Smooth-it, round 02

Smooth-It is a fantastic Woodland Scenics product. It's pretty forgiving - I mean, it's basically plaster. But, it's so easy to mix and use that it makes it easy to work with. As long as you follow the instructions, you're good to go.


They have this puffy tape to use and it goes on GREAT! It's super easy to use and you can bend it to follow lines and areas with ease.

Once the tape is down, you can pour. The idea is to pour a little into the center of the tape area, then "smooth it" - getting some sort of straight and running it over the top of your tape to smooth things down and come to the top of the tape line. The tape is road thick, in theory, so you have the proper height for your scale.

I started by mixing a small amount in a small container to get the first roads in and down.

However, I had a larger area to cover with the second round, so I mixed up a huge batch and just went for it. Obviously, I could not run a giant, straight piece of board across the tape at this point. I just eyeballed it and gave it a go. You can sand the product, so I wasn't so worried.

The smaller roads were easy, but I messed up the mix and got a few bubbles which, when sanded out, made some holes in the product. Not deal breakers, but a drag for sure. All my fault and not the product.

I tried to get a little creative with the product as well, making this lumpy and rough section for an area under some track toward the front of the layout. We'll see how this goes in the final.

Road up to the Harbor Area

This was the biggest pour I had done with Smooth-It and I really wasn't sure how it was going to go. It turned out really well and was looking like I wanted once I sanded and painted! Whew! (photos to follow)

Village area pour

Village area pour

The only real crap part of the Smooth-it system is the tape the sell for it. Yes, it goes down GREAT. Yes, it sticks well. But, it stays down TOO well. It's a bit of a pain when it gets stuck to the deck. I had to break out a screwdriver and scrape. Most of the time, the deck is going to be covered with scenic materials anyway, so the only real pain point is the time it takes to scrape it up and off.

Once the Village area was poured and dried, I did another layer that went up and over the top of it for the Town area. Once that dried, it was easy to sand it all down to make it match and blend. Again, it worked like a dream and was super easy and quick.

Town area pour

I spent Father's Day working on the sanding and painting and it was a great day! Music played as I worked away for three hours or so and I had a blast. Photos of the painted Smooth-It to follow.

Cheers, All!