What's an easy way to simulate as asphalt road? Should I stick poster paper to the base and paint it grey? Or lay down a thin layer of plaster and smooth it out? Just wondering what would be the easiest way.

Any opinions welcome

Hisham

How about a dark gray textured spray paint? It might give you just the amount of texture without having to worry about mixing plaster and such. And you can mask your base off prior to painting, so your groundwork, sidewalks, etc are unaffected. I've used it and on 1/48 or 1/35 applications it looks convincing. If you're making potholes or other surface imperfections, you might want to go the plaster route.

Hope this helps.

I always use sand paper attached to glass with double sided tape and then sprayed black followed by a generous dry brushing of increasingly lighter shades of grey until I have the desired effect.

Paul

Sand paper works well.

Al

Hi,

I agree to Alan and Paul - the sandpaper method works well.

Only the drybrushing kills your brushes

Best regards
Thomas

I seem to remember an old Fine Scale Modeler article about making asphalt roads by mixing dark gray dye (or water based paint) into plaster and then pressing in crushed kitty litter while is was still setting - kinda like actually making a real asphalt road (except with plaster instead of tar).

sorry, but i am quite sure I no longer have that article, but I am sure you can figure something out.

I usually used sand paper grade 500.
it is black and i put buff tam highly diluted with water to simulate dust.

Easy to glue with PVA glue.
Cheers
Seb

Hi Hisham!

I used self-adesive sand paper made to be used in skate boards as non slip surface. It is dark grey and I only painted the white marks and work with air brush to create tire marks and after all a heavy dry brush. Look:



I hope it helps.

Cheers !

Marco

Hudson and Allen and Vallejo both make a product that is ideal for asphalt.

What are said products called?

Hi Hisham,

I used sand paper for the last few years and it always worked well.Recently I tried Tamiya's texture paint for pavement and was very impressed.So happy with it I just got another bottle.It comes in dark grey or light.Hobby Easy has the best price going.Look under pigments not paint.

Tom
PS never did get that post card for my daughter.

Thanks to all of you guys for the replies! I guess it's between sand paper and Tamiya's texture paint. I'll try both and see which is easier for me.

Tom... I'm really sorry about that. Back when we talked about that, I went out with my daughter and she picked out a couple of things to send over.. like some Pyramids and stuff.. but every time I try to send them, I'm faced with a lot of red tape bull. The country hasn't been even close to normal since the uprising.. and it seems to get worse with a lot of Islamic extremists becoming legit groups.. it's just crazy! But, do not lose faith... one day your doorbell will ring and.. voila Should I still use the same adr. you told me to back then?

Anyway, thanks again, guys!
Hisham

vallejo pomice paste

That pumice paste can also be found under the brand golden(?) I think at most good art stores. There is an extra coarse, coarse and fine. I plan on using the fine for my next anti slip, I think it will work. The thread in the diorama section "that aussie's in Iraq" had a great tutorial on building asphalt roads up complete with wear and tear.

Hisham, I was fortunate enough to have worked in a shop mfg model railroads. What they would use for streets and such was stucco patch. Spread evenly and not too thick. Let dry and sand to a finer, finished surface. But this was in a production studio, so spraying over sandpaper may be more comfortable (re: less arduous) and quicker.
Treat for uneveness, potholes, natural erosion etc. like sculpting.
Paint using Model Railroad acrylics: base coat asphalt dark grey, subtle drybrush lighter shades, final drybrush with antique white or similar. Dry brushing can easily ruin the effect if overdone. Add oil and fuel stains/spills etc. using fine brush.
It's really what you find enjoyable. Hope this helps your decision making.... Dave

I have used sandpaper in the past with good results.

Another option is to use a roof shingle from a house...the outer side is too rough for 1/35th asphalt, but the inner side looks about right to me. Just a thought.

Rob

There are a lot of tipps, but don't make one mistake. Roads are only dark when wet or road covering is new. Otherwise roads are light gray, maybe with a little beige. This is an often seen mistake on modell railroads..

best regards
Frank

Thanks again for all the feedback, guys!

Hisham