To create the moon surface, I chose a product called "Smooth Finish", that has amazing properties. It comes out of the tub like a thin toothpaste, and dries hard in 24 hours. It is paintable, sand-able and sticks to almost anything. Most importantly, it's water based & dries into an extremely lightweight texture.
I added a few drops of cheap acrylic gray to the "Smooth Finish" product and covered the ring with it, while leaving open spaces for the landing pads. Testing lights.
24 hours later dried, and glued down the pads.
I glued the dome in place with Loctite PL300, followed by the ring. More touch ups and fill-ins necessary.
Started to get the main structures together, by gluing the "tops" of each unit to its proper lower sections.( Pink clamps are a "dollar" store item. 6 in a pack)
Glued down & clamped larger sections onto the proper positions onto foam board.
As each section was added, applied the "Smooth Finish" product to adjacent areas. In this way, I wouldn't be trapped by the next section trying to get into tight spaces.
A common open cell dry sponge was lightly dabbed onto the product. Plenty of open working time.
Till next time....