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Laying the ballast (Magic?)

JRamsden

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I recently received an order which had been a few weeks in the delivering. It contained Deluxe Materials' Ballast Magic, a dry glue for mixing with ballast. The idea being that it only needs a light misting with water for a good solid hold. Ballast clumping and shifting is, apparently, a thing of the past. I'd seen a favourable review in a modelling magazine and thought I'd give it a go.

 

I laid the whole layout (not exactly large by any standards!) with ballast and sprayed as directed. Unfortunately, although I read the instructions on the bottle, I didn't watch the manufacturer's video and ended up mixing far too much at once. The official instructions advise mixing small amounts at a time. 24 hours later it had barely held and crumbled away at a light touch. I was not amused!

 

Before writing the product off, I did what I should have done originally and laid some ballast using Ballast Magic on a small piece of test track. This time I used a 5 parts ballast to 1 part Ballast Magic instead of the 7:1 recommended on the bottle. I made sure to mix very thoroughly and made up only the tiny amount I needed. After 24 hours it had stuck better... in places, but still crumbled away in most everywhere else. I just don't see how this product could ever truly work, unless mixed 1:1 perhaps. I may try on some coal loads and see how that fares. Images below, for what it's worth...

 

IMG_0014.jpg.4a30a4fdbb3db1c98c1b551fa54c55c4.jpg IMG_0016.jpg.24bff1ed063f285ffd972fcf6d7b5066.jpg

 

The only saving grace to all this was that the Ballast Magic had just enough hold to allow me to use the old diluted PVA method straight over what I had already put down, meaning I didn't have to take it up and start again. I sprayed first with diluted IPA - supposedly this has the same surface-tension reduction effect that "wet water" does. Then diluted PVA (something like 1:2, glue to water) was dribbled over the top using a pipette. Now THAT is how you get a rock solid hold! Some photos of the end result follow:

 

IMG_0017.jpg.74673be419ecf38bc4f2a917088d1656.jpg IMG_0018.jpg.fc231d155edf8c5e04009fd30709fe5c.jpg

IMG_0019.jpg.91052de4a69a9fe63f4001a1ffdfd47c.jpg IMG_0020.jpg.c6d1723ee42c17295dd534ffb9c33d0f.jpg

IMG_0021.jpg.5566693d0385d23eec2736eeaae415cd.jpg

 

In terms of the exact mix of ballast I used, I covered that in some detail a long while back! Click here for the entry that deals with all that.

 

The moral of this story is likely one modellers the world over will have learned at some time or other. Ballasting is a boring, tedious job but it's just not worth cutting corners. I just feel sorry for those of you who have significantly sized layouts. My hat off to you! 

 

All for now,

Jonathan

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  • RMweb Gold
Fen End Pit
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You are not alone, I found exactly the same thing with Ballast Magic, reverted to using Ballast Bond instead.

David

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dseagull

I found the stuff didn't work properly, as did the late scenic master Allan Downes; 

Threw the remainder away when we moved earlier this year. I won't be buying it again.

 

 

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JRamsden
9 hours ago, Fen End Pit said:

You are not alone, I found exactly the same thing with Ballast Magic, reverted to using Ballast Bond instead.

David

 

Thanks, David. I have not heard much about this one and may be wary of any "ballast specific" solutions for a while now! But I'll definitely look it up when the time comes around again. Some of Deluxe Materials' products have served me very well over the years.

 

7 hours ago, dseagull said:

I found the stuff didn't work properly, as did the late scenic master Allan Downes; 

Threw the remainder away when we moved earlier this year. I won't be buying it again.

 

I actually did come across that thread after my first disastrous attempt! I had to find out if I had done something wrong. Just a shame I hadn't thought to look up the product here first - usually actual user reviews are more valuable than anything in a magazine. Plus, if Allan Downes himself couldn't work with it, it must be rubbish!

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ColinK
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I failed too with Ballast Magic, perhaps I used too much water.  However, the same manufactureres Ballast Bond is excellent, far better than PVA.

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pirouets
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I tried this with cascamite powered wood resin once in the past and found it worked pretty well. Only issue was a couple of cracks in the ballast as i put too much powder in.

 

I am thinking of trying again as i had no point gumming up issues. There is a thread on this from some time back.

 

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adriank

I wish I'd read this before I spent $30 on a 120ml bottle of Ballast Magic. A complete waste of time and money.

 

Adrian

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