I have the hardshell stippled and colored. The surface texture and color came out nicely. Now, I can’t decide whether I need to cover the whole thing in soil or whether the hardshell surface would be enough except for rock debris, etc. I’ve looked at Talus which apparently doesn’t come fine enough for soil. I’ve looked at sand which looks like sand. I’ve looked at Woodland Scenics Turf which doesn’t look like soil (grass-yes). I’ve even crushed the Talus into a fine powder which works well but looks like it would take forever to get the amount of soil I need. I’ve even tried collecting and sifting real dirt to get to the granule size needed. That works except the color of soil around here isn’t right for the desert. Decisions, Decisions. Anyone have any successful experiences getting a realistic look to soil surfaces??
May I suggest you look into dry raw clay.
Availlable from ceramic suppliers.
I applied it in the same manner we use for ground foam. Kentucky 4 ball, Tennesse #1, OM 4 and Kentucky special are the ones I use to simulate soil. I would think Tennesse #1 would do real well for Desert soil (with a sprikling of Muddox Grog).
I hope this helps.
Great idea!! Thanks Robert. I’ll give it a look. What happens to the clay powder if you do the usual with Matte Fini***o adhere it to the surface once in place??
That’s the way I bounded mine.
I’m pleased with the results. It even
gave me erosion tracks that I could not
have carved in a hundred years. In depressions
drop a couples of drops of gloss medium for mud
puddles.
I’ve had great success using flat tan latex paint with real sand sprinkled on, and a dash of “burnt grass” colored ground foam. It works very well, better than you may think. Make some cactii out of watermellon seeds, or carved balsa wood for the seguaro, wire with ground foam glued on makes great yucca plants, add a few lychen tumbleweeds and your illusion is off to the oasis. I cast rocks from crupled up aluminum foil molds, colored with Rit dyes- break into chunks and spread around.
Now, there are about 5 major desert regions in the US, each is distictive in it’s fauna and flora. Each has a unique feel to the topography, and they vary by season. Take some photos or do some research into the exact area you want to model, all cactii are not created equal and not all grow everywhere.