Ground cover using paint & weathering powders?

[ColinK]

I’m building a 009 micro layout which includes a factory yard which I’ve made using DAS.  While I could just paint the yard surface using various dark and dirty paints from tester pots, this doesn’t have any texture to it and looks ‘flat’. Hence I was wondering if anyone has tried using weathering powders to add some texture.

 

I was thinking of first giving the DAS a coat of dark and dirty colours as a base.  Then give it a second coat, but adding weathering powders.  Has anyone tried this?  Did it work?

 

I’m not sure how best to add the weathering powder, do you mix it into the paint then apply the paste, or do you paint the surface then sprinkle the weathering powder on?

 

Thanks.

 

 

[fulton]

I found the Tamiya gray texture paint worked well, a couple of coats well thinned with water, gives a fine texture, have tried other brands of texture paint, but I thought were too course, for 4mm.

[ianLMS]

I used ash from my fireplace for texture and used weathering powders to give variation in colour. Being quite powdery when crushed its not too coarse. Ash is a lot cheaper than the weathering powders!! BBQ ash might work as well.

 

 

[BoD]

As you already have some DAS clay, let a chunk of it dry then create your own powders simply by filing it.  Different grades of file give different grades of texture.  Use an old stiffish brush*, pick up your paint, dab it in the now powdered DAS and stipple it on.  The DAS clay takes up the colour of the paint.

 

* cheap brushes from the likes of ‘The Works’ work best.

[bandmbill]

The Vallejo Earth Textures work well - colour and texture - ready mixed - looks expensive but goes a long way….

[woodyfox]

I have achieved decent rough ground results using tiling grout mixed with watery acrylic paint. 

[whart57]

Gordon Gravett makes a number of suggestions in his book on landscape modelling. Talc, wood ash, chinchilla dust and sand all give different levels of texture.

[ColinK]

Job done.  Started with a layer of DAS, that wasn’t too level and had a few cracks, so topped it with a thin coat of finishing pollyfiller. Left it several days to dry out.

 

Today I mixed a concoction of various muddy colours plus some old black and brown weathering powders (too course to use for weathering stock) that I found under my workbench.  Brushed the paste on the yard surface.  Then sprinkled some very fine weathering powders of different shades in various places to break up the single muck colour.  These were not sinking into the paint as I hoped so rubbed the surface with a bit of kitchen roll. I’ve got bits of plastic channel filled with the mucky paste to go between the rails, once the paint is dry.  I’m happy with the result - it’s a brickworks yard hence the choice of shades.  I think it will do. Lots of detail yet to be added.

 

 

[40152]

Another vote for using sieved wood ash from out of the grate. Mix it with some fine sand for extra texture, mix up with PVA and some water to get the mix spreadable. Apply with a palette knife. Stupidly good fun. Takes just about any paint but is a convincingly sludge grey in the raw. If you want some to have a go with, DM me.

[NHY 581]

I've also used sieved barbecue ash dropped onto PVA. I've then added PVA mixed as per the usual mixture used for ballasting. 

 

 

 

 

Rob