I’m just getting into practicing scenery methods and I’m painting a small area with my ‘earth’ paint and then lightly sprinkle real, fine dirt over it while it’s still wet. I then put on a layer of Fine Burnt grass and Fine Green grass from Woodland Scenics. My question is, after I’ve got the layer of fine grass down, do I glue it with a mist of Scenic Cement or other glue and let it dry before going on to the larger scenic elements like bushes, trees etc.? Is it best to do this with each ‘layer’ of scenic elements?
As with any hobby experimenting is part of the fun! I’m getting around 57 years old and still learning the easiest methods to scenery and other elements of RR modeling. I have tried this method and it seems to work the best which is what you are trying now.
A layer of colored water based paint (acrylic) then the dirt, finely sprinkled through a strainer, more glue and then the basic ground cover. Lastly, the trees and shrubs, glue them into holes drilled into the base and through the ground cover to make them appear as if they grew up through the ground and not on top.
Using all water based paint, glues and other material will help with cleanup. Speaking of water, are you considering streams or ponds, if so let me know and I’ll share a really simple method with you. The hardware stores are full of material for many model RR scenery items.
If you put glue down then put the scenic material onto it, it tends to dry with a very unrealistic sheen. I put paint down, sprinkle the material on and let it dry. Then I use a vacuum that has a nylon stocking in the end of the tube to vacuum up the excess. The excess can be dumped out of the stocking and reused. If any more material has to be added after the paint has dried, a light misting with a glue/alcohol or glue/water mix will wet the surface and the material can be added.
So…, Jeff… the idea is to put the glue/water mix down and then put the fine foam ground cover on it while wet? I was thinking you put the foam down and then misted it with the glue/water mix to hold it in place.
This is the way I thought it was done:
1-dirt colored paint on sub terrain (I’m using plaster cloth over foam in places and in other places just the blue foam.
2- sprinkle very fine real dirt onto paint while it’s still wet
3- sprinkle fine grass foam onto dirt and leave alone til under paint is dry.
4- mist with a glue/water mixture
5- add larger grass, clumps, bushes etc
6- mist with glue/water mixture
7- use glue full strength to add larger things like trees, big bushes etc.
I first paint the area and let that dry. I use a thin acrlyic wash, so it’s not going to hold much down. Typically, I start with a base of Gypsolite to which I’ve added a bit of brown, so I’ve got a tan base, and then I put green down, ending up with a camouflage pattern. After it’s dry, I brush on glue - typically white glue mixed 1 part glue to 3 parts water. Then I sprinkle on the ground foam and turf, mostly keeping green to green and brown to brown over the pattern, but if I mis-foam a spot, that’s OK too.
This generally has little waste (I sprinkle by hand over a very small area, not right from the shaker) and almost everything sticks, so vacuuming doesn’t waste much, either. I get no “glue shine” from this, maybe because my base is so optically “flat” to start with.
I seal all my ground foam with either Woodland Scenic spray or Mod Pog matte glue/water mix. Gives everything a nice hard coat and makes cleaning/dusting easier later. Just avoid getting spray on buildings,roads,ect.
Glad to help, I’ve used a method that is somewhat easirer perhaps than most and water cleanup gave me the idea.
Lay out where you want the streambed with built-up river banks using your scenery material and remember to refer to as many photos of an area that you a going to model, I live in the desert area of New Mexico but there are nurmerous waterways out here and they offer some interesting topography.
Once you have decided on the area to have underwater, the use of the Miniwax brand of Polycrylic clear gloss sealant works in one step, pour on as many layers as you wish letting each layer (about a 1/4 inch) set up before applying the next layer. Drying time can be shortened by using the hairdryer method I mentioned previously. These layers will dry to a clear glossy effect which is good to use for streams where you want to see the bottom mud, rocks and vegetation effects. Then for rapids I apply white bathtub caulk in wave patterns on the top of the polycrylic, the effects are really convincing and if you use a color based streambed painted in blues, greens , etc. and then appy the gloss, the effects are even better.
Keep to small rivers, creeks and small ponds as you do not want to show too much water unless you are building a dock-side diorama/layout. As with anything growing in nature, every stand of trees is in odd numbers, 3s, 5s, etc., the same is true of brush and with rocks in a streambed use small stones and pebbles and simply drop them into the polycrylic as it is setting.
Here is a modeler with a lot of wisdom, excellent advice and you would do well to follow it!
The water based methods work the best for me on the few occasions I dabble in the indoor scales. Using matte medium as a bonding agent is the best thing I have found after 30 years of looking. Easy to use, inexpensive, easy to clean up, and you can add on to it later no problem!
Many volumes of literature have been devoted to this topic. Head down to your public library and check out a few books.
Thank you very much for the note about my level of knowledge. It’s something that I’ve been doing for lots of years and sharing and learning is the whole key to the hobby.
By the way I lived VB for a time and am a retired Navy Chief Gunner’s Mate enjoying the SW corner of New Mexico where water runs away
