Ballasting Tips From Ben

August 30, 2009

Ben has sent in these suggestions for giving ballast a realistic look:

Be careful when applying ballast if you want to avoid track damage or poor running of trains. To get a tidy finish take your time ballasting and revisit areas as the adhesive dries to ensure a good, clean finish.

You can then add general grime and oil marks (using an airbrush), over the ballast, to make it look like trains have used the track.

Oil stains would be deposited from standing locomotives and general grime would accumulate, in different amounts, in certain areas over time.

Use your airbrush lightly to add the appearance of track grime over most of the ballasted area. Then apply a heavier application on where more dirt may accumulate.

I usually blend several ballast colors together, to make it look authentic, rather than just a plain gray mix. Use a quality ballast, like Woodland Scenics, and be sure to choose the right grain size (fine ballast for N gauge, medium ballast for HO/OO and coarse ballast for O).

I then wait for the airbrushed grime to dry properly before I weather the rail faces with a rust paint. I then wait for the paint to thoroughly dry before cleaning.

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