Anyone up for some CHEAP trackside detail?

[selector]

Thanks for the responses. It will be difficult to keep whatever it is we place looking good, and doubly so if we try to fix it, such as with a glue. I understand completely what loathar described. I almost wonder if a mold of plaster of paris could be fashioned into little piles, and then died plaster poured in. Once placed & blended into the ballast, or elsewhere on the suface, it should pass reasonably well. Otherwise, actual dust from the side of your driveway might have the best outcome.

Time to give them a try.

[UP Deano]

boy, i hate to post this, its not even the best example we have on the layout, but its the only pic i have to use as an example. again, sorry about the poor quality.

[Anonymous]

for sand what about some pastel chalks? I use them for the grime around where engines sit, flour on the tracks at the plant etc., Though getting a pile might be a challange.

[Anonymous]

I have some pictures on the main message board if anybodys wants to see, and my cheap trackside detail is that I used some cat litter as rail bed and it worked great. the pictures are showen some of the cat litter also.

[loathar]

I was going to try that shaping a block of plaster thing and painting it sand colored. Anybody ever try that for an ore car load? I don't feel like paying $8 for two little loads I'm going to cover with ore/ballast anyhow.

[selector]

Loathar and Iginc, I posted a response earlier, but it seems not to have appeared.

I wonder, to capitalize on loathar's suggestion, if rubbing coloured chalk (maybe two colours?) on a grater/zester would produce something like what we are thinking about. Fixing it could be a problem, but the dry effect would be close.

[Train 284]

Thats an awesome idea!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by selector

So, sand piles? Okay, how would we model them? They'd have to be made of some very fine material that stays where it's at.

How about powdered tempera paints mixed with plaster of paris. Mix different amounts of brown, yellow and plaster to get the color you are looking for, pile it up and mist with water.

[selector]

Well, it is certainly worth a try...off layout, natch. I'll try the chalk method and get back.

[loathar]

I think anything you mix with plaster is still going to be effected by physics when you wet it down.The big peices are going to end up on top. I'm going to try making a shaped base out of plaster, brushing a layer of thinned out glue on it, sprinkle on a layer of a talcum like powder, and then air brushing it with the appropriate color.