Desert ground cover
- Thread starter sinebar
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Maxitrains
Member
well cause desert effect is more easily achived then grass effect, I think that's why there's no rolls. For sand I was thinking something about "Semolina", donno if you call it the same way, but its a kind of rough flour, mostly used in baking. I also don't know if after applied with glue and settled, if it could attract flour worm to it, but the semolina size is finer then sand, and could simulate sand quite easily.
Semolina
Semolina
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Most of the desert landscape, at least in the US, is not sand. It's a combination of low plants that pretty much cover the ground. In the few places there are sand dunes, Maxi's idea of using semolina or cornmeal would be a pretty good representation. There are two distinct types of deserts in the US, one the high desert, with altitudes over 2,000 feet, and the other a low desert with altitudes that go below sea level. Both have very different types of vegetation. A typical high desert environment would be around Las Vegas. A typical low desert environment would be around Phoenix. Which type of desert do you want to model?
Probably the Vegas type.
I do a desert layout , lived out in the desert most of my younger life. I'm not perfect by any means , but I have used many products to get a desert look.
1. Good old play sand , look around and find a yellowish type.
2. Woodland scenics yellow ground cover.
3.many different types of bush material , yes the desert has green foliage too!
It a matter of what you want it to look like. Mine is a real work, still in progress as I find new and better looking stuff. Silfor has some great looking high grass like materials (not cheap) They have a new one called tufts that really look good.
1. Good old play sand , look around and find a yellowish type.
2. Woodland scenics yellow ground cover.
3.many different types of bush material , yes the desert has green foliage too!
It a matter of what you want it to look like. Mine is a real work, still in progress as I find new and better looking stuff. Silfor has some great looking high grass like materials (not cheap) They have a new one called tufts that really look good.
This is a classic picture of the high desert at about 4,00 feet:
The gray bushes are sage. You can see a lot of the lower yellow grasses that Jerry wrote about. The larger tree is a Pinyon Pine and the large bushes are Mesquite. You can also see how the desert goes from the mountain rainge to a basin and then up to another mountain range again. This is really typical of the basin and range high desert. The far desert tends to look mostly yellow with a few green splotches. The distant mountain range is fairly barren until you get up to about 4,00 feet when the Pinyon Pine start to dominate and makes the top parts of the mountain look fairly green.
Modeling the high desert is quite a complex undertaking since you have not only the plants of the desert but the changes of plants with altitude also. If you really want to make a believable layout in the desert, you need lots of land too. The railroads were tiny black scars in an otherwise massive scene.
The gray bushes are sage. You can see a lot of the lower yellow grasses that Jerry wrote about. The larger tree is a Pinyon Pine and the large bushes are Mesquite. You can also see how the desert goes from the mountain rainge to a basin and then up to another mountain range again. This is really typical of the basin and range high desert. The far desert tends to look mostly yellow with a few green splotches. The distant mountain range is fairly barren until you get up to about 4,00 feet when the Pinyon Pine start to dominate and makes the top parts of the mountain look fairly green.
Modeling the high desert is quite a complex undertaking since you have not only the plants of the desert but the changes of plants with altitude also. If you really want to make a believable layout in the desert, you need lots of land too. The railroads were tiny black scars in an otherwise massive scene.
This is a classic picture of the high desert at about 4,00 feet:
The gray bushes are sage. You can see a lot of the lower yellow grasses that Jerry wrote about. The larger tree is a Pinyon Pine and the large bushes are Mesquite. You can also see how the desert goes from the mountain rainge to a basin and then up to another mountain range again. This is really typical of the basin and range high desert. The far desert tends to look mostly yellow with a few green splotches. The distant mountain range is fairly barren until you get up to about 4,00 feet when the Pinyon Pine start to dominate and makes the top parts of the mountain look fairly green.
Modeling the high desert is quite a complex undertaking since you have not only the plants of the desert but the changes of plants with altitude also. If you really want to make a believable layout in the desert, you need lots of land too. The railroads were tiny black scars in an otherwise massive scene.
Thanks for posting that pic. That gives me a better idea of what a real desert looks like. I'm from the south and have never seen a desert.
jbaakko
Diesel Detail Freak
Have you ever seen any of Pelle Soeborg's articles in Mode Railroader? I'm using his articles as an inspiration.
http://index.mrmag.com/tm.exe?opt=S&sort=A&output=3&cmdtext="SOEBORG,+PELLE"
Here's some other ones too:
http://index.mrmag.com/tm.exe?opt=S&cmdtext=desert&MAG=ANY
Also attached, a few various pictures from the Cali/N. AZ areas...
http://index.mrmag.com/tm.exe?opt=S&sort=A&output=3&cmdtext="SOEBORG,+PELLE"
Here's some other ones too:
http://index.mrmag.com/tm.exe?opt=S&cmdtext=desert&MAG=ANY
Also attached, a few various pictures from the Cali/N. AZ areas...
Just to chime in again , yes Pelle Soeborg's layout is great , buy his book ! I did just for the great model work he's done. Also for lots of good pix's go to:
http://www.railpictures.net/ and just look at Pix's from Calif. Az and New Mexico , Lots of great pictures for desert info.
http://www.railpictures.net/ and just look at Pix's from Calif. Az and New Mexico , Lots of great pictures for desert info.
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OldGettysk
Running the MC & Buffalo
Would love to see some desert photos when you guys get done !
I like the little shrubs. I'm thinking about getting a roll of the summer grass and just painting it a desert color.
4Starcstms
Member
I found an old issue of MR and one of Pelle's articles on doing Scenery was published inside.. w/o going into too terribly much detail, he starts with a latex house paint, Earth colored, and once he was a small area painted ( he says a 1'x1' area) he covers the paint with a layer of fine sand. Says this gives the subsequent layers something to grab onto. Just a thought!
Yes on the paint layer , my entire layout base was painted in a light yellowish/tan , it helps in establishing a desert base without having to cover the whole place in some kind of expensive ground cover. I used as mentioned above fine play sand I found in a yellow color , lots of decorative sands from the art store. assorted gravels of all colors to simulate rocks etc. Pele did a fantanstic job on his.
