Real "DIRT" for ground cover.

[Union Pacific Cascade Division Model RR]

One of  my tricks is using real dirt for ground cover. I start by painting my terrain with a light brown color. Then I find dirt that is a good light color. I then put it in a bucket (If it is dry), I mash it with a shovel until most of the big chunks are broken up. Then I put it through a sifter to get just the fine dust out. Then I apply it with a spoon and attach it with 50/50 water and glue mixture. The thinner of a layer you apply depends on how much of the under layer of paint color you whant to show through. Also remember to cook the dirt in an oven or microwave before placing on your layout. This kills all bacteria in the dirt.   

[retsignalmtr]

you left out one step that could be a big problem for you. real dirt is loaded with micro-organisims that are not too healthy to have lying around your layout. you should sterilize the dirt before you put it on your layout to kill them first. heating it up on a barbeque grill, toaster oven or maybe a microwave will work. i do this with compost i make for my indoor plants and it is amazing how much is living in there.

[mobilman44]

Hi!

I would feel better about using "dirt" if I baked it for 1/2 hour or so at 325 degrees - to eliminate moisture, but more importantly to kill the bugs, seeds, and goodness knows what else may be in it (insect eggs?).

On the subject of dirt, in my travels around the US I've seen a huge color range - from deep black, to grey, to brown, to red, and to yellow - with any shade you could imagine in between. 

ENJOY !

Mobilman44

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Hi!

I would feel better about using "dirt" if I baked it for 1/2 hour or so at 325 degrees - to eliminate moisture, but more importantly to kill the bugs, seeds, and goodness knows what else may be in it (insect eggs?).

Amen to that. Nothing like having a mess of sand fleas hatch out on your layout. OUCH! 

[Packer]

Most of my yrad's dirt is white. Not really Ideal for a layout.

[Railphotog]

A suggestion that's been around for a long time is to gather some finely pulverized dirt around home plate on a ball diamond.  I've done this in the past, and after sifting several times can come out in various levels, from very fine to almost dust.

 

 

[pastorbob]

I model Santa Fe in North Central/northwest Oklahoma, but I live in Kansas now.  What better way to get the dirt I need?  Go home to Oklahoma on visits, carry some equipment including sealed containers, go to the area I am modeling, which is a reddish brown sandy like soil, bring it home sealed, bake it, sift it and use it.  I get amused at how many people comment favorably over the ground areas, but the funniest was a guy who told me it wasn't the right color for the area I was modeling.  He did so in front of several people, and when I told him where it came from, including what road in what town I was on, he was properly humiliated and that is the last time anyone made that comment.

Bob

[Union Pacific Cascade Division Model RR]

I did leave out the step of cooking the dirt before placing it on the layout. This should be done before anyone uses real dirt on there layout. I myself do cook the dirt before using it. Plus cooking the dirt removes any moisture that may cause mold or give the dirt a darker color. Also remember that whatever you use to form your terrain like sculptamold for example, needs to be fully dry before putting the paint and dirt layers down. This will prevent mold from growing and causing health problems.  

[river_eagle]

I would pass a magnet over/thru the dirt, you don't want it to get sucked into loco motors.

[selector]

I just sifted very dry garden soil left over from where I stored Dahlia corms over a winter.  Then, I mixed in some Plaster of Paris, rolled it flat, sprayed it with alcohol and water to wet it, and then oversprayed liberally with a light yellow glue mixture.  It has been in place for two full and warm winters (I have a hot wood stove glowing very close to one end of the layout from November through mid-March) and over one summer.  I haven't seen anything extraordinary in terms of fuzzies, crawlies, odd coloured growths, or whatever.  As far as I am concerned, the plaster, alcohol, and the glue have rendered the medium inert until the first time the pipes burst above the layout.

That's it in the yard pictured below.

 

[Oakhurst Railroad Engineer]

There is something special about having a bit of dirt from the actual area you are modeling on your layout.  I have bit of finely sifted dirt from the Sierra Nevada mountains on my Oakhurst Railroad.  It is a good story to tell visitors.

Now this doesn't necessarily guarantee that the color will be right.  People that paint scale models know that small models look different than full scale objects, even if the color is the same.  I think that small objects should be painted a few shades lighter.  Does anyone know more about this effect?

 

[Union Pacific Cascade Division Model RR]

The dirt should not be used that close to the trains. If Your HO train has a magnet strong enough to pull micro magnetic materials out of the dirt groundcover that has been GLUED down to the terrain, you have a larger issue than just particles in the dirt. 

Just a thought.  

[Union Pacific Cascade Division Model RR]

Yes I do. I first started the dirt idea with a very dark brown paint under the dirt. This gave the dirt a color that was way to dark for my taste. So I tried a lighter color of paint and it helped lighten the dirt color. I also noticed that depending on how thick of a layer of dirt you put down the color can be changed in that way to. You basically have to expirament until you are satisfied with the results.

[fire5506]

 I think a lot of it has to do with the lighting we usually have in the layout room. We look at reallife things outdoors in real sunlight, but in our layout rooms we have artificial lighting which makes things look darker.

    Richard

There is something special about having a bit of dirt from the actual area you are modeling on your layout.  I have bit of finely sifted dirt from the Sierra Nevada mountains on my Oakhurst Railroad.  It is a good story to tell visitors.

Now this doesn't necessarily guarantee that the color will be right.  People that paint scale models know that small models look different than full scale objects, even if the color is the same.  I think that small objects should be painted a few shades lighter.  Does anyone know more about this effect?

 

[Union Pacific Cascade Division Model RR]

This does play a large roll in the color. I use Halogen lights and they seem to produce a pretty natural light.

[AggroJones]

Yep. All my dirt is cooked. And all future dirt will be cooked.

[Union Pacific Cascade Division Model RR]

I heard of someone that fried their dirt.

[KingConrail76]

I've never "cooked" my dirt, but I do "bake" my limestone that I use for ballast. It takes the moisture out and makes it easier to sift. As for "crawlies", "fuzzies", or critters, I mix concentrated Lysol with both my "wet" water and my diluted glue mixes. seems to eliminate any form of mold or bacteria potential just fine.

[jfugate]

While I agree in theory with the "real dirt" concept, in reality it has several problems.

• The problem of "critters" living in the dirt is an issue that's already been discussed.
• Another problem is texture. To get the texture right, you need to sift it well so you get the finest possible texture -- dust level in most cases.
• One of the most serious problems I find is color. Real dirt is often too dark when viewed under indoor layout lighting.

MAKE YOUR OWN DIRT!
I find a much simpler method and one that gives lots more control is to simply make my own dirt.

To do this I mix regular plaster of paris with dry powdered colors, and I match the color to a prototype photo I have. This gets me the precise color of dirt I need, and since it's got plaster in it, all I have to do is wet the area with water using a spray bottle, sprinkle on some of my dirt with a tea strainer, and then mist it again with some water. The plaster in the mix fixes it in place and voila! Instant dirt with the precise color I need that glues itself down!

By the way, in case you have entered the hobby since the 1970s, this "make your own dirt" method was invented by Linn Westcott, and he called it "zip texturing". It's great stuff and I'm surprised that MR's forgotten about it (of course, it doesn't sell more Woodland Scenics ground foam) ... I still use it, with excellent results. 

I cover this and other money and time-saving techniques in my scenery forum clinic here.

[cwclark]

   I have to agree with Joe on the fact that "zip texturing' is the best way to create dirt. Joe even goes a step further by adding dry tempra paints to the plaster to get the dirt colors needed. I have found only one source of natural dirt that works well and it's the dirt with the orangish or reddish colors found exclusively in the southern and central part of the state of Utah. All other dirt sources just don't look good on the layout. They are just too coarse or too dark.

      Another way to simulate dirt is to use a substance called "ground goop."  It stores well in an air tight plastic container and spreads as easy as icing on a cake. The recipe can vary but I use the following recipe:

1 part vermaculite

1 part celluclay

1 part earth toned (tan or ochre) latex paint

3/4 part elmers white glue

2 capfuls of lysol concentrated cleaner /disinfectant (it keeps the goop from souring if any left over ground goop is stored away)

chuck

[Driline]

While I agree in theory with the "real dirt" concept, in reality it has several problems.

• The problem of "critters" living in the dirt is an issue that's already been discussed.
• Another problem is texture. To get the texture right, you need to sift it well so you get the finest possible texture -- dust level in most cases.
• One of the most serious problems I find is color. Real dirt is often too dark when viewed under indoor layout lighting.

MAKE YOUR OWN DIRT!
I find a much simpler method and one that gives lots more control is to simply make my own dirt.

To do this I mix regular plaster of paris with dry powdered colors, and I match the color to a prototype photo I have. This gets me the precise color of dirt I need, and since it's got plaster in it, all I have to do is wet the area with water using a spray bottle, sprinkle on some of my dirt with a tea strainer, and then mist it again with some water. The plaster in the mix fixes it in place and voila! Instant dirt with the precise color I need that glues itself down!

By the way, in case you have entered the hobby since the 1970s, this "make your own dirt" method was invented by Linn Westcott, and he called it "zip texturing". It's great stuff and I'm surprised that MR's forgotten about it (of course, it doesn't sell more Woodland Scenics ground foam) ... I still use it, with excellent results. 

I cover this and other money and time-saving techniques in my scenery forum clinic here.

Yup, I decided to follow Joe's advice. Unfortunately you can't get the powdered tempra from Target or Wal-Mart anymore. I had to buy mine at Michaels craftstore. Hobby Lobby has it too. Its 4 or 5 dollars a jar though so it aint cheap. So I've got almost 20 bucks in powdered paint and plaster of paris. I'm more comfortable with this than real dirt. I can adjust the color and most importantly I don't have to worry about critters I plan on testing it out sometime this week.....

[Don Gibson]

ORGANIC VS. INORGANIC.

REAL dirt turns to mud when wet, and can become airborn when wet. It houses bugs, and is useful to GROW thngs,  but you need sunlight. 

MODELING is largely SIMULATING things.

SOMETIMES 'REAL' doesn't cut it.