I am building my first ever layout and have modeled a small lake within. I would like to simulate a sandy beach with sunworshipers but have been unable to locate any information or material to use for the beach itself. Any help?
I have read articles on beach scenes but cannot remember the specifics on them at this time.
However, if you run a search in the fourm on the keyword “beach” you will find many references in this forum, see the link below:
http://www.trains.com/TRC/CS/search/SearchResults.aspx?q=beach&f=ODgsNzM0LDExLDEz&u=
Also, two articles can be found from the keyword search “beach” in the Magazine Index:
http://index.mrmag.com/tm.exe?opt=S&sort=A&output=3&cmdtext="BEACH"
Hope this helps!
Get some fine sand, the type used for hobby sandblasting for your beach.
Jerry,
First off: [#welcome] to the forum! Good to have you aboard! [:)]
A few months ago I was trying to locate some very fine sand to use in my drying house bin and around my sanding towers. I was able to find some at Michael’s. It’s in the dried flower department and called decorating sand.
It comes in a variety of colors but there is one that is a very light ecru that looks a lot like dry beach sand. I use the darker ecru for “green” sand in my drying house bin.
Jerry, if you don’t have a Michael’s in your area, any craft store should carry something similar like that. I think I paid $1.50 for a ~1 lb. bag. Hope that helps…
Tom
Jerry,
To go along with Bob’s comment above, you can find sandblasting supplies at a machinist’s store in your area. They should have very fine medium that would also work well for beach sand. However, it will probably come in 20 lb. box.
I would stay away from glass beads though. Although you can get super-fine glass bead, because they are round and have the capacity to roll, I would be concerned that they might migrate to the tracks and up into your locomotives. Sand should and would be irregularly shaped and stay in place.
Tom
The finest sand I’ve found was at a pet store that specialized in fish. The regular pet stores had some pretty good stuff, but this one place had some white sand that was almost a powder. That may be too fine, but it’s good to have choices. Check out the pet stores in your area, especially those that cater to fish and aquariums.
Morning eaglebeak, I thought I might be able to help you here. When I made my beach, I used some play sand and sifted it through an old clothes dryer filter (The one that is fine screen wire) and put the sand along the lake shore and used Elmers glue/water mixture to hold it in place then after that was dry, I used WS realistic water for the lake. I did the lake in probley 8 or 10 different pours. Here is a pic that may help, let me know if I can do more. Mike
Some of the finest grit of silica sand is used for sanded tile grout. This can be found in a all sorts of colors and even mix to get the color desired. I find many hobby related uses for ceramic tile products. The beauty of grout is just add wet water.
Bob,
What happens when you add dry water to grout? [swg]
Tom
When you use dry water it just beads on top pf the material you’re trying to saturate and the glue doesn’t soak in.
Nice scene [:D] Isn’t it just typical? You chill on the beach and someone goes and backs up a truck to start pouring concrete [|(]
What I’m really interested in is what you did to position the swimmers in the water please?
You’ve said that you poured in several layers, which is the best way to do it in my experience… BUT… once you’d got to the point of putting the figures in…did you fit them and then pour or pour round them and support them somehow?
TIA
[8D]
Sure, all I did was when I poured the second layer or so, while the ‘‘water’’ was stil wet, I placed the figures in the water and when the water was dried, the figures were there. As I poured the remainder of the water, it just sort of flowed around the little folks. I did a concrete swimming pool on the other half of the layout, and used the same process to put in the swimmers. I really felt sorry for the swimmers this past winter, I bet that water got pretty cold!!. Mike
Treat as if you are ballasting. It does work best if applied mixed, but this may not give the results you after.
Wet water or a combination mix with alchohol breaks the surface tension. The sanded grout can be mixed and spread also, allow to set and firm and treated with wet paint brush or sponge for a base.