How do you model soil

[BBdave]

I look at many of the dios here and I'm always impressed how people get soil and the ground looking real any attempt I make just looks like I've dumped fine dirt on pva (which is basically what I do) . Do you guys add washes or paint or are you just good at spotting the right kind of dirt? Or maybe you don't use dirt at all.


Dave

[Ian M]

The few bases that I have done, I Either put down a thin layer of plaster, shape it, put track/wheel marks into it and then paint it. Powder paints mixed up nice and thick are good for that, (if you want it really goopy, mix washing powder into it)!
Sand and Deserts are much the same i just paint it with plenty of PVA and give it a good coat of fine sand/grit. remember to press it into the glue and seal it after it has dried. Mat varnish or even hairspray....

 

[monica]

will try and give you a bit of a hand Dave,as I only have Sandie soils,which I hate,


and would lov some clay or mount dirt,I do the best I can,what I do first is,mix


50/50,PVA/water,then add my dirt and mix it real well,then spreap it out like,plaster


to a base,mix more as needed,this will darken it a little with the glue,and sometimes,


if I wont a dark brown looking dirt,just add in cheapo,paint acrylic,for a nice rich,paints or clay,


add in the colors that suit your liking,with the acrylic paint and watered down glue will take a little


longer to set, 9_9


hope this is of some help for you,

[spanner570]

I do the same as you Dave, and just dump dirt onto pva!


If the ground is undulating, I 'pre-shape' the contours with anything at hand (cement, tile adhesive etc.) using pva as a key for the stuff. Then when dry, I coat the whole thing with  a slurry of pva then spread whatever I'm using (usually soil out of the garden or sweepings from the garage floor, bits and all) onto the base. Leave it a few minutes then tip the whole thing over and give it a clout. This releases any loose stuff. I let the base dry and repeat, if required.


If the base is flat, I just do the same as above without the first stage contouring.


My recent ditched Me 109 is done using the same basic method, I painted the whole polystyrene base in yellow, then I've just smashed up small stones from our drive. Some I ground down to a powder, others to scale rocks and stuck the lot down in a pva slurry......No need to paint anything, except around the water's edge.


If I want to add some colour variation, I just paint where I want with cheap children's Poundshop acrylics.


When doing this sort of stuff remember not to fiddle and fart around...Just sling the stuff on - just like Mother Nature does!


Just have a play Dave.....


Ron

[Germanjim]

I use dried tea leaves from teabags they seem to be finer than loose tea, prepare your base with ova sprinkle the tea on, let it dry then spray the surface with CHEAP hairspray from a pound shop don't use good hairspray it doesn't have the same sticking power. That's what I use both in railway modelling and dioramas when set you can add any weathering you want hope this helps.


     Jim

[BBdave]

Thanks guys I'll try some dirt again I did use it on my railway layout  but the particles were still to big for n gauge  maybe more practice is needed to master  it .


Dave

[spanner570]

Thanks guys I'll try some dirt again I did use it on my railway layout  but the particles were still to big for n gauge  maybe more practice is needed to master  it .


Dave

Dave, if you let the dirt dry out, or if the wife's not looking, put it in the microwave for a few minutes (that's why I use sweepings from the green house floor, 'cos it's always dry) then pass the stuff through a sieve on to the pva, this gives a very fine dust which will be in scale for your N gauge layout. Don't throw away the stuff left in the sieve - bag it!