Rock casting idea!

[P5se Camelback]

...tried something new ... cast rocks ... using aluminum foil. ... got MUCH better results than the ones in ... the magazine. I'm really "green" when it comes to scenery ...

Sure, Kevin, I've tried that one before! That one has been around for a while, I think from the late sixties or early seventies. As you discovered for yourself, it is possible to get some pretty good results with that method! It all really boils down to how well you scrunch/fold/crush your foil. After all, this is your mold!

And as far as being "green" when it comes to scenery, we've all been there. The advantage you have is that you are starting at a younger age than many of us! That means you'll have the potential to be good at it younger than a lot of us. The best thing you can do is try stuff ... if it doesn't work to your satisfaction, tear it out and try something different!

As far as rock molds being expensive, allow me to suggest ...
I always had my eyes open for "nature in miniature," real rocks that had the kind of look that exposed rock faces have in northeast Pennsylvania, the locale of my LS&W. I found possibly a dozen or so (on long weekends and vacations to my parent's summer cottage in the Pocono Mountains in northeast Pennsylvania) and kept them in a box cleverly labeled "LS&W - STRATTA" on the outside. My former wife never questioned the moving of this very heavy box when we moved (several times.) Had she suspected it was a for real "box of rocks" they would have remained in the back yard of the first house they were moved from.

All a funny story to impress upon you the fact that some of the best models for rock faces in scenery are the rocks themselves! Over the years, I have made quite a few of my own molds, pulled from parts of these rocks (some rocks gave up three or four molds, they were so good!!) Molds are nor that tough to make … get some of that “paint-on latex mold-making stuff, sprits the rock you want to pull the mold from with a mold release (I used water with several drops of dish soap in it)and then paint on one coat after the next until you have about four or five layers, then paint on another coat, lay some gauze on it making sure to push it down into all the crevasse with the brush, and then continue painting on another four or five coats. Let it cure for a couple days, and then carefully pull it off … voilá… rock mold! Cheap! Take care of it (wash it, dry it, a little baby powder and into a plastic bag ‘till the next use) … it will last a while!

In the meantime, by all means, keep working that foil mold technique! You’ll be a “rock-makin’ pro” before you know it!