How do you build good rock walls?

Modeling Subjects Dioramas
1

Altogether apart from building walls for buildings,how do you build good rock walls? I’ve tried taping two pieces of 1" bass wood together with a spacer in between, then piling in plaster rubble, then pouring in the yummy half and half water/white glue mixture, but guess what? The glue sticks to the basswood (big surprise there.) The wall needs to have somewhat of a boxy, rectagular shape, so piling them on top of each other won’t do it.

Thanks.

2

If you want the look of rock, not necessarily the feel, there was a dio in GSM I think and it said the guy sculpted his rock walls out of putty. I guess you make a wall of putty then just carve it? Other people most likely know more about it.

3

Here is how I do for medieval looking rock-walls(BIG rocks) for larger than 1/35 scale stuff. Might work for the smaller stuff too, simply haven’t tried it yet.

Take foamcore/balsa wood and fashion a wall core, cover the wall roughly with putty(slight uneven will work well for rocks).

Now take an implement(toothpick, etc) and take putty away from " between" the rocks, smoothen the edges. Now you got your rocks defined, next take a piece of aluminum foil and cumble into small balls some tigher, some looser.

Roll the balls over the “rocks” whie applying slight pressure this should give you a random pitted look(don’t forget the edges), varying between the tight and loose balls will create different sized indentations.

Set aside to dry, paint and dry-brush to finish. Recessed areas between the rocks of course represent mortar and thus are a slightly different colour.

HTH.

4

you could also take the foam/wood core, carve your design in it, then apply putty, and or carve the design it that. then just let dry, paint and weather. before the putty drys, you could also stipple it with yer fingure, or aluminum foil, or something else, whatever gets the desired texture

5

I would think that carving the pattern into foam or something like that would be a good way to go about it. I’ve also seen some rock walls buitl up out of actual rock, although this process is, admittedly, VERY long and tedious.

6

You can also buy sections of resin walls made by Armand Bayardi. Here’s one site http://www.sentinelminiatures.com/Page_13_Sentin.html and here’s another http://www.milminwh.com/bayardi_p2.htm

7

You may also give pouring some plaster a try, for my building walls I just make a quicky form out of kid’s big lego blocks.
Then you could draw on a pattern of stones, and take a dremmel and carve out the design.

8

in osprey WWII dioramas they show how to make rock walls…BUT to save you an hour of your time and about $20 (your welcome, put that money to another kit [:D]) they took a bunch of rocks.(gravel) glued them together with super glue (not that big of a section) and then make a mold out of it…a resin copy… and there! you’re set for life…make as many as u want, put them all together and tada!! (hint: vary the order…trun some upside down…so its not the same throughout) hope this helps-DJ

9

DoubleD that kinda sounds the way GW recommend to make walls for wargaming (sans the mold & casting of course).

The GW terrain making book has some interesting ideas in it.