What material can I use for the groundwork of a desert sand base? I'm making a base for a 1/144 MLRS in Iraq, and I tried beach sand. The color doesn't look right so I guess I'll have to paint it or use something else.. but anyway the sand grain is a little too big too.

maybe you could try a very fine grid sanding paper, and painting it in the right colors? Also 'birdsand' has a very fine structure.

Thanks, never occurred to me to use sandpaper. I'll airbrush it with Tamiya buff, but what color drybrushing should I use for desert sand? Is there a specific tutorial for desert groundwork around?

as you can see by this pic- the desert is very gray - a lot of this depends on ambient daylight and location the closer you get to Saudi the redder it gets. @ 1/144 I would tend to use a very fine pwder like Fuller's earth (FULLER'S EARTH [fuller's earth] mineral substance characterized by the property of absorbing basic colors and removing them from oils. It is composed mainly of alumina, silica, iron oxides, lime, magnesia, and water, in extremely variable proportions, and is generally classified as a sedimentary clay . In color it may be whitish, buff, brown, green, olive, or blue. It is semiplastic or nonplastic and may or may not disintegrate easily in water. It was originally used in the fulling of wool to remove oil and grease but is now used chiefly in bleaching and clarifying petroleum and secondarily in refining edible oils. Fuller's earth is mined in many parts of the United States, Georgia and Florida being the leading producers, and in England near Reigate, Nutfield, and Bath. Before it can be used, it has to be crushed and dried. )
or simulate it with a flat paint keep in mind @ 1/144 a six foot man is only a half inch tall!!

Color you can always paint so research what color you should do and paint away....
material is the harder part - sand paper would be good for a flat surface. How about taking clean cat litter and grinding it to a powdery consistancy. Or try to put a layer of white glue and water down and sprinkling talkum powder or baking powder on top. Be careful and seal it well.

I dont know if you find them as pets in your part of the world but Chinchilla Dust that is used by the animal for dry bathing is very very fime and can be sprinkled on a White/Elmers/Wood glue painted surface and may well suit your needs.

John

Bird sand is heavy even for 1/72. You'll achieve a good result by, after a good paintjob with tamiya paints, airbrushed from a good distance to give a rough surface texture, using some chalk powder or mig pigments.