Need some advice on how to make tank tracks in diorama terrain.
I myself have tried to use plaster of paris compound, to no success. With plaster, you need to let it dry for a bit, then hopefully be lucky to embed the tracks cleanly.
Please post your methods. I have tons of models built, time to start building diorama bases for some of them.
Thx in advance
David

Before adding the tracks to the plaster of paris, place some clingfilm over the wet plaster and that way the tracks do not get messy and also do not try to lift the plaster. when the plaster is set remove the clingfilm and you should be set. That said I am sure others will have alternate methods.

A couple of tips: get cheap sets of tracks to use for marking groundwork, for example, old vinyl tracks. If you have indy links, make wheels out of them, that way you don't need to use a lot of links. And Darren's suggestion works well too. The trick is usually in getting the groundwork to be moist enough to take an imprint, but not so wet that the ground work oozes all over the place and mucks up your marking tracks.

Kimmo

Darren,

One little challenge with that idea, he's going to need to lightly spray some cooking spray, like Pam, on the Plastic wrap to keep it from pulling up the ground work.
If you've pulled off plastic wrap off a cake with icing before you know what I mean. It's not pretty.

HTH

See ya in the funnies...............

Brian when the plaster is set after the track print is embossed, the clingfilm should not move it during removal.

You might try spackling plaster (also called spackle), which doesn't set up at fast as plaster of paris. There is also a product sold in North America hardware stores called Durham's Water Powder, which is a plasticized plastering compound. It is tan, rather than white, and you can create a convincing earth texture by sprinkling dry Durham's onto the wet mix. It sets up slowly, and doesn't chip like plaster. As with plaster, you can add water-based paint or dry pigment to alter the color, or just paint it after it hardens.
Other modelers prefer a craft product sold in art supply stores called Celluclay, which is instant papier mache. It molds like clay after you add water. It is best to mix it with white glue to improve adhesion and prevent the edges from lifting as it dries.

There are better options to use than plaster. Clay, two-part putty, Sculpty, etc.

I prefer clay too. It sticks much less and your tracks leave nice marks. You can use modellers clay (red or white) for the whole base or juse for the area the tracks stand on.

Be careful what kind of terrain you're simulating because tracks don't leave the same marks in sand as they do in mud. On dusty pressed earth roads there may only be the barest of impressions. Back in the day I made typical tank trail bases with celluclay and sand and put in faint impressions of every vehicle type I had tires/tracks for to give it the look of a well traveled trail.


And the tank in the base should have weathering that matches the terrain depicted on said base. No dusty tanks moving through soft earth that don't have a speck of the soft earth on them.

Hello Dave

I try to accommodate your question and I'm sorry if not too satisfied for you. I use 'DAS' modelling clay and soon after spread onto the entire ground surface (I mean, be careful, don't leave them become hardened after some time, you have to repeat the step.. ), I use similar method as Kimmo already told us: make the track print by using old or unused track links. No need to use so much track links, just do them path by path, but continuously. I hope that these images below able to illustrate how I make such track print in a terrain as you mean:




..And after painting, I quite satisfied with the result as shown below:




I'm sure you can do better than me and so sorry if my English not too good to be understood. Good luck mate, have your nice modeling time!

Cheers


Garry