See how much fun you can have with a bit of foam, some painter’s caulk and some brown shades of acrylic paint.
Chisel out where you want (or rather, where you don’t want) your mountains.
The seal the foam with painters caulk.
Paint the rocks a light tan. Than dab on a darker brown to give it depth.
It sounds simple – and it is.
But the effect it brings to a model railroad layout can be pretty impressive.
I have used this method many times and improved on it possibly. You can use variations of it as well. First carve out the form to the desired shapes, next mix the acrylic caulk, acrylic paint and tine with water to about the consistancy of pancake batter. Next brush this onto the “rock” and as the mix is setting, start sifting sand or dirt over the whole mess. The scene will lool like dirt covered rock except on the side of the face of the rock which can be painted later to bring out the rock details. Also to add vegetation, use a thinned glue mix with water and spray the areas to be covered in ground brush, grass, etc. After the whole thing is dry and the caulk mix set up, start punching holes in it with a carpenter’s nail set tool and place what ever additional vegetation you may want. For an authentic desert scene (I have the real thing right out my window!) Look at photos of just how much vegetation and trees really do grow out in the SW USA! You would be supprised to know that we have lot’s more as long as there is water 😀