Between a Rock and MDF: Papering Mediterranean Buildings
Quick & Simple Guide · Mediterranean Buildings · QSG0007
How many times do you read painting tips on how to create stone, brick and tile buildings? How many start with a coat of glue, filler and sand, then leave you waiting for it to dry before you can even begin painting?
This Quick & Simple Guide takes a different look at getting a stone or brick finish on MDF. Gary uses thin printed papers to cover the panels, then trims, shades and assembles the kit before bringing it into the terrain base.
Start with the MDF parts, not the assembled building
There is no getting away from the fact that MDF is a flat brown wood material. The stone or brick detail has to be cut into it or applied in another form. That’s actually the beauty of it.
It’s always tempting to open a new kit and get straight into assembling it, then think about painting and finishing. STOP! If you want to use this method, don’t assemble it yet. You want a pile of separate MDF walls so you can cover each panel properly.
Start with the terrain tile bases
I find that working on the parts that need to dry first gets this way of building moving quickly.
Here, I gave the base a couple of coats of texture spray paint. I used grey, but any colour would have done. While it dried, I moved on to the walls. Once the texture coat was dry, I sprayed a coat of beige and a coat of sand colour over the base. That gave me a base for weathering and landscaping later.
Printer, 80gsm paper and glue
The next few stages are very simple indeed.
First: Assemble any double-skin walls and paint the edges in a base colour that matches the tones of your stone-printed papers.
Second: Print your papers. I used a local print shop, but home printing is just as good. I used 80gsm paper because it’s thin and easy to work with during the next stages.
Third: Start cutting the paper to roughly the right size. Position the panels over the print first to make the best use of each sheet. Save the small scraps.
Spray away: apply the printed paper
You’re now ready to start applying the paper. For the quickest and best results, use a permanent spray-mount glue. Work in a well-ventilated area and follow the adhesive manufacturer’s safety instructions. Protect the area you are spraying in: this stuff can go everywhere when you least expect it.
Spray the paper and the MDF. Lay the paper down on the bench, then position the MDF panel and press down. Take care — it’s hard to get off once it’s in position.
Marker pens and files
Once the paper is mounted, leave it for a short time. Even spray glue needs a little time to bond firmly, especially at the edges.
Use a sharp knife to roughly cut out the window and door openings. You don’t need to be too precise — the next action will clean it all up. Use a square needle file to poke out the small holes.
Using an elliptical-profile needle file, or rolled sandpaper, file and sand away the excess paper from the panel edges. The trick is to drag the file in a downward direction over the edge. Only work downwards. The filing action cuts the paper neatly.
80gsm paper is just the right thickness for this process. Use the file on the window and door edges too. You can leave the slots, tabs and external corner joins covered for now, then clean them back after assembly.
Once the panels are trimmed, I use a warm grey MG01 marker pen to shade the corner joins and a beige pen to go over exposed paper edges.
Assemble the building
The floor and roof were papered too. With all the panels trimmed and cleaned, it was time for assembly. The walls were glued together with super glue. Any card detail parts were painted separately and glued in position.
Cut and sand back the exposed paper overhangs at the corners, then colour the paper edges with marker pen. Add a little more shading if you need it.
Ground the building on its base
Weather the base panel before gluing the building in place. Many model buildings seem to float and appear detached from their bases. To ground mine, I weather the base panels with a dark matching tone and add shade to the lower edges of the walls.
I used a marker pen here. When painting buildings, I also use a mix of dark earth and over-brush with bone. Once the colours match, glue the building in place.
Give the building a little more life with flock grasses and rocks. Use a small brush to get PVA glue close to the walls, sprinkle the flock over it, then tap the base to remove the excess.
Seal the finished model
Give the completed buildings an all-over coat of clear matt to seal the paper and bring the different finishes together with an even matt look.
Materials and tools used
The guide uses readily available materials. These are the ones Gary mentions in the original instructions.
Paper and adhesives
- Printer or print shop
- 80gsm printed stone and roof papers
- Permanent spray-mount adhesive
- Super glue and PVA glue
Cutting and finishing
- Sharp knife
- Square and elliptical-profile needle files, or rolled sandpaper
- Warm grey MG01 and beige marker pens
Base and scenery
- Grey texture spray paint
- Beige and sand-colour coats for the base
- Dark earth and bone tones
- Flock grasses and rocks
- Clear matt finish
The three printable paper sheets
Gary’s original guide includes three sheets of printed resources: stone wall, roof tile and wood textures. They are provided at their original size in the free PDF, after the instructional pages.
Printing the papers: Print the three resource sheets single-sided, at actual size (100%). Don’t use a browser’s “fit to page” setting if you need the patterns at their intended scale. The images above are previews only.
The original sheets are marked “Copyright Peachfs 2020 · For personal use only”. That notice remains on each sheet in the PDF.
Gary originally made this guide to complement his 148-page, full-colour book on making and painting laser-cut MDF model kits, which includes eight full building guides and nine alternative technique sections.
Keep the guide and papers together.
Get the free Mediterranean Buildings papering guide and printable sheets.
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