Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Dirt

Yes, a topic never before covered in this much detail in this country's model railway press. My module base colour looks far too dark, so I've ventured outside to have a look at the real thing.


'Eee by eck, thats som top grad dirt there mmm'

You can see here that there are 2 different types of dirt, the dry light stuff, and the dark wet stuff. neither looks remotely like Resenes 'coffee bean' which I have used. checking with my colour charts, something from the lighter end of the brown oxide colour chart like 'Silk' or 'Zorba' might be a better bet, or even 'Dusty grey'.
(Go out and get the colour charts. they are free, and you can mix and match the colours that you want to use on the terrain and scenic's. just don't use them on plastic)

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I recall reading a similar exercise in the Hayden/Frary Yankee scenery book....as such, i have some soil samples from Pukemiro on the Glen Afton Branch....in case I ever get around to building it....

RAB said...

My comment on this would be to use a bulk sample, or even better, compare the colour chart with te real location. the dirt in my pictures is much darker when actually tossed onto the colour chart, to the point of almost being the brown I actually used.

Kiwibonds said...

Why not sprinkle the real thing on your paint before it sets? Other than it having set already of course... Hence the half-full bag of Tehachapi sand in my trainroom. You can spray some diluted PVA on it and plop on grass, ground cover, trees etc, but you'll always have something 'under there'. Certainly worthwhile at the edges of bush, in cuttings, under ballast etc and looks better than excrement-coloured paint.

Collect the soil samples from off the top as it's drier and will look much lighter than the darker damp stuff underneath. Dry it and apply. The lighter shade on top is what we all look at in scenery.

P.s. choose a similar colour paint to your dirt as the paint colour will leach through the dirt, especially when you pu tthe PVA on. Using spray paint largely alleviates this. I guess because it's not water paint.

lalover said...

Yes good point darryl. Up north where I hail from, theres a articulate NZR modeller who mixes paint powders, plaster, water and common garden elements to get the effect he wants. Oh and you soak handy towels with the stuff and throw it at the baseboard!

lalover said...

Dryed Tea leaves are another good earthy touch. When they are dried out, they can be easily ground into small fine pieces and sprinkled.
Recycling plus!!

Anonymous said...

Just while we are on the topic of ground cover, autumn leaves in a blender with some water, mixed into a slurry, then dried out....makes great ground cover under trees.....

RAB said...

Theres also the good old sanded pinex and spraypaint.
(anyone mention trackpants?)

ECMT said...

Plunger coffee grounds are another recycle freebie. Or go to a cafe for an almost unlimited supply of the stuff for nothing. They may even pay you to take it away. A bit on the dark side, but a nice smell.

Anonymous said...

Darryl, I think the main problem with using "the real thing" is that it's almost always the wrong colour. in that it only works at 1:1 scale.

The smaller the scale, the lighter the tone of any colour you use. It's why you can't use the prototypical paint when you paint a loco - it's hopelessly too dark.

So using real sand/dirt from any location you are modelling will result in a model surface that is too dark; you will have to lighten it with something if it is to look "right".

Cheers, Luke

Kiwibonds said...

Who would have thought that 'dirt' was such a popular topic! Lots of interesting thoughts and ideas to try in there.

Word of the day: Colys (n) Fruit and vegetables. i.e. "eat yer colys". See also Melon-colys