Here's a quick how-to on getting styrene to look like concrete. In this case, it's a poured concrete loading dock.
The first step is to sand the styrene, to remove any mold lines or joints, and to roughen up the surface:
(https://modelersforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.earlyrail.org%2Fconcrete%2Fstyrene-starting-point.jpg&hash=5aa5deb2d56a54b0bd7354c839249150992ac5eb) (http://www.earlyrail.org/concrete/styrene-starting-point.jpg)
The 'secret' is Liquitex "ceramic stucco," a good thing to look for when you have a 40% off craft store coupon (fine arts section)
(https://modelersforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.earlyrail.org%2Fconcrete%2Fliquitex-stucco.jpg&hash=e8712a1bd97c38d5605f595781ab0916b979b8c1) (http://www.earlyrail.org/concrete/liquitex-stucco.jpg)
You need to stipple this stuff on, you don't want brush strokes. I use a thick bristle brush, but a cheap make-up brush would also work well.
(https://modelersforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.earlyrail.org%2Fconcrete%2Fafter-stucco.jpg&hash=f88a554c33c6c9aa68bbb5852811e35d2dfa50b6) (http://www.earlyrail.org/concrete/after-stucco.jpg)
On the top, I sanded this down after it dried, because the top surface would be smoother than the rough sides. Then I painted with "Martha Stewart" color called "wet cement."
(https://modelersforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.earlyrail.org%2Fconcrete%2Fbase-paint.jpg&hash=b471a02ae29fe107a523958433d8bb3298b13583) (http://www.earlyrail.org/concrete/base-paint.jpg)
This color has a very slight green tinge which I think makes for great concrete. (It's also quite close to the "holy driftwood" stain color.)
Then I applied dark pigment along the bottom to represent some mud splashing, and lighter pigments on the top, again to "polish" the concrete. Then I added white to tone everything together. Normally I won't use white or black, but in this case I wanted to lighten the color. Finally, I added some extra weathering and streaking with pastel pencils, including some cracks with a dark grey pencil and some wear stains/wheel streaks with a light brown pencil.
(https://modelersforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.earlyrail.org%2Fconcrete%2Fpigments-pastels.jpg&hash=d868ce3ce0d8c8eddfe5059b3cf7b0909fe7deba) (http://www.earlyrail.org/concrete/pigments-pastels.jpg)
And that's it. This was a one evening project, including letting the stucco coat dry thoroughly before adding the craft paint. I put the pigments on while the craft paint was still slightly damp, to get them to hold better.
(https://modelersforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.earlyrail.org%2Fconcrete%2Fdone.jpg&hash=25deb38f470a3e4a4db57549e7f0ae44b8fe5094) (http://www.earlyrail.org/concrete/done.jpg)
dave
Looks great! I saw that stuff at Michaels a while back but didnt buy it.....thanks for the tutorial
Bob C.
Very nice. Thanks for the info.
Jeff
I used it on my Bailey's build
Great tip on that Dave, that looks awesome. I'll give it a try.
Sam
Quote from: ollevon on April 14, 2015, 07:32:03 PM
Great tip on that Dave, that looks awesome. I'll give it a try.
Sam
Looks great Dave. Thanks for sharing the tip - it's on the to-do list.