merlinxlili Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 Here is some interesting stuff I found as a good representation of coal in 4mm scale. I picked this up on an artificial grass playing field when watching my boys playing footie. It consists of small bits of rubber filler, used between the plastic grass leaves to provide a substitute for earth I believe, providing drainage and a better base for the players. It tends to migrate off the edges of the pitch over time so one can collect the odd handful. The you need to weed out all the stones, threads, dead insects and bits of small footballers. The net result is very good – discrete bits of a good size, irregular and in fact very coal-shaped, the right colour and variation with a bit of glint. All in all it is the best model coal I have seen. The small load in the picture weighs only 9g. Go and ask you local school or sports club if you can gather a small bag full. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tomparryharry Posted November 13, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 13, 2018 I tend to use real coal, on the basis that there's a lot of it about. That granular load looks good, BTW. Ian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmcg1959 Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 Here is some interesting stuff I found as a good representation of coal in 4mm scale. I picked this up on an artificial grass playing field when watching my boys playing footie. It consists of small bits of rubber filler, used between the plastic grass leaves to provide a substitute for earth I believe, providing drainage and a better base for the players. It tends to migrate off the edges of the pitch over time so one can collect the odd handful. The you need to weed out all the stones, threads, dead insects and bits of small footballers. The net result is very good – discrete bits of a good size, irregular and in fact very coal-shaped, the right colour and variation with a bit of glint. All in all it is the best model coal I have seen. The small load in the picture weighs only 9g. Go and ask you local school or sports club if you can gather a small bag full. IMG_1206.JPG The coal looks very convincing, I'm more intrigued by your 'single lever brake' - maybe you can let us know how you fashioned that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judge Dread Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 (edited) I have always used real coal because, to me it looks like model coal. When I moved into my present address, I realisted it was all gas heated and I had not brought any coal from my last address. One of my new neighbours stopped to say hello (we do that here in Yorkshire) and I took the opportunity to ask him for a lump of coal. "Bring a bucket over" he said, "I realise you maybe a little hard up with the cost of moving etc". I explained why I wanted just a lump but He still tried to give me a bucket full! Edited November 13, 2018 by Judge Dread 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlinxlili Posted November 14, 2018 Author Share Posted November 14, 2018 Yes, but away from the coalfields real coal is becoming remarkably scarce! I remember walking home from school through the smell of coal smoke. All gone now. The brake gear is fine little etch was bought from Studio Scale Models I think, several years ago. Very useful for tarting up some of the proprietary wagons. Ask Des Sullivan at http://www.studio-scale-models.com/ . This little Dapol one is not bad - you can seen that the iron beading on the top edge of the wagon sides is moulded on! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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