Hey there guys, i was wondering what i can use for beach sand in 1/72 scale. im doing a D Day invation dio and i dont know what to use for the sand. Real sand is way out of scale. Thanks for any and all the help!

Technically that would be microscopic dust particles in that scale. You could maybe use real clay dust, but I think it would look to pasty when it was wet down. I would probably use the Woodland Scenics buff color ballast in fine grade. Or was the real beach a dark color? I know Arizona Rock & Mineral has sold some pretty fine grade stuff. They have a site, but it's not a huge help.
http://www.rrscenery.com/
You might be able to find their stuff at a model RR store though.

Dave
Los Angeles, CA

-DPDP Model Accessories-
http://eje.railfan.net/dpdp/

You'll really need fine stuff. Unless you can get hold of soil high in silt with minimal organic matter (the stuff that makes soil dark), almost all beach sand is just too coarse for 1:72.

A close approximation would be talcum powder or marble dust. The second would be a bit harder to get unless your'e near a quarry or a headstone maker (pretty morbid stuff). Superfine salt maybe another possibility with the only limitation being its a bit too white and will dissolve when you stick them with a water based glue.

Sorry, that's all I could think off.

Marble dust is a good solution. But it's a dirty work with this kind of fine dust. You need a well ventilated area and some protection for your lungs

Hi,

I discovered something by accident when I was making a sand castle as a decoration for my son's wedding this Friday.
I use a mortar and pestle to gring up things. So, i bought some cheap 6" diameter wooden embroidery hoops. Then I scrounged different materials with different openings, from stretched panty hose (very fine), to tulle, to anything with different screen sizes.
Then I took cheap sand and passed it through from coarse to fine. AMAZING!
I got a collection of various size small rocks, to uniform sand, to ultrafine sand dust. There's your 1/72" stuff! I am now using that technique on other materials out of curiosity. For instance, I'm going to five national parks in a few weeks. I'll liberate a small rock or too. Try my mortar and pestle and then screen the results and see what I have.

Sealhead

If you have a local machine shop or something similar where they do sand blasting, try some of that. The sand that I got one time from a shop here was tiny. That may work.

Patrick

Try taking regular sand or aquarium sand and grinding it down with a rolling pin (the mortar and pestle thing only on a larger scale).

Art

Perhaps you can use tile grout. You can find it in various colors. I have never tried it, but it's just a thought.

play sand just grind it down

why not! regular sand is already out of scale for 1/35! i mean, its not going to show on the pitures


Frank

Thanks for your help guys. How do i grind down play sand?

Adam FYI the invasion beaches of Normandy were not very sandy. They were more like rock. So sand in any scale may look out of place.

Hmm, thats funny since all the movies and documenteries show sand. Or at least the troops get sand on thier uniforms.......Saving private ryan is an example......

this may help

Yeah, Adam- SPR was shot in England, not France. You have to be very careful using Movies as a reference. They cut all kinds of corners just to stay within budget. SPR is held up as a standard by some, but aside from some nifty equipment it really isn't much better than most- aside from just being overly preachy dreck... (short rant over)
BTW Adam I finally got that Vacform article in the mail. Sorry about the delay.

So what should i use to represent the rock in 1/72 scale?


Robert, thanks for the article....cant wait to get it!

Try some ground limestone - goes to a chalky powder which would still retain some degree of texture. Failing that, just get some tan flock or cumin powder - that will be fine enough to still look like sand rather than plaster.

Clay is the smallest w/ a avg. dia. of 1/256 mm.
Very Fine Sand is 1/16 to 1/8 mm, Fine Sand is 1/8 to 1/4mm. Med Sand is 1/4 to 1/2 mm.

These are actual particle sizes from Glover's book "Pocket Ref"

Scale these to 1/72 and you get whatever size you need.

Keep in mind that you can use sand or rocks or anything exactly to scale, but it is the appearance that is important. Sometimes, being a little out of scale looks better.
For example, making the second floor of a building a little shorter than the first floor, or tilting a floor to get the "look".
In other words, let the right half of your brain into the game as well.

Sealhead