The Atlantic and Southern Build, Part 1

[S&S RR]

Tom


You have been busy - Looking great!

[ACL1504]

Tom


You have been busy - Looking great!

John,

Yes, I have been very busy of late. You know building an Empire requires all the time we can afford.


Thanks for stopping by and checking in.

Tom

[ACL1504]

You can see in the next two photos that simply sprinkling on the dirt, the coverage isn't 100%





I solved this problem by using the dirt at the bottom of the slope. I used a 1 inch soft bristle brush and pulled the dirt up onto the slope to cover the area where I could still see the white glue.

The result is as seen below.



Continued in a few.

[ACL1504]

As you can see, the glue absorbs the dirt and the glue appears as a wet spot.



I continued to pull the dirt up against the glue/wet spot.

Now it's starting to look good and the erosion shows.



Continued in a few.

[ACL1504]

I moved to the corner and followed the same process as before for adding the dirt.





I went back to the left side of the sand hill and applied a coat of white glue to the blue foam. I then used the course dirt to cover the white glue. Keep in mind, I'm using the dirt as a base coat and also for the sand hill dirt. Grasses, weeds and etc. will be added later.



Continued in a few.

[ACL1504]

I then painted some white glue on the small area shown below and added some Woodland Scenics earth turf to the area.

The seem in the photo backdrop will be covered with a tree.





You need to understand that the second coat of dirt I pulled up the slope is loose on the surface. To secure the dirt I applied a liberal amount of Matte Medium (Scenic Express) to the area as shown below.





Continued in a few.

[ACL1504]

We aren't finished yet. Now that the Matte Medium has been added, I repeated the process of sprinkling the dirt and drawing it up the slope.

I'll let this dry over night and let you know how it looks in the morning, er, maybe tomorrow afternoon.



By the way, here are some of the different scenery materials and colors I use on the layout.

[ACL1504]

[Zephyrus52246]

I use the same Scenic Express dirt.  I think it dries a darker shade than it goes on.  I usually sprinkle more on top to lighten it up.  I'll be interested to see how your's dries.


Jeff

[ACL1504]

I use the same Scenic Express dirt.  I think it dries a darker shade than it goes on.  I usually sprinkle more on top to lighten it up.  I'll be interested to see how your's dries.


Jeff

Jeff,

The dirt does dry slightly darker when dry. However, I've found that I can use a soft brush to "dust" the dirt back to the unglued color. I just dip the brush in the dry dirt and lightly brush it on. I'll have photos of it later this afternoon.

I think I know where you are going with the interest in drying. The dirt has a tendency  to pull the glue apart causing small cracks in the dirt after drying. I have a solution for this as well. Photos later this afternoon.

If this isn't your interest in the drying let me know so I'll be able to talk about it later.

Tom

[Zephyrus52246]

I've only built a couple of dioramas with the dirt, The Empire is still scenery free.    My main concern was the darker color.  I'll have to try the brush technique you describe as well.  Thanks for the info.


Jeff

[cuse]

Moving at a nice clip as always Tom. I'd like to come see it in person soon.


Looks great!


John

[ACL1504]

I've only built a couple of dioramas with the dirt, The Empire is still scenery free.    My main concern was the darker color.  I'll have to try the brush technique you describe as well.  Thanks for the info.


Jeff

Jeff,

The dirt does change color ever so slightly for me. I've been able to get it back to "out of the jug" color by a few simple steps. I'll cover them in a few minutes after this post.

Tom

[ACL1504]

Moving at a nice clip as always Tom. I'd like to come see it in person soon.


Looks great!


John

SBG John,

Thanks for the support my friend. You are welcome to come by anytime. I'll be here all day tomorrow and after 12PM all Tuesday afternoon. You know where I'll be and how to get in.

See you soon.

Tom

[ACL1504]

I've used the Scenic Express dirt in the past so I knew what was to come when the glue under the dirt thoroughly dried.


When I apply the dirt over white glue, the dirt has a tendency to draw the glue apart and there by leaving a few cracks in the dirt.

See below photos.





Also, Dr. Jeff expressed a concern the dirt changes color, ie, darker than the dirt prior to it being glued in place.

In the two photos above you can see the dark color verses the lighter brown. I brushed the area where the dirt is lighter and not the darker area. The darker color doesn't bother me that much but it can be changed.

Continued in a few.