The only element carried over from the railways existing boards to the new one is a small section of beach. Being unsure how to model this last time I went for the simplest option – real sand.
The sand used is from Southwold and stored, since the holiday when I collected it, in an old ice cream pot. The ice cream was particularly nice as I recall. These elements combine to give this material a proper seaside provenance.
Of course the big problem is scale. Each grain of sand is 100 times too large. It’s a beach covered with sand coloured golf balls. We’ve all been to British beaches like this but they are pebbles and that’s a different colour.
Colour matters to my eye more than the scale of the sand. If you look at the stuff the hue is simple enough but the way light reflects both of and through it is impossible to replicate – at least for me.
Anyway, I spooned the sand onto the area to be beached with a ice cream spoon. This looks like a spade (as in bucket and) which makes me happy. It’s an easy to use tool too which is why I kept it in the bottom of the tool drawer.
The sand is stuck down with watered down PVA (49% PVA, 50% water 1% washing up liquid) but this alters the colour slightly. When it’s dry then, I painted neat PVA over the dunes and sprinkled more sand on to.
Finishing touches include a bit of flock powder to give the effect of grass as seen on dues at the top of a beach.
Now, how do I make a 1:100 sandcastle ?
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