Comments on: How to Make a Sandy Desert Scene

By: Kevin Ching

Kevin Ching — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 03:20:42 +0000

Hi Dennis I used a fine builders sand in the colour that i waned by mixing two different sand together until i got the look that i was after. Make sure that all the sand is glued down and take off any surplus with a vacuum cleaner, the last thing you want is any to find its way into the moving parts of the loco or rolling stock I also used some to weather some of the trucks etc so that it matched the desert.

By: Gio Donk

Gio Donk — Tue, 15 May 2018 11:57:48 +0000

At Bunnings DIY Stores in Australia you can get ochre colors ranging anywhere from brown to red to yellow and in between. These are found in the adhesive section (in fine powder form) for adding to concrete for making driveways and cement rendering of houses. Just ask the staff for ochres for coloring cement.

By: Henry

Henry — Tue, 15 May 2018 11:36:40 +0000

I use the real stuff, Lay it down and spray wet water on it then thinned glue. Looks real and is easy to apply.

By: David Stokes

David Stokes — Tue, 15 May 2018 11:04:28 +0000

Mate, use the real thing – the red sand of our deserts is really fine, and just the right colour. When I worked at Roxby Downs I collected 4 litres of the fine red dust from the base of one of our sand hills – perfect.

By: Frank B

Frank B — Tue, 15 May 2018 09:50:11 +0000

Another thought: if there is a model railway club in the area you want to model, probably someone in it will be delighted to assist by sending you some local sand and pebbles.

By: Frank B

Frank B — Tue, 15 May 2018 09:47:51 +0000

This last reply is the simplest and most obvious. Collect some fine sand and rocks from the desert you intend to recreate. If it too is far away, find someone who lives there (or is going there) to obtain and send you some.

Otherwise, use whatever sand you have, then spray it (before or after application to the layout, experiment) the colour of your choice. Powder paints can easily be mixed to any colour, diluted and sprayed with a simple (mouth blow) spray pipe (available from artist’s supply shops).

By: Sam

Sam — Tue, 15 May 2018 08:50:02 +0000

If you could drive to Buderim on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia, you could always just get some red dirt from there an sift it into different grades of soil.

By: Kenneth Mylcraine

Kenneth Mylcraine — Tue, 15 May 2018 04:39:29 +0000

I agree with the above comment, I also would use tile grout, it comes in all sorts of colors. I would mist water over it to stiffen it up so it will stay in place. I have used black tile grout on top of latex caulk to make scale asphalt.

By: Tom Osterdock

Tom Osterdock — Tue, 15 May 2018 03:58:26 +0000

Maybe using a brown grout and adding red food coloring.