cool, post pics when its done. sounds like its going to be a N-scale.

 

that's actually what i've done for one scene. i'm using beach sand because it's free.

it looks ok, but the glue stays on top of the sand making it look plastic. it'll work, but i was wondering if that's the best way.

this isn't really for trains, so i don't have a specific scale. model trains are just the closest thing i can think of that does this kind of thing.

 

If you go to a hobby store they have a "clean sand" you can use. The main thing is that sand holds a lot of dirt in it and the spray glue tends to glue he surface where the dust is but doesn't always bond solidly. Not a real big deal in some cases but just throwing that out there.

What you can do is spray the glue and let it tack up a little then just dust the surface with fresh sand then letting it dry and softly blowing off the excess. This way it looks more natural and will hold for some time in a stationary environment.

 

i'll try to get a picture of what i have. the spray glue i used worked and the top layer of the sand it fairly solid. the problem is that it looks a bit like mud instead of sand. maybe i'll respray the top and sift some sand on top of it and see if that helps.

another problem is that the glue traps air under it, so if the sand is touched, it deflates and doesn't nearly as natural. not a severe problem as i don't think people will be poking fingers at it, but you never know.

thanks for the tips though. i'll let you know how it comes out. and thanks Spec, i looked up n-scale and found some good forums that may help.

 

i had this real badass setup with towns, train roundabouts, bridges, stations, mountains, freight fields...

 

I have a ton of G-scale trains/coaches at home. Never did a really nice layout, my dad was always too busy to help me

 

I was mostly into HO scale. Had some N scale but it wasn't as interesting.

 

here's one of the beach scenes i've made:


larger version here


larger version here


you can see the sand looks plastic now. i haven't tried putting more sand on top yet because the paint is still drying.

 

The Blue Comet

 

I had one when I was a kid but I traded it for 3 sega genesis games. It was cool cause you could put in oil and it turn it on and real smoke would come out. Wish i had kept it. :hs: