Dying sand and rocks

[LikeTrains201]

I noticed a thread on making your own ground foam.... does anyone dye their own sand or small rocks for ballast and talus? I just don't want to pay 3 to 4 dollars for a small bag of rocks I can find outside in the driveway but I don't know how to color them in bulk. Any help would be appreciated.

Pat

 

[GrampysTrains]

Hi Pat: Welcome to the forum. I had a bunch of small pieces of Hydrocal left over from casting rocks. I dumped them into a jar with an alcohol, India ink mix and let them soak for a while. Then, dumped them out on newspaper to dry. They made great talus, much cheaper than WS. They could be made a different color, by soaking or spraying with diluted latex paint, your choice. As to ballast, I weathered it after it was down. Pebbles I collected, I left their natural color, but they, too, could be painted.

Here's pebbles along a stream.

Plaster talus in a rock slide.

Weathered ballast.

 

[Larry]

You can get white rocks at WM in the fish supplies or buy a 50# bag in the garden center at WM for about 6 bucks. I buy mine at the Dollar Tree & get enough rocks for a large layout. If they aren't small enough you can put them in a towel folded up a cpl. times & smash-em w/a sledge hammer. I use to get ballast off my local RR tracks years ago & bust them up to make tallus.

 

[LikeTrains201]

Ballast & Talus

Thanks guys, I like both ideas. I wonder how the fish rocks would do in a yard sale blender..... LOL

 

[dave1905]

To make rock faces take heavy duty tin foil and crumple it gently, then unfold it so it is sorta flat again. pour thick plaster in it and then slap it on a "cliff" (foam or hardshell). when the plaster starts to solidify, peel the tin foil off. DO NOT WAIT FOR THE PLASTER TO DRY.

To make talus take plaster scraps and put them in a sock and tap it with a hammer to break it into smaller pieces. For shale or limestone talus, crumple aluminum foil and then flatten it back out almost smooth on a cookie sheet, folding up the edges to make a shallow rim. Pour a layer of thin plaster 1/8 in (shale) to 3/8 in (limestone) over the sheet. When its almost dry brush the top with a stiffer brush, just enough to "rough up" the top a little so its not perfectly smooth. Then lift the sheet of plaster off the cookie sheet and dump it on a sheet of newspaper (out of the tin foil) to finish drying.
When dry use a hammer or rolling pin to gently bust the plaster into smaller rocks.

The benefit of using plaster is you have complete control over the color and you get different sizes of rocks. If you use pet WM rock you will get all the rock virtually the same size. Real talus is made of all different sizes.

Dave H.

PS : Whacking stuff with a hammer and breaking it into itty bitty pieces is also fun and theraputic

 

[tankist]

To make rock faces take heavy duty tin foil and crumple it gently, then unfold it so it is sorta flat again. pour thick plaster in it and then slap it on a "cliff" (foam or hardshell). when the plaster starts to solidify, peel the tin foil off. DO NOT WAIT FOR THE PLASTER TO DRY.

great idea!
when you say plaster, do you mean plaster of paris?

 

[jbaakko]

great idea!
when you say plaster, do you mean plaster of paris?

Hydrocal, its much stronger...

 

[stationmaster]

I know a guy that goes to his local gravel pit with a few 5g buckets and a small shovel. He goes to the office, gets permission, goes over by the crusher, and fills his buckets. All for free.

He still has a half dozen, or so, buckets in his garage. Some fine enough for ballast on an HO layout.

Bob

 

[NC&StL]

Grampy, I hope you dont mind but, I am printing out that last Pennsy F unit shot for inspiration. I am attaching it right above my "sky" to look at evertime I dive into scenic work. That is a perfect railroad picture. Good work.
Bob

 

[GrampysTrains]

Hi Bob: I don't mind at all. I'm glad you like it!DJ.