Made up a 16" section of roadbed and track (N scale) to try my hand at ballasting and to see the differences in the "look" between fine and medium ballast (Woodland Scenics is all I could get in the local hobby emporiums). I can see that this is going to be a real pain for the actual layout or at least the first attempts on this mockup would indicate this. Was using the method that was outlined in the latest issue of Model Railroader, between the rails first and then the edges, and had a difficult time keeping the ballast off of the inside of the rails. I'm sure it will get easier when I get near the end of the layout. Used 70% alcohol to "wet" the ballast and then Scenic Cement over that. Did observe that WS ballast will float. Was trying to find out some info from Scenic Express about their #50 stone ballast but they haven't answered email yet. Asked what the size of it was in comparison to WS grades. Hate to spend $20 on a small container and then open it up and find out it would be boulder size in N. Adhesive should dry later tonight and then I might try doing the outside of the rail edges but will be gone the rest of this weekend (going to Super Bowl) so probably won't get back to it until Monday.
Well, I'm not familiar with the MR article, but I will say that that is not the recipe in the Woodlands Scenic's "Scenery Manual." This is one of those topics that has a thousand different answers. Everyone has 'their' way. Settle on the WS smaller ballast and follow WS directions on the use of their product. Simple as that. Jim
As Jim said, there are many many techniques of ballasting track. While my own method differs, I've found most modelers (of any experience level) are able to replicate the technique outlined in this video with the least hiccups. [video=vimeo;15983976]http://vimeo.com/15983976[/video]
How about the poor boy method? Gather real gravel and put it in a shaker. For HO use a salt shaker, for N use a pepper shaker. Apply white glue watered down to taste (more water for N) and start shaking.
Mark, thanks for the video. Will try it that way when I get back home. Had actually thought about using syringes as I had some leftover from refilling ink cartridges but didn't think the glue mix would get through the small opening.
Another thread Tricky Ballast has a lot of information. My method of ballasting is based on the video that Mark embedded in his post. On the the second page of the Tricky Ballast thread I explained in great detail how I do ballasting. Others out there have different techniques and that is fine. What works for one may or may not work for another. There is a small learning curve to doing ballasting and other scenery, so don't get stressed out over it. The more you do the better you get. Gary
I must have cheap shingles on my house because there's a small pile of fine gravel at the bottom of my downspout. There's probably a lot more in the gutters. Filtering out debris may be a problem, though. The dirt in the video Mark linked to looks great. I assume he used Zip texturing since he used pigments and plaster to weather the ballast. Steve S
That video has been around for many years now and is still the best representation of ballasting there is. be gentle with the toothpick to remove stones left on the rails, otherwise you will remove any paint you may have applied to the rails. I paint the rails after so no worries. Before wetting I like to use a skewer and drag it along the rails and ties causing some vibrations to tamp (so to speak) the ballast. This also causes much of the stone left on the ties to find a home elsewhere. Its not perfect and still requires some touch up but sure helps. Real stone sure is easier to work with in my opinion and I like Arizona Rock and Mineral, mainly because there is a store nearby that stocks it. The real stone tends to stay in place, but don't skip any steps that you may use on the WS ballast including the touch of detergent in the wetting step.
Just to update, I will finish ballasting my layout tonight with just a couple of small areas left to do. Used a combination of things from the video in the earlier post and some other sizes of brushes that worked a bit better for me. All I can really add is that it is somewhat tedious work (N Scale) and thank goodness for "clump foliage" to hide some of the mistakes and errors. Did find out that it was a good idea to oil my switch sliding mechanisms on the track (WS Scenic Cement doesn't stick to oiled surfaces). Overall pretty happy with how it has turned out but ballasting did end up a bit "wider" than I had hoped or planned. For all those that scenic BEFORE ballasting, I don't know how you keep from getting ballast in a lot of places that you don't want it. I did my ballast first and can work the scenic products up to it, so I guess it will work better for me but do have a lot of ballast cleanup to do before I get to green and weeds. Even in real life (1:1 scale) they just let the weeds and growth come up to the ballast however it grows so it should look somewhat realistic.
