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Which Materials Are Best For Making Roads?
Norman asks:
“I haven’t had much success in making roads. I have tried Plaster of Paris and board but neither looks convincing. What materials are best?”
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I have used automotive gasket paper, for quite some time. I purchase this material by the roll and fit as needed and when installed I have, in certain areas left it as is to appear new. In most areas is is lightly painted as a lighter gray surface to indicate mild weathering.
Have you tried dry wall blaster,using a sraper the width of yor road ,or a piece of cardstock or polystyrene.
haven’t tried a wall blaster.
I must admit I did the same, but with “filler” as well. The plaster is ok to tint with black acrylic paint for “concrete”, but for asphalt, I’m tinkering with a black tile grout powder from Bunnings! (Davco Black #02) About $8 for 1.5kg.
I tend to do a bit of a mock-up before going onto the layout.
The pic is is something I put together to test magnetic decoupling in a “concreted” yard.
(Works really well, too)
Looks like the pic didn’t go up…trying again
doing a mock up is good idea interesting suggestions will explore
Take a look at Woodland Scenics web site. I find there product to make asphalt covered roads is economical and fairly simple to do. It also explains how to make sidewalks at the same time all with one pour.
I like sandpaper. It’s cheap, easily cut to shape, and you can get it as fine as you want for your scale.
I use 180 grit for HO. I cut it out and piece it together UPSIDE DOWN and tape the seams. Then I flip it over and spray flat black and grey primer until I get the look I want. This keeps it all from looking the same while assuring the continuity of the road as it will be installed.
I glue it down with the 3M spray on the back of the sheets and use an art roller to get it flat.
If an edge starts to lift, a little Gorilla Glue on a toothpick can fill the gap. Put wax paper over the area and stack on some weight to hold it in place.
Fine grade wet and dry emery paper is good for short road sections, up to 300mm long. Any longer and hiding the joints becomes a headache. This product is the right colour and texture and requires very little work to make it look like a used road.
There are web sites, including this one, that offer printable down loads that can be used as roadways. They can be printed directly on heavy paper or thick card stock and then sealed with dullcoat. On a previous HO layout I used the cardboard that was inside new dress shirts. I cut it into strips or curves and painted it gray or black. By gluing narrow strips of one or two thicknesses along the edges I created curbing or side walks that matched the bases of my buildings or hid the edge of my ground cover matting. I used a hard pencil to score the cardboard along with India ink to make joints and cracks in the gray concrete. Another option is to use the peel and stick non-slip strips for stair treads or walkways that comes in various colors and grits.
I have used ballast mixed with clay for my dirt roads and balsa wood painted with acrylic paint and sprinkled with very fine sand for tarmac. It’s important to remember that bitumen roads are only pristine when newly laid. After that, patching, staining, crack patching etc make a road very variable in appearance.
David De