I need to add some gravel parking lots and roads to my N scale layout. I have looked at N scale ballast but it seems too coarse for a parking lot or a road. It would be like putting real ballast on a real road - that would be a rough ride.
Would Z scale ballast look better? Other options?
Arizona Rock & Mineral makes paving rock that is very fine and looks good. I believe they make both asphault and concrete.
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-Kevin
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Use WS fine turf (any color) and paint it in the color of your choice.
I’ll Second Kevin, Arizona Rock & Mineral products are great!
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Sound interesting. What is the size/texture of the WS fine turf compared to Z scale ballast? What is it made of? I looked at the WS web site and they did not say.
Do you color it before appyling it or can I apply it then airbrush the color?
WS fine turf is ground foam, which gives the surface a fine texture, much finer than any ballast could do. N scale ballast and, IMHO, even Z scale ballast is too coarse to represent gravel.
Just brush a thin layer of white glue onto the area of your parking lot, sprinkle (generously) WS fine turf over it until it is completely covered, let it dry thoroughly and vacuum away any excess material. Than paint the area with an acrylic paint, which is slightly diluted. Gravel comes in different colors, usually depending on which area you model. The colors range from various shades of grey to something yellowish or even a red hue, so it´s your choice.
Use a piece of sandpaper. In n-scale, 150 grit would represent gravel just over an inch in diameter. Glue it down and paint it your favorite gravel color.
In N scale just about any granulated product you can individually see is too big for parking lot sized gravel.
I have used finely sifted fireplace ash for cinder ballast in HO and N, as well as gravel and dirt roads in HO and N (dioramas for photography purposes). The natural color is gray, in varying shades from light to dark, but chalks and powders can lighten it up into gravel-like colors. You sense a texture but do not see individual rocks as you do with ballast.
Dave Nelson
My brother and I had an N scale layout we did together when we were teenagers.
For gravel roads and parking lots once we had the surface indifference, ruts, Etc done in plaster with a base coat color. We found blending different tones of unsanded tile grout worked really well for creating a good effect.
I may try some of the above mentioned techniques when I get to it. I always like to experiment first to see what looks best.
I paint this kind of lot, like gravels roads with chalk paint which is used to paint old furniture.
This paint already contains chalk and have some 3 dimensional look because of the chalk, in fact enough to make a gravel lot in N scale.
It’s possible to augment this 3 dimensional look by adding chalk powder which you can find in artist product store.
Tile Grout. Use a wash to obtain the desired colour.