I have posted here as well as on FSM many times in the past as I have many facets of modelling, not the least of which is in HO scale.
Acrylic based products from the hardware and craft outlets are perhaps the most overlooked products as far as I can tell with the hobby industry as most people perhaps overlook them completely, turning to the set standard of products which is fine if your artistic inclinations aren’t too strong. Not to detract from anyone’s abilities, believe me I wish I were an electrican when it comes to wiring a layout !
Acrylic Paint; purchased at Walmart, Hobby Lobby and other craft stores will work with any color match as I have had success with armor, aircraft and rr kits. Scenery is mastered with a mix of this type of paint with thinned with water, mixed with caulking and plaster of paris. Experimentation is the key. The bulk versions of this paint can be found in pint cans in the hardware and paint stores. This type of paint is rapidly out-doing oils and thinner-based as the health risks are somewhat less with precautions in place. The odor from thinners is terrible as I grew up with the many brands for modeling.
Caulk; I noted a long time ago this stuff is great when mixed with acrylic paint and water to the consistancy of pancake batter and applied to blue, pink or white extruded foam scenery base. Also after thinning with water to about 70% water to 30% caulk by dipping plain paper towers in it makes great cloth covering for scenery. Forget the gauze and plaster. The caulk is the tube type for the gun or the lesser amounts that are for sealing sinks, etc. Colors are white and tan, possible other uses, repair the bathroom seals around the tube… same great product.
Water in a can; people need to try this for water.
I’d have to agree. When I’m in “scenery mode,” I visit Michaels and A.C. Moore a lot more than my LHS. And even better, I hardly spend a thing. Craft stores have aisles and aisle of paints, of course, but they’ve also got balsa and bass wood for scratchbuilding, Envirotex for water, baby’s breath for trees, low-cost paint brushes and plaster cloth.
I head to the hardware store for brass tubing, rods and shapes, and pick up Durhams Water Putty to “pave” my roads.
Of course, the coffee machine at work gives me all the stirrers I want.
Thanks for the great response! It appears that we grew up in the same era, when all we had were supplies from the hardware store and other non-hobby stores as there were none where I grew up in Rochester, NY.
Remember the grade school project of making a relief map of the USA with starch and water and poster paints. These folks that have every conceivable pre-made, pre-mixed and prepared hobby item available should have seen the old ways. Hey, what about sawdust for grass??
See you on later,
johncpo- still modeling HO in the high desert, why, because I find the sand to be the real thing !
Funny you should mention that. My wife teaches art enrichment classes. This past year, she had one private student, a kid who doesn’t do well in a classroom setting. But, they hit it off very well. He’s in grade school, and sure enough he got an assignment to make a relief map of New Hampshire. My wife is well versed in the simple pleasures of paper mache, be we added an extra touch at the end with Woodland Scenics turfs of various colors.
So, it came full circle, with “official” model railroad supplies going back into the craft world!
I happen to live close to one of those “old-fashioned” family-owned hardware stores that has been around forever and stocks everything - not just the blister-packed items you see in the big box stores. Whether I’m shopping for hobby stuff or otherwise, they have it and if they don’t, they can get it. They know where every item is in their store and they actually can give you advice or infomation about the product.
The big-box stores serve a purpose for many folks, but I really like the feel of the local hardware store.
Having grown into the modern world of hobbies like all of us from way back when, I learned the ideas from old MMR magazines are some of the best and use things like sawdust although I use it still and get fair results for the layout I definately refer to as “folk art”. Mine has everything on it from acrylic home repair products as I mentioned to sawdust to WS grass, you name, I’ve tried it.
My red dirt from around Ouray Colorado, cheap stuff, I got it from my brother’s back yard, he has a whole mountain of it. For ballast I use WS crushed rock or tallis, something in it works better that their grey ballast and I get better results. Much of the sand I use is right around my home and after sifting it in a strainer I get a consistancy of the right type. I use a mix of basic earth tone paint, caulking and water to get a texture base, then I brush on the sand with good results as it adds more texture.
Additional products I use often are from the floral section, the green foam that you can carve and shape is really great for rock formations and such, I use a thin coat of my ground mix and come up with a pretty fair rendition of rock formations and the like. There are so many ways to accomplish the end result no wonder it takes years to complete a layout. Then I have my 1/35th scale armor and figure kits abounding on shelves to build and the 1/48th aircraft as well, all part of a scheme to drive my wife nuts as she enters the"train room" as she calls it. That’s when I ask her “what do you see that I have added?” She just shakes her head and asks me, “where’s the farm section you promised to build me?” Life in the train and model room goes on!
Actually I think many on this forum endorse the idea of searching craft stores like Michaels for supplies (certainly the acrlyic paint get mentioned often - I have several bottles of Ceramcoat, but I tend to use it only for items of a ‘rough’ nature, like wood or rocks or even slacks/jeans on model figures - someone was able to get a great finish on model cars air-brushing craft paints, but I have no such skill).
People also often mention that you can find some hobby tools like replacment xacto blades, squares, rulers, you can get foamcore, you can get…well, lots of (more or less pan-hobby) items. And they’re right.
I needed some chain for a, well, not show-winning but still a favorite flat car, and not wanting to pay a lot for scale chain, I found a child chain at Michaels which primed gray and dry-brushed primer red looked fairly good, if a bit out of scale (more like S-scale).
So the moral of this story is…maybe Model Railroader show try to get Michaels and their like as advertisers (I never see those 50% coupons others keep talking about [V] )
I’ve been using materials from art and craft stores and hardware stores for years. They are MUCH better stocked and cheaper than many LHSs. The selection of paints, stripwood, brass tubing, structural shapes, tools, and other scratch building supplies is huge compared to some LHSs. Some of these stores, like Pearl and Michaels, are starting to carry some model railroad supplies at discount prices.
It will be a sad day when all the “real” hardware stores fall the the cheap knock off quality of the blister packed products. There are still a handful of them that have survived the “Big Box” exploitation that has driven most out of business. One in particular has actually done better business since a Home Depot opened next to them.
Want a good rake, shovel, lopping shears to last a lifetime, then buy one at that good 'ol family owned store.
Not sure what is happening in Wal-Mart land, but our local store is being remodeled and the arts and craft area is now history. No more cheap paints, brushes, etc…
Oh well, like I needed another reason to stop going to Wal-Mart!
Red auto primer, in rattle cans, from hardware or auto parts stores. An excellent box car red or brick red. Dries dead flat, accepts decals well, covers anything. Sticks well. Nearly as good as an air brush, and you don’t have to clean it after each use.
Dark gray auto primer. Excellent for steam engines, rolling stock under carriages, and tar paper roofs as on cabeese, clearstory passenger cars, milk cars. Excellent stick to metal. Comes in rattle cans.
Light gray auto primer. Just right for covered hoppers. Also good for car underbodies. Lets you see more of the details of a detailed underbody than the dark gray. Comes in rattle cans.