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3 hours ago, chuffinghell said:

As much I like @Alister_G’s stone walling technique I just haven’t got the necessary patience or skill.....

 

.....so I cheated using ‘wibbly wobbly walling’

 

21AF5AFC-63C6-414A-BE85-6ED154108DB1.jpeg.d37dbc1240e832d7660edcee51aa57c4.jpeg
 

BF1A68E0-5109-465B-B305-EB3F9B9F9B16.jpeg.d1ef3b34f884d0c8a216e65ea9cffcd3.jpeg
 

I’m currently experimenting with different road surfaces

Same as I've used many times, (local shop had sold out when I wanted some for The Budoc Bridge Branch), they look brilliant mate, a bit of foliage hanging over the top in a few places, and to hide some joins.:good:

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2 minutes ago, Andrew P said:

Same as I've used many times, (local shop had sold out when I wanted some for The Budoc Bridge Branch), they look brilliant mate, a bit of foliage hanging over the top in a few places, and to hide some joins.:good:

Just read the following post and see it's a flexible foam, that is a lot different to what I used which is a Resin. Yours looks much more useful Chris.

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It would be a finer surface, even if it is a dirt road, a grade of half inch to dust from the local quarry screens.

When you look at the model road  surface, ask yourself: Could I ride a 4mm scale 1930s bicycle down that without ending up looking like I have three Adam's apples?

I haven't tried it yet myself but I have had good reports about chinchilla sand.

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13 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

It would be a finer surface, even if it is a dirt road, a grade of half inch to dust from the local quarry screens.

When you look at the model road  surface, ask yourself: Could I ride a 4mm scale 1930s bicycle down that without ending up looking like I have three Adam's apples?

I haven't tried it yet myself but I have had good reports about chinchilla sand.


I’ve just tried to ride a 4mm scale bicycle and nearly broke my neck!

 

Ill have a look at getting some chinchilla dust, seems a bit cruel grinding up an animal for modelling purposes though

 

Another option is to leave it as painted and attempt to add the appearance of texture with weathering powders (scary!)

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1 hour ago, Andrew P said:

Just read the following post and see it's a flexible foam, that is a lot different to what I used which is a Resin. Yours looks much more useful Chris.


I did look at resin stuff but I needed something to follow the various curves of the road

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1 minute ago, chuffinghell said:


I did look at resin stuff but I needed something to follow the various curves of the road

 

I have never had more than a few inches of drystone wall on any past layout for that very reason. I wasn't convinced I could do a decent job of scratchbuilding it either to be honest! 

Good find that walling, I thought it was a casting. Just needs moss on the top where it's under overhanging trees.

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For the road surface, I have used this product for the roads and yard surface on Ladmanlow and it's offspring, and on Cawdor:

 

http://www.miniaturebricks.com/bricks_wallingstone_specials/modelling_dust/4003dg

 

Don't forget that contrary to popular perception, road surfaces are rarely black or dark grey, unless very wet. Normally they are in reality a fairly light grey in colour.

 

ladmanlow1055.jpg.5d30f35f6c0bd579c34dd554c630d920.jpg

 

Al.

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You're right there and it really shows in model form. That's an interesting material, can't beat the real thing. I really like the colours of the yards and roads on Little Muddle for that as well.

I was also impressed with your five bar gate. Scratchbuilt or commercial item? 

I was thinking that Ratio and Slater's do a GWR yard gate with the vertical palings as a part of their GWR fencing kits? I wasn't 100% sure though.

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Thanks very much. The gate was scratchbuilt from 20thou x 80thou Evergreen strip.

 

Yes I am very pleased with the modelling dust outcome, they do it in light, medium and dark greys and I found, as can be seen above, that a blend of the different shades gives the most realistic effect.

 

It is easy to apply, just paint the road surface in a grey paint - primer is adequate - and whilst still wet, rub the dust into the paint, then once dry you can adjust and blend a bit more, and finally seal with hairspray or matt varnish aerosol.

 

Al.

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20 minutes ago, Alister_G said:

For the road surface, I have used this product for the roads and yard surface on Ladmanlow and it's offspring, and on Cawdor:

 

http://www.miniaturebricks.com/bricks_wallingstone_specials/modelling_dust/4003dg

 

Don't forget that contrary to popular perception, road surfaces are rarely black or dark grey, unless very wet. Normally they are in reality a fairly light grey in colour.

 

ladmanlow1055.jpg.5d30f35f6c0bd579c34dd554c630d920.jpg

 

Al.


Very interesting, thanks Al. Can you sprinkle it on a bed of PVA if the surface has already been painted

 

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7 minutes ago, chuffinghell said:


Very interesting, thanks Al. Can you sprinkle it on a bed of PVA or do you have to mix it into a paste and spread it on?

 

See above, just rub into wet paint for a smooth road surface.

 

For the farm track on the embankment module of Ladmanlow, I made a paste of PVA, water and filler for the surface, then sprinkled it on after, but I specifically wanted a rougher track surface in that instance:

 

ladmanlow1106.jpg.823ac96169b3aa61b9ee65e136aed92f.jpg

 

 

ladmanlow1133.jpg.6540f1e034be54eae9573883a3cb17a4.jpg

 

Al.

Edited by Alister_G
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13 minutes ago, chuffinghell said:


Very interesting, thanks Al. Can you sprinkle it on a bed of PVA if the surface has already been painted

 

 

I'll answer this version of the question too... :D :D

 

Yes, you could paint on dilute PVA, or just mask off everything else and spray the road with hair spray or matt varnish and then apply to that.

 

Al.

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5 minutes ago, Alister_G said:

 

I'll answer this version of the question too... :D :D

 

Yes, you could paint on dilute PVA, or just mask off everything else and spray the road with hair spray or matt varnish and then apply to that.

 

Al.


Thanks Al, very helpful. I’m going to carry out various trials of different techniques until I find one I can do successfully.

 

I only asked if you can sprinkle this stuff on PVA because chinchilla dust being clay tends to soak it up and clump

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2 minutes ago, chuffinghell said:


I only asked if you can sprinkle this stuff on PVA because chinchilla dust being clay tends to soak it up and clump

 

Yep fair point. I would probably suggest waiting until the PVA had gone tacky. I don't recall the stone dust showing any inclination to clump, but I was rubbing it in rather than just sprinkling on top so perhaps that's why.

 

Al.

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One more thing about the modelling dust.

 

It comes in 100gram packets, and I bought 2 of each colour of grey, expecting to use most of that. In fact I have barely used a quarter of the first packet of each colour, and that has done the whole of Cawdor, including the yard, road surfaces and quarry floor, and all of Ladmanlow yard, the road on the embankment module, and the road and quarry floor on the Steeplehouse module, so it's really, really good value.

 

Al.

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Most fine powders can clump if too wet, they will start to behave like cement. Sometimes that's useful. I have found with the stone dust I have used in the past was to seive a layer of dry material onto the already soaked material. 

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1 minute ago, MrWolf said:

Most fine powders can clump if too wet, they will start to behave like cement. Sometimes that's useful. I have found with the stone dust I have used in the past was to seive a layer of dry material onto the already soaked material. 

 

Yep, spot on, that's what I do too, an initial layer rubbed into the wet substrate, and further dry layers sprinkled on top and rubbed in after it's dried.

 

Al.

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IKEA do very fine sand in various colours that's very useful as well. I use this and chinchilla dust plus BBQ ash for ground cover. BBQ ash is great stuff, I process mine first by crushing it all up very small with a lump hammer. Then adding water in a bucket and mixing it into a paste. This I leave in the bucket for a couple of months outside keeping as a paste. Over time the mixture turns a rusty brown colour, the longer you leave it the darker it becomes. Once it's the right colour I fill a couple of enamel pie dishes and smooth it off like cement and bake it in the oven for a couple of hours at a low heat until it has dried completely. I then crush it up again with the lump hammer into small lumps and then wizz it up in an old coffee grinder until it has a nice mixture of sizes from about 1.5mm down to very fine dust. You end up with a nice blend of colours from black through dark brown to dark rust. Great stuff, one BBQ will give enough to last for years. You can vary the colour as well by taking some "paste" out of the bucket at different times. It's basically just an excuse to play at mud pies but you end up with a very useful product. Just don't bake it in the wife's best pie dishes, go buy your own from the pound shop.

Regards Lez.       

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23 minutes ago, lezz01 said:

Just don't bake it in the wife's best pie dishes, go buy your own from the pound shop.

Regards Lez.       

 

Um, we have no pie dishes, Miss Riding Hood came only with a sandwich toaster that is older than she is. It has sentimental value however, as it was her university survival kit.

 

 

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2 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

 

Um, we have no pie dishes, Miss Riding Hood came only with a sandwich toaster that is older than she is. It has sentimental value however, as it was her university survival kit.

 

 

Hmm, must be the generation gap. When I was at University we made toast by laying the radiant bar electric fire on its back and putting the bread on the grille.

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1 minute ago, St Enodoc said:

Hmm, must be the generation gap. When I was at University we made toast by laying the radiant bar electric fire on its back and putting the bread on the grille.

 

At the risk of this turning into a grim up north contest, when I was at university, our place was a bit of a dump. If we plugged in an electric fire, we would all sit around the socket, it got hotter.

Back in the late 80s early 90s, sandwich toasters were something that had been used for a while then chucked in the back of a cupboard.

People in their mid to late 20s now have taken to them as a retro vintage gadget I think! 

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8 hours ago, Alister_G said:

For the road surface, I have used this product for the roads and yard surface on Ladmanlow and it's offspring, and on Cawdor:

 

http://www.miniaturebricks.com/bricks_wallingstone_specials/modelling_dust/4003dg

 

Don't forget that contrary to popular perception, road surfaces are rarely black or dark grey, unless very wet. Normally they are in reality a fairly light grey in colour.

 

ladmanlow1055.jpg.5d30f35f6c0bd579c34dd554c630d920.jpg

 

Al.

 

The surface in that picture looks spot on! That modelling dust looks an interesting product Al. 

I'd agree about the colouring too. 

Chris, have you thought about using Ash from a fire. I've used it sieved on a layer of paint, a method used by Gordon Gravett, Barry Norman and many others. Or a light sieving of talc over paint?

I used those methods on my last layout.

I think from our viewing distances the texture would be hardly noticeable and it's more about getting the colours right so you might even be able to use powders as you've said.

If you're interested in that stuff I'd recommend putting Gordon Gravetts book on modelling grasslands on your xmas list ;)

Look forward to seeing your tests.

 

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