Precision Ice and Snow Review of The New Amazing Snow Effect

[Rob Hayes]

 

Hi all I have been asked by the people at Precision Ice and Snow to review their new product for creating the ultimate in realistic Ice and Snow effects.

I must admit when I was first approached I was sceptical about how realistic this snow effect would be as it has long been a hard task for a modeller to create a believable snow effect.

But no more I must say I am truly shocked at how good and versatile this stuff is and how easy and fun it is to use.

The first photo is of some 1/35 scale bricks on a piece of plasticard kindly given to me to try out for the review. I sprayed this grey but more on that later..

 

I have only had a brief play with Precision Ice and Snow. These are my first attempts with a skaledale bridge and a Hornby MGR wagon.

I cant believe how good it looks it is very easy and fun to use.

 

So much so I have decided I am going to build a micro layout/diorama to just for the purpose of testing this snow out and creating a snowy railway scene. 

The wood arrived today for the baseboards along with the C&L Finescale track. Here are some shots of my first efforts.

 

Notice how it aerodynamically settles on the bricks bringing out the detail just like real snow !

 

 

 

 

The above shots are created by simply spraying on some hairspray and then shaking on the Precision Ice and Snow with the provided sieve.

Then removing and re-coating. These photos are after many applications It is so fine you can build it up in very fine layers so creating a frost is very possible. This can be washed off as it was applied with hairspray different types of hairspray give different effects.

 

The Precision Snow is a harmless fine powder that is the same white colour as snow. when I say fine It is "Extremely fine" It can also be scaled and has scale reflective qualities and glints at you like real snow or frost but in scale.

I shall have to do some more photos with the right light on it to capture. But I can assure you it glints in scale and when you hold your model up to the light and give it a good eyeball over, you will chuckle with satisfaction about how "right" it looks. It really makes things look cold even in the summer sun. 

 

Here is one of the brick fields. Plastic square rod is cut to simulate bricks and placed as if in a debris pattern on plastic sheet Precision Ice and Snow kindly provided these for me to try. I sprayed mine with humbrol 67 tank grey from their excellent rattle cans just to give a dark base to contrast the snow.

 

 

 

I then sprayed this one with 3M spray mount to give a more permanent hold. Then I sieved some snow effect on waited a few mins removed the excess and re-coated I did not try hard I could have been blindfolded I wanted to see what the product could do for me and I assure you it works for you.

you can be creative with it but it just looks real whatever you do.

 

 

 

 

The 5 pence shows you how incredibly fine this power is. Plenty of Jokes are derived from its fine white qualities !

This is the before and after with the brick field painted Humbrol 67

 

 

 

It can be as temporary or as permanent as you like.

You can just have it loose but really there are 2 main options to you as it builds in layers.

one temporary method is to use hairspray and spray the item in the direction you want the snow to form then you dust the snow effect on leave it a few seconds then blow it and brush it off. This will leave a fine layer of frost.

If your happy leave it at that but you can spray on more hairspray and then more snow and build it in layers

 

It also has the same transparent effect of snow and ice and the underneath will show through and decrease as it builds in layers though even after many coats you can still see the paint through the snow subtly and realistic.

using harispray will hold it very well but it is removable with water. This is an advantage as you can wash it off if your not happy. but best of all because it builds in fine layers you can gradually build up your work so you don't have to worry about over doing anything. 

 

If you want a permanent effect and for the snow to build in an even more impressive way you really should use 3M Spray Mount Photo Adhesive.

It builds with a slightly different effect. 

 

At the moment I have only experimented with 3M sprays Spray mount is best but you can use photo mount and others all will give different effects. 

I have thought of experimenting with Johnsons Klear through the Airbrush to give more control though that really is not seeming to be needed.

 

The precision ice and snow acutally mimics the way snow forms aerodynamicaly too as can be seen on this car Precision Ice and Snow sent me for the review. this car has been sprayed at from the front and a mask on the windscreen to simulate were it has been wiped off. the car looks like it has been driven in snow and then parked and the windows frosted over. 

This was achieved by spraying a mixture of 3M and hairspray in layers from the front and then sieved snow dropping towards the grill of the car. 

as you can see it settled very impressively.

 

 

 

It depends what direction you apply the snow how it forms so it is possible with some creativity and imagination to create the effects of snow in heavy wind.

It is also possible to mix this with silicon and create snow slush and ice sheets I have not tried this yet but I will do and the website has much information on this. 

 

Here are some shots of my old Dragon Tiger 1 tank this one is a pre made item and I forget the scale now but it is only about the size of small mobile phone.

It sadly had a wheel missing so I decided I would snow this after having so much fun with the bricks bridge and wagon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really do recommend this product as you can imagine it will revolutionise how we model snow or frost and give us many more options be it modelling railways, military Sci-fi War games and other genres. Temperature was something I have not thought much about modelling till now. 

 

This will likely spawn new uses for dioramas, fantasy modelling or use in TV/Film studio miniatures.

I would love to create a diorama of a woodland hideout with some RAF figures and a snow scheme Harrier GR3 under a temporary hangar with this stuff.

 

Also I remember seeing a railway layout set in the 1930s featuring LNER steam in the snow I have not seen many layouts in the snow and always fancied doing my own.

With this it should be a doddle and give far more impressive results that just painting roofs white especially as Precision Ice and Snow is stable and will not yellow.

 

This is what has inspired my new micro layout that will be under construction soon I will do a work in progress here on RMweb and over on the other forum I frequent Britmodeller so you can see how I get on. Hopefully ill have the snow on by Christmas.

 

If you would like to find out more or order some of your own snow effect check out this web site and get yours from here :

http://precisioniceandsnow.com/Precisioniceandsnow/Home.html

 

Or look for Precision Ice and Snow on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Precision-Model-Ice-and-Snow/163042673867707?ref=stream

 

Many thanks for reading I hope you all enjoyed this review. Cheers Rob

[allan downes]

Well Rob, apart from your excellent modelling, what can one say that the product doesn't say for itself ? - it's truly amazing, scaled down frost and snow, who would ever have thought. Now I'm off to get warm !

 

Thanks for sharing, a dead cert winner.

 

Cheers.

Allan.

[BRealistic]

My word that's impressive!  Makes you wonder how much 'ground modelling' you need to do before applying even a moderate snowfall??!!  Roofs, yards, ballast... everything on which snow actually settles.

[the penguin of doom]

I've always fancied having a snow covered layout.

 

Now it looks like I can.

 

Really impressive product and modelling.

 

Cheers.

 

Sean.

[Rob Hayes]

Thanks very much guys its very easy to use good stuff as you can see from the brick fields its just flat plastic and the snow forms its own texture so you wouldn't have to have that much ground detail down. That said it does accentuate detail stunningly well due to how fine it is.

If you download some photos and Zoom in on the bricks you wouldn't know it wasn't real and if you look how it's collected on the tanks smaller details and the barrel it looks exactly like snow or frost depending on which photo of the tank you see.

 

I will certainly be doing my mini layout in snow but I am going to scenic it first as the texture can only serve to improve to overall look plus the colours of the grass stone roads etc will show through I can't wait to see my signal box lit up with a chap smoking his pipe with his dog inside looking out at the snow and a nice loco coming past on that C&L track its going to be magic.

 

I will be framing the boards tommoro morning

[Rob Hayes]

Just to let you know I have been delayed today fitting the boards due to a delivery of garden furniture and ironically the boiler failing so we have only ice cold water to use at the moment lovely!

 

Hopefully I might be able to get the frame ready tomorrow.

 

Cheers Rob

[Rob Hayes]

It is interesting how this and my review of Precision Ice and snow over on Britmodeller are developing lots of interesting ideas and thoughts.

To see what others are saying look at.

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234945975-precision-ice-and-snow-review-of-the-new-amazing-snow-effect/

[Tase]

Looks very promising. I see a winter diorama coming along soon.....time to put in an order me thinks!

[Rob Hayes]

Looks very promising. I see a winter diorama coming along soon.....time to put in an order me thinks!

 

Well I would love to see what you do with it when you get yours. If your doing a WIP  let me know and I will watch with interest.

what is your diorama going to feature ?

 

Cheers Rob

[Tase]

Thanks Rob, possibly thinking of doing a small TMD diorama.

[Rob Hayes]

Thanks Rob, possibly thinking of doing a small TMD diorama.

 

I would be very interested in seeing that. I have longed to do my own one of those. As a kid growing up in the 80s I lived next to Wigan Springs Branch. It used to be amazing all blue diesels with two colliery branch lines the local branch and the huge mainline tracks. loads of freight and intercity workings. I would love to make a model one day but space has always been a problem,. A scaled down version would be a good idea but never thought about it. I guess I was always hell bent on recreating Wigan. 

 

I am sure I have some photos of Wigan in the snow somewhere It could prove useful for you if I can find them, I assume your doing modern Image. 

 

cheers Rob

[Tase]

 

I am sure I have some photos of Wigan in the snow somewhere It could prove useful for you if I can find them, I assume your doing modern Image. 

 

cheers Rob

Hi Rob,

Yes, pictures would be great if you could find them please. I'm still undecided as to which depot to recreate as yet and yes it'll be modern image.

Regards

[Rob Hayes]

I will at some point look for them for you. I have alot on at the moment. Then thinking about it. any photos of railways in the snow will help. It doesn't have to be of a TMD.

 

They look good at nigh all illuminated. exciting places they used to be. I really wish I could go back there and see it all again. 

I miss waking up to the sound of class 20s in the morning when I was walking to school. 

 

Cheers Rob

 

p.s. I am still behind getting the boards ready some things have come up again that need sorting they always do when you try to do some modeling..

 

[Rob Hayes]

I am just in the process of making some very small test dioramas to practice with this stuff before doing the micro layout of which the first board was built today for me by local handy man "Zed the Handy Man" who is currently building in our garden a building for our hot tub. So it seemed fit to let him do it for me while I got on with other business.

It is his first layout board and hes done a great job.

 

The dios are just bits of insulation foam glued to wood. I thought as test of the fine qualities Precision Ice and Snow I would do a small landscape using some T gauge trees I have and have one of my 1/200 scale Vulcan bombers flying over it maybe.

 

I am also about to make the snow man too I will post some pics of my progress here soon.

 

Cheers Rob

[Rob Hayes]

Ok so heres a little update for this continued review to test this snow stuff out.

 

The baseboard that Zed has knocked up for me, very small layout this is going to be !

 

 

Small diorama bases made out of insulation foam and some cut up pieces of shelf.

 

 

 

And... The milliput snowman is on the way. This is the first time I have made a snow man this big and out of milliput.

 

 

 

Looks like that scene from Jurassic Park with the sick triceratops lovely !

 

I have put some holes in for the arms. not sure what I am going to put in there yet. I might use some bits of twig or coarse wire.

The location holes are so I can fit some real coal and something for the carrot not sure yet probably just a bit of sprue. Stretched sprue could be good for the arms thinking about it.

 

As for the hat and scarf I will have to think. for the scarf I could use foil which some Aircraft modellers use to create seat belts in cockpits.

 

Thats it for now I will update soon Cheers Rob

[Rob Hayes]

This morning the foam had dried on the wood and I started to shape it. Man is this stuff messy !

I was hoping to find pink or blue foam that seems to be favoured but asking in a shop for pink foam gets you funny looks. I don't know if this is the same.

It is fairly solid more so than florists oasis but it is similar to that but does have a certain amount of spring back. This foam is kingspan from B&Q

 

I sawed off the excess filed up with the sandvick sand stick and shaped up with other tools and got this rough shape welcome to coconut world !

 

 

After hoovering.

 

next I mixed up some school PVA water and washing up liquid to help it flow in an old butter tub.

 

Then I brushed the entire structure with this to get it moist and just to promote a bit of extra strength and also to help the layers of newspaper.

 

 

While I was waiting for this to dry I decided to get some lumps of coal I picked up off southport beech last year and put them Into 2 freezer bags and hammered them up to get some coal for the snow mans eyes and buttons. It will also come in handy for fitting coal loads to my Locomotives and other scenic uses.

I sieved it into two pile so I have some fine and coarse coal. It looks beautiful.

 

 

Now I need to find some thing for the snowman's arms and nose.

 

Cheers Rob

[Rob Hayes]

Hi all another update.

I have now sprayed the snowman with humbrol tank grey.

And I have found some real twigs for the arms

 

The base if the first dio is covered with a layer of pva after I had dried it of thanks to some heat off the oven

(don't try this at home folks !)

 

 

 

 

Hopefully on the morrow I can get some paint on it and then stat adding some grass flock and trees then I will finally be able to have fun dusting with the snow.

 

The snow man will need covering with a few coats of precision ice and snow first to create an even snow effect like its been made out of snow.

Then I will add snow to the dio base and then fix the snow man on. Them I can add the coal arms nose hat scarf etc and give another few dustings of snow from above to give the effect of fresh snowfall.

 

I wonder if I can make a tiny robin for on his hat

[Rob Hayes]

Morning folks. Last night I decided to abandon using the T gauge trees for this first diorama In favour of these.

 

 

 

I wanted something finer and I really wanted to model deciduous trees and see how the Precision Ice and snow would settle on the branches.

 

These are simply weeds plucked from our lower garden area nice big tall overgrown weeds (yea gardening ...)

I cut them down and left enough to mount them and still look like they have a trunk. I washed them off then put them on a backing tray in the oven to dry them out and then I dipped them in a bath of klear and let dry on a stack of kitchen towels In a bit to preserve them.

However this might make them more fragile or perhaps I overcooked them.

 

 

The kitchen now smells like a forest Its rather beautiful way to model I must say. This being my first time doing anything like this.

 

I am going to use a tea bags contents for modelling the fallen leaf mulch and I am currently microwaving some soil again from the garden for the soil area.

I am hoping this with some varying size bits of twig and some small stones will create a pleasing little dio effect.

 

 

I have just put some more paper on the base and painted it dark grey I will then brush on some brown and go from there.

 

Cheers Rob

[Rob Hayes]

Well I am having fun today. Just got some nice goodies through the post. work on the snowman and tree dio is taking shape now.

 

First I stuck the snowman backside to a cocktail stick ouch! then Then I have started putting progressive coats of Precisions Ice and Snow onto it then blowing off the excess and re-coating. This is the first coat just blown off.

 

 

This is the snowman before the first coat.

 

 

This is the nice sieve you get with the Precision Ice and Snow pack.

 

 

After a few more coats

 

 

While I let the snow man dry and bit I turned to the garden again and dug some soil up. then microwaved it for a good 10 mins to Kill any germs Its a good idea to pass a magnet through first!

 

Be careful soil keeps heat for ages an ages...

I poured the soil into a sieve and got myself some real fine soil to use.

 

 

 

The snow man is still indulging himself on the super fine powder !

 

 

 

The base complete

 

 

The first tree goes in

 

 

Real trees in the background and for once wanted weeds in the foreground.

 

 

 

 

The trees on their base and the soil added over a good layer of PVA glue.

 

I am pretty happy with the results so far. As they say in Game of Thrones "Winter Is Coming"

[Rob Hayes]

work on the snow man continues.

 

The cock tail stick tip will become the nose. Now to sort the hat and scarf..

[Rob Hayes]

Here he is next to a pound coin.

The arms are not spice just of a bush.

Hes looking pretty cool now... literally. I need a hat and scarf then I can make a simple little dio for him and snow it, then add the snow man and give a final few dusting coats of snow to blend him in.

 

[Rob Hayes]

Ok so I have been back to it this morning and its time for an update. This is my first ever attempts at doing any scenery and I am very happy how its coming out.

 

After a second layer of soil over pva last night this morning I dry brushed pva around the tree bases and sprinkled on tea leaves to represent dead leaves twigs and mulch.

 

I am thinking tobacco on top of this could be nice to add more of an orange autumn look.

 

Next I rinsed off the soil residue left in the sieve and got myself some nice little stones to glue on and ad more tea around. I did the same with the left over bits of twig from the tree/weed backing in the oven (that sounds really bad don't it !)

then I added tea around these too.

I then added two grades of woodland scenic's flock powders to represent foliage moss etc. and I know have this my first bit of scenery ever.

 

 

 

 

Cheers all next a light frost effect and then maybe full snow fall.

But next the snowman needs mounting on a base and having his hat and scarf fitted.

 

Rob

[Rob Hayes]

well its not long now till I do the snow on this But I have promised the mrs I will let her see it before I snow it as she really wants to see what I have been doing.

I am really keen to see If the Precision Ice and Snow is fine enough to stack up on the very smallest of the roots/tree branches.

 

I was thinking of making some little pigeons for this but I am not sure if its a good idea yet or not.

 

If I could source some convincing deer that would be lovely. Or a man/woman walking a dog would be good.

 

Then again perhaps a small military figure and dog would look good. Can anyone recommend a figure manufacture that has convincing looking animals I am not well up on were figures are at these days its been years since I bought any.

 

Cheers Rob

[shortliner]

 

If I could source some convincing deer that would be lovely. Or a man/woman walking a dog would be good.

 

Then again perhaps a small military figure and dog would look good. Can anyone recommend a figure manufacture that has convincing looking animals I am not well up on were figures are at these days its been years since I bought any.

 

Cheers Rob

 

Since the 2014 Noch catalogue landed on my doormat today, you need ( I assume HO) 15730 Deer, 15735 Fallow Deer, or 15740 Roe Deer

Set 15470 contains an old man and woman and a small dog, set 15518 contains a lady with a small dog on a lead,15060 has huntsmen with a retriever type dog, and there are a couple of police sets - one 15090 has a sitting GS (also 15074, and 15075), and another 15095 a walking GS. Jumping dogs are in 15590 and 15588. loose dogs and cats in 15715 - hope it solves your problem

[Rob Hayes]

Many thanks for the for the heads up on all those Its much appreciated I will check them out some deer would be very nice.

 

Update time. my mrs helped me out and enjoyed sanding the next dio base to shape. She wants to have a go herself now which is brilliant.

This is what she come up with.

 

the first coat of Precision Ice and Snow before the excess is blown and tapped off.

 

 

...And after drying for a few mins and removal this is whats left. for this one I have used 3M spraymount exclusively. which takes longer to build up than hairspray.

 

 

 

Then the second coat is put on.

 

 

 

I am very happy with this result. It is very nice looking for a quick throw together of stuff I cant believe it the closer you look in person the more real it looks me and the mrs were lost staring at it very close for a good few mins. Being outside and hearing the birds tweet and general ambiance really gets your imagiation going.

 

Cheers Rob