I was impressed to find out that wooden doweling is extremely cheap at home depot, at only $2.50 Cnd for a 4' x 5/8" round dowel. So that solves that problem, right there.

The price of Hydrostone looks great, it's double the strength of plaster, and is $15 for 20 pounds (compared to plaster of paris at $12/10 kg). Unfortunately, the dealers that showed up on that list weren't all too "local". The main reason I planned to get plaster wasn't actually price, it was hassle. I'm not a big fan of ordering things online (and I don't do it at all if I can't use a money order), so finding a place that sells the good stuff is my biggest obstacle. I'll definitely need to do some more research on this.

So the dungeon builder for my first one? I like that one, it's got arches, small pilliars, and walls in it, all that I need to make a standard building.

I'll most definitely post WIP pictures! Of course, I won't jump into an Osgiliath table right away; I'll be starting with modular houses, simple buildings, etc. just so I can get the hang of this.

Thank you for your help!

Editing in response to scousey.