A real life cave offers a reference point for modeling your own.
Caves are fascinating for their beauty and mystery as well as their unique wildlife. Building a model cave requires that you consider how much of the cave you wish to show, but as a general rule, you will probably want to make a visible cavern complete with stalactites and stalagmites and perhaps water pools. The basic requirement is time and space, but you can make a very interesting cave formation with relatively inexpensive materials.
Instructions
1. Cut a length of plywood 2 to 4 inches longer than you desire the model to be when completed.
2. Cut the chicken wire or dog wire to a length approximately twice as long as you desire the final model to be.
3. Form the wire over the top half of the ball and bend back the wire so that it creates a semi-circular shape with an open face.
4. Reinforce with a second and layer of wire, tying the two layers together with florist's wire. Repeat until the cave form will hold its shape.
5. Crinkle newspaper into various elongated and rounded forms and tape them to the inside of the cave walls with masking tape. Florist's wire may be helpful here as well. This will simulate rock texture.
6. Take a strip of the plaster bandages, also known as modroc, and dip it into warm water for a few seconds until moist. Invert the cave structure and, working from the center out, layer the plaster bandages along the inside of the cave first until the basic texture looks good. Allow to dry.
7. Create a cave floor by using wadded newspaper and masking tape as desired and coat with plaster bandages.
8. Create stalagmites and stalactites by wrapping newspaper and tape around toothpicks, wooden skewers or dowel rods, leaving a little of the stick showing.
9. Press the exposed stick end of the stalagmites and stalactites into the wire frame where desired, using gentle pressure.
10. Wrap plaster bandages around the stalagmites and stalactites and smooth it over to form a bond and allow to dry.
11. Spray at least two coats of primer on the interior and exterior features of the cave model and allow to dry.
12. Paint the interior with orange, tan, brown or other colors.
13. Bring the cave top and bottom together and use bandages, plaster or gypsum cement to smooth over the gaps. Paint with gray paint by hand along the seams when done and then cover with your interior paints.
14. Paint the cave exterior as desired.
Related posts
The brain is the organ that allows people to think, learn, speak, move, feel emotions and make memories. Even though the brain is only one organ, it has regions that function together and individu...
The style of the ranger's cabin should be appropriate for your area of the country.Construction of a house for a park ranger must meet all the building code requirements of any other house in its...
Rocky slopes like this one are easy to model using plaster.Varied and interesting scenery is the key to an attractive model railroad layout. Rocky outcrops and boulders are a visually striking ele...
Plaster model created through the molding process.Plaster of Paris is a versatile modeling material that you can use to create detailed models with the aid of flexible molds. The plaster dries sol...
Make an aquarium cave for fish who like privacyMake a cave in an aquarium for pet fish and other aquatic life that enjoy privacy or are territorial. Homemade caves can also add to the realistic lo...
