Hello There! I have had some time to continue with the desert wadi. The first part is here.
While the first wadi section was faced with the larger rock casts from Woodland Scenics, I decided to start another section and as one side was very low I started to use the smaller casts. I also took the larger casts and cut them down to a more manageable depth.
I cut the hard casts with a straight metal edge of a steel ruler and a Stanley knife or craft blade. I scored a guide line across the back of the cast, so I did not damage the rock detail on the front of the casting.
Once the guide line is a few millimetres deep I could either snap the casting at the weak point or, if the casting was very thick, take a general building saw to the back of the casting and continue to cut the casting completely though.
After the styrofoam was cut to size, using a Stanley knife, and then glued in place using expanding foam, I fixed the rock face casting in place using tile adhesive. In places I have had to used expanding foam again to keep the castings in place.
In the instructions for using the expanding foam, apart from wearing gloves, it recommends spraying the area to be glued with a water spray. As my sprayer decided to stop working I simply brush painted the water onto both surfaces.
As can be seen here the expanding foam has spread up over the castings. This can be easily removed once it has set. I trim the excess foam so it is level with the top of the casting so I can lay tile adhesive over it.
Here you can see one of the numerous joints between each casting. These can be covered or disguised with further tile adhesive or trimming any excess expanding foam and gluing the surface covering of stones, sand and sawdust over any unsightly gaps.
Here you can see the castings, from the rear, extending over the styrofoam sides. I found it beneficial to retain the ragged edge and build up the styrofoam to match it.
Here is the first wadi section, I started a few months ago. I have painted the surface with yellow ochre, thinned with water and extra PVA added. Before the first coat has dried I added thinned blotches of raw umber, burnt umber and burnt sienna. This makes the desert colour irregular and more realistic.
The final painting is a heavy dry brush of Iraqui sand, or equivalent, and the various dry brushes of Iraqui sand and white.
This is some of the detail of the first wadi tile, but still requires a dry brush.
Here you can see the checks to make sure that the two terrain sections line up.
This is one side.
And here is the other.
I will post the next step for this project soon.
