hello!
cutrently I am working on the M270 MLRS (click) and want to make a base for it.
I am planning to make a simple desert base. I want to use a wood plank and make the surface from plaster and finish it with fine sand sprayed on wood glue (done this before).
I got spare tracks from the kit since I used aftermarket tracks.

How do I make those track prints? let the plaster dry an press the tracks in the wet glue / sand combo?
any help is appreciated, want to start tomorrow
thanks!

As this is going to be on sand I would press the track down when the plaster is nearly cured as sand will not hold a defined print unless wet. this way when you add the sand to the model there will be an undefined track where the vehicle has been.

Darren is right Boris .. another trick is to use is starting with Darren's idea and then once you put your sand down roll over the track again with the tank tracks and put alot of weight down when you make them ..stands out better ..then using a very watered down PVA mix spray it gently over the sand .let that dry and that will hold the sand in place .then using an airbrush spray the ground to tie it all together. gets rid of any shine that the PVA might leave behind .

Phill

When I do track marks, I push tracks into the wet plaster, but use a piece of clear kitchen plastic wrap to protect the tracks.

Personally, I believe real sand is overscale for "sand in scale". Its much better to capture a desert feel with some rock or stones .... or even ripples, dunes, etc, in the plaster instead and paint it accordingly. For texture, use very fine sand and sprinkel plaster powder over it to reduce the corn size. When you have a sand effect you like, paint it with pigments or sanded chalk and thinner, instead of paints. Looks way more to scale and realsitic.

thanks for the tips!
I will make the base of plaster and when almost dry, put the tracks in it with plastic foil between it (good tip!!)
p.s. I use very fine sand for my base, not regular sand

Chichilla dust is a good sand for scale models but it may need painting to obtain the correct colour for specific regions, also take a look at the offerings from TreeMendus as they are good having lots of colour variation and size to the grains.

as Kevin mentioned, i use plastic food wrap to protect the model's tracks when making impressions in wet groundwork... you can also use any extra track the kit may provide as not to muck up your model.

Frank adds a great point that real sand can be over scaled for 1/35. i just ordered Vallejo's Sand Medium which is a gritty paste that looks like it may be just the thing i need for my current project. you may want to check it out as well.

cheers, bd.

I have always fought with the best way to do this also.Using the clear kitchen wrap seems like a good idea.As for Chinchilla dust,I had some problems with it turning to a mud and turning into clumps.Darren,maybe you can give me some advise,it really is the best texture for 1/35 sand.I now use a product called Magic Sand I found here and should be available in the US at Micheals craft stores.It's the next best thing.It's waterproof and doen't glop up.The best thing ever was the sand they use in public ashtrays.Overseas you may still have some,but here there is no chance.
Tom