Hello

Building 1/35 Trumpeter K5 Leopold,I would like to enhance
the plain jane railway bed with real gravel,what size ballast
equals 1/35 scale?

Eng.rzd.ru

On this site you find a lot about the Russian railway history.
It would help you I hope in an eastern European setting

I don't know how they rate ballast sizes, but around here ballast is a large gravel, varying between 1"- 1 1/2". Go to the model RR store with a 1/35 figure and compare different ballast sizes to match. Here's a sample: http://www.sceneryexpress.com/O-Scale-Ballast/products/1300/ Coarse 'O' scale will probably work for 1/35. On the other hand, go to your local arts n' crafts and look for bags of tiny rocks. You may have to paint them gravel color as they come in artsy designer colors, but will be a lot cheaper.

I don't know how they rate ballast sizes, but around here ballast is a large gravel, varying between 1"- 1 1/2". Go to the model RR store with a 1/35 figure and compare different ballast sizes to match. Here's a sample: http://www.sceneryexpress.com/O-Scale-Ballast/products/1300/ Coarse 'O' scale will probably work for 1/35. On the other hand, go to your local arts n' crafts and look for bags of tiny rocks. You may have to paint them gravel color as they come in artsy designer colors, but will be a lot cheaper.


Thanks for the reply,I've heard about using kitty litter(non scented)sifted through a screen or medium grade HO ballast.
Surfing the internet,whatever looks good will work.

you probably will not find an exact match, and different railways will have different sized gravel around it. if you have any railways around you, you may want to simply go to it, find the average stone and put it up to something for comparison, such as the rails themselves, or the ties. You could simply find pictures to get a general idea as well.

With this comparison, you can use it to find multiple materials of the same size ration to use whether it be the kitty litter option, or using the ballast in hobby shops/train stores.
kitty litter will probably be to large.
with average railways here, you can fit 7-10 of the ballast stones width wise across a railway tie (depending on the size of the stones). im not sure what that will equate to in regards to the store purchased ballast, but it will give you an idea.
if you are looking toward the woodland scenics ballast, i would say no less than the medium size. the coarse size, i have a feeling, would be too big for size ratio, and medium would be much too small.

you probably will not find an exact match, and different railways will have different sized gravel around it. if you have any railways around you, you may want to simply go to it, find the average stone and put it up to something for comparison, such as the rails themselves, or the ties. You could simply find pictures to get a general idea as well.

With this comparison, you can use it to find multiple materials of the same size ration to use whether it be the kitty litter option, or using the ballast in hobby shops/train stores.
kitty litter will probably be to large.
with average railways here, you can fit 7-10 of the ballast stones width wise across a railway tie (depending on the size of the stones). im not sure what that will equate to in regards to the store purchased ballast, but it will give you an idea.
if you are looking toward the woodland scenics ballast, i would say no less than the medium size. the coarse size, i have a feeling, would be too big for size ratio, and medium would be much too small.

I recently saw a 1/72 Leopold build on the internet and he stated that he used Wonderland Scenics medium grade,seems to me looking at Wonderland's coarse should be ok for 1/35 or a
mix of both??

Paul I build a lot of German RR and the only ballast I use is Woodland Scenic Course. It's scaled perfectly for 1/35 and comes in assorted shades. Medium for 1/72.
Terry

Paul I build a lot of German RR and the only ballast I use is Woodland Scenic Course. It's scaled perfectly for 1/35 and comes in assorted shades. Medium for 1/72.
Terry

Hello Terry

Thanks for the reply, I looked at the Woodland coarse pretty much made up my mind the was the way to go,I am going to order some.
I've had the K5 Leopold since 2003,I also have the now rare?
Jadar metal barrel to go with the model.

Model RR ballast not only comes in different grades, but different scales as well. Keep that in mind. HO scale (1/87) is much smaller than O scale (1/48). So a course O scale ballast would be acceptable for 1/35.

Paul glad to be of some assistance and nice score on the barrel.
Terry

1 Gauge is the closest to 1/35, although it's an odd scale and hard to find; it shares a track gauge with G Gauge (45mm, vice 41mm for 1/35), so you might want to look online for G gauge ballast. Other options are #4 turkey grit (you want the insoluble type; the soluble type is made of shells and doesn't look right) or "crusher fines" from a rock quarry (crusher fines are the fine stuff that gets caught by the 4/8 sieves when they sort the gravel output of a rock crusher).

Thanks for all the replies everyone,I have purchased bottle of
Woodland Scenics Coarse Ballast(Gray),this is exactly the size I was looking for.