Black top roads


Johne230

Johne230

Member
Honest opinions of this road samplecant make up my mind if it looks good or not.

IMG_0976_zps57ac4832.jpg
 
It looks like foam with a plastic like covering on it to me. It might be OK if you could kill the shine and make it a little smoother. Seems a little rough, even for Illinois back roads.
 
Black top roads are the bane of my life, any I have done have never looked that great to me. To answer your question though, I don't know - it maybe the card you used but it looks a little rough with all of the "cracks". Then again, that could just be the picture.

I do like the coloring though, the way it seems to fade in and out.

So, honestly, I don't know if I like it or not.
 
I've never tried making black top roads, definitely they are intimidating to do.John honestly I think your black top road needs a bit more work but at least you have a base to work up from. I had read or seen a video on making black top roads a while ago, Ill see if I might find something on it.
 
I am not really happy with it either will look for a better way.I am looking for something I can prefab off the layout and then glue down.
 
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In my attempts Johne, I have looked at video,s read tutorials and who knows what else. There are so many methods for doing black top roads. While I have never tried it, some people seem to like using a VERY fine sandpaper sprayed black then weathered. I have tried using WS Asphalt Top Coat that, to me, makes the road look as if it has just been laid. For the road/s I have/will have, I just use plaster, sand it smooth then color and (sort of) weather and crack to suit. I am YET to find a way to really replicate the look of a well used road. If you find that allusive answer, hope you will share it with us :)
 
Although I have been looking through my library I believe I had seen the article being used in a similar fashion as how I do my dirt roads which is I take a tan colored paint and brush it on the surface then take fine dirt ( I use baseball diamond dirt) and put it in a container with panty hose for a lid and shake it all over the wet paint although I think with black top it may have said to use white glue, then let dry and vacuum excess.take some black paint and mix with white paint so its not real black so experimenting is key, then dilute with water and now brush over covering the dried glue/sand base and let dry. Take flat black and an off white/grey mix ( maybe concrete color) and dilute this mix to a wash consistency and and apply and let dry and keep building up in layers so its not a consistant color. For tar cracks use a fine tip black mark. My memory really sucks so I hope this gives you some ideas to start with.
 
Lynnb said:
Although I have been looking through my library I believe I had seen the article being used in a similar fashion as how I do my dirt roads which is I take a tan colored paint and brush it on the surface then take fine dirt ( I use baseball diamond dirt) and put it in a container with panty hose for a lid and shake it all over the wet paint although I think with black top it may have said to use white glue, then let dry and vacuum excess.take some black paint and mix with white paint so its not real black so experimenting is key, then dilute with water and now brush over covering the dried glue/sand base and let dry. Take flat black and an off white/grey mix ( maybe concrete color) and dilute this mix to a wash consistency and and apply and let dry and keep building up in layers so its not a consistant color. For tar cracks use a fine tip black mark. My memory really sucks so I hope this gives you some ideas to start with.
Click to expand...

That is a big help Lynn! As far as memory I have been looking for mine for quite sometime now but just cant remember where I put it.
 
I remember reading about using felt paper for black top roads quite awhile ago but could not remember were I finally figured out it was on another forum well it turns out he is a member here also. He goes by the name powersteamguy and he wrote a small article about the subject. Look here and scroll down to the end there is an index there about quite a few useful topics.

Building Roads With Roofing Felt(1)
 
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I just subscribed to his blog , got some interesting reading to do. Hes got a really nice layout.
 
I have also seen 400 grit wet/dry sand paper used for roads but to me they are way to dark and very hard to weather into a lighter worn color.
I know you want to make something off the layout and attach it but I have used dry plaster mix and WS Smooth-it and then painted and weathered it. It came out looking pretty good, so I have been told, but that may be another option you might want to look at.

David.
 
Honestly, I don't think your road looks right. As Burlington Bob said, it looks too rough. Try getting some .60 thick or thinner if you wanna be cheap styrene and try that. You can paint that primer grey and then weather it with chalks or whatever to darken it a bit. Check out Lance Mindheim, his roads are great. Everyone makes roads different ways so you may not like his approach.
 
I tried another material for making roads waterproof sand paper I used 600 grit because thats what I had all I did was rub it with my fingers and brush it off with a paint brush. I think it looks pretty good just needs some cracks and patches the only thing I dont like is the seams like the one under the yellow truck. I think I can get this in a roll instead of sheets though I will check on that. Comments?

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Looking much better! If you could figure out a way to hide the different sections or could get it in rolls, you'd be well on your way to some good looking roads.
 
Another vote for wet/dry sandpaper. However, in the early days, you also had cement roads and lots of gravel/dirt roads.
For cement, I use plaster or spackling compound and frame it up with popcicle sticks. Then paint with armor sand or similar, and then, with an old toothbrush, lightly splatter some light gray over it to represent ricks in the cast cement.
For dirt roads get a few cheap matchbox trucks and put down some plaster of paris, and when it starts hardening up run the truck wheels over it. after it drys, paint it with water colors and carefully put some epoxy or, if you have it, some future floor wax into some of the ruts to simulate water.
 
I read somewhere about using the back side of roofing shingle's plus if you use the right color you'll get some free ballast!

"I lost my mind some time ago, if you find it please don't return it! I've been doing better without it!"
 
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