Experimenting with Ground Goop

I like Dave Frary's scenery methods, own several of his books, and have met him a couple of times at Springfield. If you are a model railroader, you likely can say nearly the same things yourself. His techniques work. Still, I have been intrigued by Lou Sassi and his "Ground Goop" method of laying scenery materials over a spreadable sub-layer. How it differs from Sculptamold, which others love, I cannot say. All I know is that I wanted to try it myself. Lou was originally a member of the same NMRA Division that I am now in, but sadly he moved away just around the time I got involved so I never met him personally.

Lou's recipe for Ground Goop is:
- 1 part Celluclay
- 1 part Vermiculite
- 1 part brown latex paint
- 2/3 or 3/4 part Elmers glue ("Glue All", not "School Glue")
- shot of Lysol liquid concentrate.
* add water to desired consistency (like oatmeal)

Celluclay is essentially paper mache material, which I remembered not enjoying very much as a kid. I hated getting my hands dirty then, and still do today. Due to the pandemic when I was collecting materials, I had to order this online as hobby stores weren't considered "essential" and therefore not open. 

Vermiculite is used for gardening and lawn care, so I wandered into Lowes (they were still open) and assumed I could just purchase a bag and be on my way. Instead, what I discovered was a really rocky substance that didn't match Lou's pictures at all. As it turns out, vermiculite comes in several grades, ranging from fine (Grade 1) to super course (Grade 4). Oddly, I don't recall ever seeing this mentioned in any of his articles, or a recommendation on the correct size to buy, but I assumed it is important to get the fine stuff. My local stores didn't carry anything but the course stuff, so I ordered it through Amazon (my wife gets free shipping). 

The brown paint was easy, sort of. Wanting to follow in Lou Sassi's footsteps, I sought out the Pittsburgh Paint brand "Tobacco Brown" color that he always called for. However, the local dealer was 90 minutes away and they hadn't even heard of the color. So I went with Sherwin Williams brand "Turkish Coffee" which turned out to be too dark for the layout. It was good to seal the benchwork and remove the raw wood color, but it didn't look right for my area's local dirt. As I laid and ballasted the track, I then switched to Olympic brand "Cocoa Delight" (OL728.5) paint which worked really well. But then I ran out, and due to the Pandemic the paint department at Lowes was extremely slow. So, I took the paint sample card to the local Ace Hardware and they made up a custom mix that matched it. So, in some places I have three different shades of brown. I guess that is how the real world is!

The glue is regular Elmer's "Glue All" glue. I didn't even realize until recently that there was a "School Glue" formulation and don't know what the difference is. I just assumed it was all the same. Lou Sassi's "Basic Scenery for Model Railroaders" first edition book calls for 1/2 part of glue, where as his second edition calls for 2/3 part. I have also seen recipes using 3/4 part, so who knows? I went with 2/3 as that was in his latest book.

Next, I tried to get some of the Lysol concentrate but due to Covid it is not available. I am not sure if it will ever be available. As such, I only made small batches so that I could use it up before it goes bad or gets moldy. I can confirm that it lasted at least 3 weeks without turning into a chia pet. 

So, one night I decided to make up a batch and work on some scenery. I had purchased a large flexible plastic bowl and spatula from the dollar store, and away I went. The amount I made was about 8-10 cups total, and I assumed it would be enough. It was thick and sticky and not easy to work with at all. It certainly didn't like to stick to the green florist foam I had used as the base of the hills. So, I took the bowl to the sink and added more water, and mixed it in by hand. Once I had a looser textured "batter" it worked better. 

However, it was pretty messy and I am glad that I had covered the tracks with blue tape to protect them. My North Albany yard section was hiding under a large contractor's black plastic garbage bag, and that was also a smart move. My hands turned a weird color of brown, and bits and pieces fell all over the place and looked like a stray dog had been there... if you know what I mean. I have never used Sculptamold before but I see it featured in lots of model train magazines, so perhaps it is easier. Once I figured out the quirks with this stuff it was fine.

After I let it sit overnight I remembered that I could add additional scenery material without having to wait for it to dry. So, I sprinkled on real dirt, ground foam, and other scenic materials here and there. I even dug out some small rocks from the backyard and embedded them in the terrain where I thought they looked good. Then, everything was misted with rubbing alcohol and more of my matte medium was applied. Some of the dirt sloughed down the hill and landed where it would in real life, which was a neat trick. 

And that was where I left it to cure for a couple of days. I had spread it heavy, so I gave it time to fully set up. Then, it was ready for static grass and trees.