Robert started this thread in April, 2018
Robert.G
April 2018 in Masonry
Whilst painting the numerous castings of the Woodcutters Shack, and waiting for them to dry, I made this old brick castle wall for my next diorama. Entirely made of cardboard, paper, plaster and cement. The iron gates will follow.
Thanks for watching
Robert
vinceg
April 2018
Cheez, Robert. You continue to outdo yourself!
Seriously, that is a phenomenal accomplishment.
I hope you will post some notes on how you accomplish the look.
Cheers,
Vince
SteveCuster
April 2018
The wall looks terrific Robert. You are an artist.
Next time you build something like this I’d love to see a step by step tutorial.
-Steve
vietnamseabee
April 2018 edited April 2018
Nah…can’t be a model…must be photos from your most recent vacation ;-)…WOW. well done
Terry
sdrees
April 2018
Robert, Like I have said earlier, I am looking for a hint in your pictures that this is a model. I cant’ see any. I am going to get on board and wish you would do a step by step tutorial on this also. WOW!!!
admin
April 2018
Superb! There is so much to take in. Thanks so much for sharing.
Joel
April 2018
Beautifully done. I echo the sentiments of others, please teach me how you achieve such marvellous results.
kebmo
April 2018
absolutely fantastic. it doesn’t look like a model at all. please do a step by step on this.
MikeM
April 2018
I notice you neglected to mention the scale; 1:1, right? Amazing…
Robert.G
April 2018
Ok, on general request and by kind permission of Brett, a small tutorial. Fortunately I had already taken these photos for an article to be published in a Belgian train modeling magazine…
The base of the wall, the bricks the pillars are made out of cardboard. Glued with white wood glue.
Between the layers of brick a small strip of paper to ensure equal distance between them. Red base color on the bricks, then a variation of tones, the brickwork joints are plaster and pastels.
The plaster side of the wall is done with a mixture of plaster, cement and diluted white glue. Then several washes pastels and color pigment powders. Applied very carefully. Less is more !!!
The branches are dried roots of raspberries , the bushes come from my garden. They are a kind of moss that grows on branches of trees. Dried , colored and sprinkled with green.
This is not a copy of a real wall, but my impression of a plausible one. One that would suit my needs on the diorama. ( with some SW kits !!!) Costs, nearly nothing…just building pleasure.
If there are more questions, please fire away. 
vietnamseabee
April 2018 edited April 2018
The thickness of matboard (.065"/1.6mm), used by picture framers i.e. my wife, works out to be just about the correct thickness (height) of brick (HO)
KKarns
April 2018
Genius Robert!..beautiful work and wonderful tutorial…
kebmo
April 2018
wow. at first it looked to me like you were cutting the bricks from styrene strip, but cardboard is a lot cheaper…
i’m gonna have to try this sometime. thanks for sharing your techniques.
kebmo
April 2018
i guess the only remaining question is, what scale is this in?
Robert.G
April 2018
O . !!!
SteveCuster
April 2018
Fantastic Robert. Thanks for the tutorial.
MikeM
April 2018
vietnamseabee said:
The thickness of matboard (.065"/1.6mm), used by picture framers i.e. my wife, works out to be just about the correct thickness (height) of brick (HO)
Terry
This implies HO but inquiring minds want to know for sure. Also, what’s your secret for gathering up enough patience to do this using individual bricks??? Absolutely incredible.
Robert.G
April 2018
An iPod full of progressive rock ,fusion and classical music…
MikeM
April 2018
Sounds like your musical tastes are as broad as your modeling skills! ;^)
Bill
April 2018
Again, outstanding work Robert.
Most importantly I really appreciate seeing the “how” that gets us to your final result.
Well done, and thank you for sharing!
BILLR
July 2018
I have often returned to your posting because it contains a wealth of information, and it serves as a great example of what it takes to create a “look”! You literally build each brick to obtain it - sometimes there are no shortcuts. That’s a great lesson for all of us. (Observation broken down into units that can be built up to recreate a look.) Thank you for sharing these photos.
Robert.G
July 2018
Thanks BILLR. I am glad it is useful. That 's what a forum is meant for, right…?
Robert.G
July 2018
Dear Rockin’ Ed, now you made me blush… And don’t we all want to share our knowledge ? Of course, we’re on the SW forum… 
hoN3_rr
January 2024
Kind of gives a new meaning to the idea of “paper modeling”.