How Do I Improve the look of ballast on a track?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hey
[:)]
As the question says, how do i improve the look of ballast on a track?

I have got grey balast and it has had the watered down glue eye dropped between the ties ect, is there any way i can improve the look?

many thanks

pavariangoo

2

What exactly don’t you like? Was the glue not dilute enough and globbed up on top or does the overall effect not suit you? I have mixed different shades and used different shades to differeniate between main and branch lines. If you check out some of the articles on ballasting you can’t help but get some ideas. J.R.

3

The top of every tie should be clean and have no ballast. It’s inevitable that some ballast ends up there, but you can scrape it off, piece by piece, with a small screwdriver. Use a vacuum cleaner to pick up the loose pieces afterward. You might try a thin wash of India Ink in water (try a quarter-cup of water with half a dozen drops of ink to start) to darken the ballast overall and provide more contrast.

4

cheers

5

Paint the ties and rails with a good rail brown color first.
Follow Mr. B’s advise on keeping the ties clean of ballast.
After all my glue is dry, I use chalks or weathering powders to put accents down.
Black steaks, oil drips,rusting effects…(paint can also be used)
Use a light color grey ballast to start. It’s easier to darken a light color than to lighten a dark color.
A lot depends on what area your trying to recreate.

6

i use same colored sand or black sand for a dirty engine leak