was much easier to terminate the plaster edges. Previously, it was very ambiguous in deciding what to do when I came to the edge of the screen wire.
The small indentation at the mid-bottom is intentional. It's where the main waterway is going to be, but I think when I pour the Hydrostone to level it all, I'll let it spread out a bit farther (further?).
Since I had so much plaster left and didn't want to waste it, I took it as an opportunity to build another little rise in the flat between some frontage tracks. First I had to quickly cobble together the cardboard skeleton so I wouldn't waste a ton of plaster and Scupltamold. Pieces are held with hot glue.
Next I used the usual paper towel/plaster method to fill it all in.
There's no strategic reason for this bump other than adding interest. Here's another view with more dramatic lighting.
I've noticed something when using Gypsolite and paper towels... as I use a batch the consistency changes. It becomes denser and has much more perlite in it. I surmise that the paper towels are very absorbent and suck out the water from the mix in preference to the solids. As the batch is consumed more and more solids are present. The last few pieces are in a plaster that's almost troweling consistency. Incidentally, Gypsolite's recommended mix ratio is about 1 part water to 2.6 parts plaster by weight. That makes a slurry that designed to be troweled on plaster lath walls (vertical surfaces). For paper towel soaking I using 1 part water to 1.5 parts plaster by weight. I measure both the water and plaster on the electronic scale. Whether it's the right mix ratio or not, at least I'm consistent.
