03-28-2011, 01:35 PM
dave_long Wrote:Thanks Larry,
I do have ME track its just the switches that I've not had from my order yet, I've had not reply from the company dealing with my order today as regards the status of his deliveries from ME, so my only other plan is to get the Shinoharas as I can get them in this country for a better price. I have the weathered track too which is difficult to shape but with a bit of care I've got the curve I was after and its still that shape before being glued to the board which is a little bonus over working with peco for years.
I like the tip about cutting the sleepers to get that fully covered look I'd never have thought about that and I have ballasted a UK layout like that in the past. I cant really try Lance's ballast mix as it would cost too much to get shipped but I've got a few bags of sand and stone that will crush to almost a fine powder, I might try what Kurt (cnw1961) has done on his old Miami layout and add a little tile grout powder to the mix and see how we go from there.
Dave
Dave another material I used was sand crab sand from a Pets Smart Pet Center along with silica sand (even more white) from Home Depot. Both are ultra-fine in grain size. To advance the color on the roadbed edges, I usually hit the sand with a straight ethyl alcohol solution and india ink mixture. The near pure alcohol is very volatile and dries on contact.
I have heard of several people using solely tile grout powder for scenery base and then misting it with wet water. It would probably give a fairly hard shell.
Regards,
Larry