Well this is looking promising... (Patreon)

Hi Guys!

First day of experimentation and crafting out of the way and we have some promising signs for the project...

Firstly, pretty pictures! These are the first two examples of the new mountainblocks in progress, and damn do they look better! between the flush-fit mechanics and the new texture you can barely notice where one ends and the other begins...unlike the originals 😂 that black shadow line is so noticeable by comparison.

Pretty happy with that!

Secondly,  as you can see I've updated my stone texturing technique, and will be featuring an in depth guide to my personal methods I've been adapting as I go. I'm far from saying I'm the greatest expert, but these methods have vastly improved my results, and hopefully will for you guys too.

On that note, you might notice different coloured foam! It's Styrodur, but that will not impede those who can't get it. US foam seems far better than my UK stuff for rock crafting, as mine (ravatherm) is too fibrous. Styrodur is the best I can get my hands on, but pink (EDIT: Owens Corning - thanks John!) should be fine.

I grabbed this Styrodur as an experiment to compare foam types (video incoming once I get my hands on US pink/blue foam), and I've found it is SO MUCH BETTER than my home grown stuff for rocks specifically, though I find it worse for stone wall textures and such...

Yeti, Alistair and any other Aussies - Knauf is pretty much identical to Styrodur (Yeti sent me a piece to test 😂)

Finally, I've tested two variant methods for those who would rather not use the caveman technique or foam carving, but still want realistic rock textures. OR those who want possibly the most realistic, albeit more time consuming...

I've experimented with using rock moulds with both hot glue and my mod podge and grout mix (sans dirt). The results are promising, especially for the mod podge! The hot glue is tough as hell, but suffers from bubbles.

Theoretically you can cut these to fit the facing of a block and just cast a thin enough layer to make them all line up reasonably well. This won't be the method I use for time reasons, but it is pretty interesting! SEEMS a good way to get a realistic rocky result without learning any kind of rock carving techniques, or if your local foam is not good for it.

Hopefully this has been an interesting little update for you guys, I did far more than this but script writing and block cutting are less photogenic 😂

I'll be back when I have more to show 😁