Ways to do a snow scene?

[Boyd]

I remember seeing article in MR magazine years back but remember little. One way I think used cornstarch and a hint of black paint mixed in to get definition. That makes me wonder about the cornstarch or other powder getting into the motor and mechanism of engines and other stuff.
Any other ideas?

[FJ and G]

I don't know about cornstarch. I'd be afraid of getting mold. There are many techniques for snow. If the snow is for the peak of a distant mountain, then you would want an extremely fine texture. Plain plaster or drywall mud would work.

For snow that's closer, you'd want more texture. A friend of mine makes convincing snow by gently dusting plaster. Then he uses a very fine spray mist of glue/water/alcohol to seal it. And I stress very fine mist.

I've added sparkles to snow and liked the look. They may be obtained at Michaels.

The best snow I've ever seen, however, is real snow that falls on outdoor garden railroads.

Dave Vergun

[cnw1995]

Rand Hood did some spectacular winter scenes that were the subject of MR articles some years ago. Bill Henderson's Coal Belt layout also has a great winter scene that was featured in an MR layout review. You can search the article index on the trains site. Depending on your preference for materials to work with, there are many ways to go. I use craft store cotton waddings sold as 'snow' - it even has a tiny bit of glitter in it that sparkles like ice under lights. it wouldn't be a bad idea to wander the aisles of your local craft store to see what catches your eye.

[jonadel]

Boyd,

On part of our layout we have what we think is a pretty neat mountain/snow scene thanks to my wife. We started out with a styrofoam box from a computer for the tunnel and added newspaper on top of it and then used plaster wrap and hydrocal and rock molds.

The next shot show the angle from the east.

The 3rd shot shows the mountain from the west.

And the last shot is from our deck door last winter! A real snow scene.


My wonderful wife spent a lot of time on this scene as she's a real detail nut and just loves winter scenes, you should see our house at Christmas. She ended up detailing the mountain with simple shake on "snow" and spray glue from Woodland Scenic's.

Hope this helps.

Jon

[FJ and G]

nice pix; and nice teamwork Jon