Groundworks

Buildings done, I get to have a go at some scenery. Messy, but fun.

First up, ballasting. Not wanting anything coarse or resembling the mainline, I've used sawdust with a little bit of granite mixed in it. The result is lovely and fine but with just a hint of texture. The mix was applied dry and stuck down using the traditional PVA/water mix with a drop of washing up liquid to break the surface tension. Some brown powder paint would have been a good idea too. Since I didn't think of this when I was actually anywhere near somewhere that sold said paint, it will remain a good idea.

Between the track a few lumps and bumps are courtesy of a tube of Wilkinson ready mixed decorating filler. What they would call Pollyfilla but can't for trademark reasons. Applying this is like icing a cake, albeit with something a good deal crunchier. Based on these results, I'm not going to be competing with Jane Asher in a hurry. Not to worry, a bit of smearing around with a palette knife and the basic lumps are OK.

For colour I used Greenscene textured paint. It's a hell of a lot cheaper than Tamya's version and just as brown and gritty. Once dry some matchpot emulsion in various shades of brown (they don't actually call it brown bit it is) got splodged on and mixed.

Finally the track was sprayed with Precision underframe dirt. I started doing this with a paintbrush before realising that even allowing for set up and cleaning, it was a lot quicker to use an airbrush. Better still would have been an aerosol, but I forgot to buy one of those too.