Drill marks in cliffs Duplicating the drill bit marks on blasted rock faces/Mark Maynard
PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR The author’s scenery is in the early stages (lots of trees and ground cover to go), but the effect of the drill marks on the rocks can be seen. H
aving been in the hobby for over 30 years, it’s hard to remember what I’ve read about or seen on someone’s layout. Of course, it could be just my age that is affecting my memo- ry. Anyway, my point is that it is hard to come up with new ideas to write about without the possibility of step- ping on somebody else’s work. I think this is new, so here goes.
Last year at an NMRA division meet- ing held near my home in Ohio, I gave a clinic on making rock molds using lumps of coal as the pieces to copy. Coal makes very nice rock faces because of its layered texture, just like many of the rocks left by mother nature. I had made several molds and their corre- sponding plaster castings, and the clin- ic was well received. But, as always, I was looking for a different slant from what other folks had done. After all, making rock molds is not a new art form, nor is using coal for the masters. So, after pondering for a bit, I came upon the idea of drilling rows of holes in the now idle lumps of coal to try to du- plicate the look of the blasted cliff walls that are common along railroads and highways. It was a bit tricky in that the RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
coal wanted to fracture as I drilled the rows of holes on my drill press, but af- ter several trying attempts, I got sever- al lumps drilled.
Then, it was time for the moment of truth, I took a chisel and a rubber mal- let and cracked the lumps of coal along the drill lines to achieve the look that I was going for. Again, there were a cou- ple failures because of fracturing, but I
did manage to get about six good chunks to make suitable molds. Next came the easier part, giving these cliffs about thirty coats of liquid latex rubber. I know that many coats may be overkill, but I like strong, durable molds that can be used time and time again. I also lend these molds to other modelers in the area. To this end, I laminate a layer of cheesecloth
Blasting cuts and excavations in rock involves drilling holes for explosives, and depend- ing on the type of rock, the drill marks may remain on the stone face. To simulate this the author used a piece of coal that had been drilled and split to make a master for a mold.
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