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I recently got 2 Hirst molds (http://www.hirstarts.com/index.html) to do a display board for an upcoming army. I read through the instructions page and went shopping for dental stone but couldn't find it locally, is there any material other than plaster of paris that I can buy at Hobby Lobby or Michaels that would be stronger than plaster of paris?

Thanks for your help.

Hmmmm...

You might try a hobby town usa - they might have lightweight hydrocal, its is a plaster used in train modeling terrain sometimes - it is slightly better than normal plaster.

You might find lightweight hydrocal at hobby lobby or michales - look for it near their woodland scenics section, if they carry any.

I would suggest mail ordering some merlin's magic - I have used it with my hirst arts (its dental plaster) with a lot of success.

http://merlinsmagicplaster.com/

I can say, working with the plaster has a bit of a learning curve, but keep at it, and practice practice - I love my hirst arts molds and enjoy that part of the hobby for terrain accessories.

Don't have a Hobby Town here anymore :-(

I did find some permastone at hobby lobby after getting some help there.

Thanks for your help though

I use hydrocal here because shipping merlins magic is too expensive.

I'll second that it is an art that takes a lot of practice, very rewarding when it goes right though

I use Durhams Rock Hard Water Putty. It's a wood filler that comes in powdered form. You can pick up a big can at Home Depot for about 8 bucks.

It's not as strong as dental plaster or merlins magic but it's much better then PoP and easy to find.

Another one for hydrocal here (also Ultracal) but there are plenty of others and you shouldn't find it too difficult to get shipped in the US. The Hirst Arts website has plenty of advice on procuring plaster and casting the molds. Try pottery/arts suppliers. These are huge bags but here's an example;

http://www.sheffield-pottery.com/U-S-Gypsum-WHITE-HYDROCAL-REGULAR-50-lbs-Bag-p/rmwhihyd50.htm

From my personal experience I suggest the following items on top of the molds & plaster.

Rinse Aide (for a dish washer), a bowl of this a mixed in water to dip your molds into before casting really helps the plaster reach the corners.
A plastic ruler, metal scrappers can damage your mould and maybe not long enough so a 30CM/12" ruler is really handy for scraping excess from your molds when filling.
Make a vibrating table. I have always found it very difficult (but not impossible) to get all the pieces out of a mold without a few bubbles unless I can vibrate the plaster when it goes in the mold. You can by these to easily make one with a small sheet of board on foam/rubber legs with almost any piece of vibrating machinery taped to it. Over the years I have used a handheld back massager, a pad sander and an old mobile phone.