The starter kit included two cylindrical containers, one of Snow Coat, and the other Ice Coat. The Snow Coat looks like a very fine white powder, and yet when I poured it into my hand it acted almost like a liquid. When poured off my hand it left a very thin layer that glinted in my palm.
I had prepared a plaster base for my snow scene, and as per instructions on the use of this product, all footprints etc. were already imprinted as the layer of Snow Coat I would use would be very thin. The surface was 'primed' with a thin solution of PVA adhesive in water the previous day.
Again, as per instructions I made up a slurry of the Snow Coat in Johnson's Klear, and 'painted' this on my surface. I then allowed this to completely dry before gently brushing excess off and saving it for re-use. I did this a few times, building up a thickness, and yet very little of the Snow Coat was actually used. Any excess slurry was allowed to dry on a piece of tin foil and then when dry I could crush it up and use it to represent the disturbed snow in front of my vehicle and along track ruts and footprints etc.
The Small Shop EU has a very detailed article on it's site about how to use the Snow Coat and the Ice Coat too, and I have to say it did indeed work as advertised. It's not simple to work with. You'll need practice to achieve the effect you want, however, some amazing effects can be achieved, and although in this project I didn't get the chance to use the Ice Coat, I have seen it used at this years Trucks'n'Tracks show, and it looked good!
in conclusion
Highly recommended. For a full run down on the effects you can achive with this product I recommend you visit the Small Shop website and read up!
My thanks to Alasdair Johnson for the review sample.
SUMMARY
Realistic snow is difficult to achieve. Everybody seems to have their favourite method, from abking powder to micro-balloons, there are many ways. Now we have a system from The Small Shop EU, that seems to offer a one-stop solution for snow, slush, and ice.
