I’ve been using photo textures from ScaleScenes.com, resized and glued to 0.010" styrene using 3M spray adhesive. Comes pre-striped and pre-weathered. Print it out at hi-res, glue down and then hit it with some dull coat.
Was out and about today on a variety of asphalt roads and came to the conclusion it would be pretty hard to have a poor reproduction of a prototype road as the range is so wide. Newly paved asphalt is definitely very black and smooth. After six months to a year it goes from dark grey to lighter grey and uneveness begins to set in as heavy vehicles travel over it. After several years the sun has bleached it to a light grey with cracking, chuck holes, etc being more evident. Roads many years old can be completely broken up with exposed gravel and dirt. So, choose the condition you want and go for it.
Where did you find the 1/8" white pinstriping for the lines? When I was in this hobby 10 years ago, it was easy to find. Now even searching Google I can’t.
Also, I’m guessing your 1/8" is for HO scale? I’m doing N-Scale.
At the shop I go to, all the paints, adhesives, tools and tapes are in one area. That is where I found yellow and white tape. I suspect the narrow tape is primarily aimed at our model car counterparts. Both for marking the model cars and for lines on slot car race tracks.
1/8" is actually a bit wide for HO since the road lines I see locally are probably around 5 to 6 inches. But it looks OK. I use Matte Medium to tone down the high shine of the tape. it also helps to make the tape adhere to plastic streets, and is also a good base for powdered chalk weathering.
For N are we looking for 1/16 inch tape? Such stuff exists: http://www.identi-tape.com/mini.htm
I tried to search for 1/32 inch tape but … ain’t the internet grand? – came up with hundreds of results for tape which is 1/32 inch thick.
Dave Nelson
It has the appearance of bechument(sp) like the rough roads in the outback of Autralia…
Given that the last post was from 2011, I wouldn’t hold my breath for a response.
Steve S
Steve, does that mean we will never know what bechument is? [:'(]
I guess so. I just tried to Google the word “bechument”, and it it leads me to this thread, from 2011.
I guess we will never know!
Mike
Working backwards through that spelling and filtering it through Australian accenting, I think it was “bitumen,” which is the British English word for what American calls asphalt.
OK, thats believable. Many civil engineers, and some terminoligy in plans and specs., for road contruction, refer to “bituminus asphalt pavement”.
It’s also a type of coal.
Mike.
Tarmac or Macadam has been used as well.
It seems the term “tarmac” is used to describe an aircraft landing and taxiing area but I’ve heard it used for other asphalt paved areas, too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarmac
Lately, I’ve been using the 1mm EVA craft foam like this:
Regards, Ed
aljb,
Thanks for the information on the Creatology foam, there is a Michaels near where I live, I’ll stop in and take a look at it! 
Black craft foam with gray craft paint sponged on works well. I just used a kitchen sponge, but make sure it doesn’t have any sort of pattern embossed on it.
Large cracks are easily made by tearing the foam. I made the small cracks by chucking a straight pin into a Dremel and etching them in.
Patches can be made by tearing or cutting out a piece and rinsing off some of the paint.
Steve S