Does anyone know what Pelle Soeburg uses for the ground base for the desert on his UP layout featured in the current MR and on the video on this web site? The article clearly explains the vegitation, but says nothing about the dirt it’s growing in.
Pelle used scenery products from:
Arizona Rock & Mineral Co.
Edit:
I wonder why he did not use “native” Danish dirt, sifted and baked, from the beaches of his lovely country.
aka “real dirt” sifted through a screen. Same thing I did with mine.
Where I live (central Texas) real dirt would be the wrong color and the AZ scenery web site didn’t help much as I couldn’t find what appeared to be the stuff he used. Locally available sand is too brown.
Thanks anyway. I may have to wing it, maybe with fine buff ballast.
If I want some desert dirt to sift all I have to do is step into my back yard.
Unfortunately, my native dirt bears no resemblance to the deep brown forest floor loam in the Upper Kiso Valley.
Chuck (Modeling cedar-forested Central Japan in September, 1964 - in the Dessicated Desert)
I use a thin layer of plaster for my scenery. While the plaster is still wet, I sift dry plaster on it. This gives it a nice texture, simulating small rocks and dirt. When it’s dry, I paint whatever ground color I want; browner for midwest dirt, since it’s usually damp; light tan for arid regions.
