Model railroad enthusiasts use a product called Hydrocal, I think its made by Woodland Scenics, to make their realistic rocks, outcroppings and such. It should be easy to find at any hobby shop that carries model trains. You can also purchase rock molds (also by woodland scenics) or use woodland scenics latex rubber and make your own molds from existing rocks (No, I dont work for woodland scenics, nor do I own stock - but I do love to work on my model railroad =) )
The hydrocal is fairly lightweight, but its easy to carve on and paint afterwards - I think I have also seen some tinting that can be added directly to the hydrocal. With weight being an issue, I would experiment (possibly doing the hydrocal in layers and adding lead weight in between (melted down fishing weights or pinewood derby car flat weights (also found in the local hobby shop or at your local scout shop). I am not sure how the layering would affect the adhesion between the layers - maybe a little gorilla glue or something would be in order - at any rate it would be worth experimenting with as the finished product is extremely lifelike (well duh - it IS molded from an existing rock... LOL)
Have fun and keep us posted!
Bill (all zeros so far but dying to find my first)
"There is only one good, that is knowledge; there is only one evil, that is ignorance."
~Socrates~
----- Original Message -----
From: Sir Balthazar
To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2003 3:11 AM
Subject: [LbNA] Re: Fake Rock Makers - Styrofoam
To those who have suggested styrofoam, I had considered it but have
rejected it due to its boyancy. We are already dealing with making it
lighter than a rock due to the hollow space inside. Making it of
styrofoam just seems such that the box will blow or float away.
Tonight at Michael's Craft Store, I bought some "Ovencraft Clay" and
will be trying it out for microboxes first. It supposedly fires at
350F in the oven. Obviously, I have to make sure to take out the film
cannister first before firing. Then I have to see if the cannister
will fit back in the hole. This stuff again warns of needing sealer
if it is going to be exposed to water. It is terra cotta colored but
can be painted. We shall see.
I spray painted the first two coats of the granite paint on the
celluloclay boxes tonight. Not very convincing yet. Then again, folks
see what they want to see. I think this will come with practice. When
I get a final spackle and then the sealer, I shall post the pics up
here. I think I also want to experiment with picking up some real
rock dust and coating the outside of the ovencrafted clay. Make some
terrain specific rocks to blend in.
Or is this all just crazy? I am going to a lot of trouble designing
stamps and writing esoteric clues for my Middle Earth series. I would
rather not have yahoos find them by mistake.
Any more info on carvable stone would be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Sir Balthazar of 100**100D
http://webpages.charter.net/astroweaver/letterboxing/letterbox.html
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