I have done 2 desert dioramas and have not been happy with my desert sand technique.

What I want is a tank moving across desert sand. The Diorama will be in Kuwait. The ground was flat, reasonably firm and the surface was sand with small ripples from the wind like small ripples on a pond.

I have used celuclay with poor results. I recessed the top of the plaque 1/8th of an inch then sealed the top with spar varnish.Then I added celuclay. When it is dry I coat the surface with wood glue and coat the glue with flour then spray paint the flour. I am happy with the flour, it looks like sand. I am always unhappy with celuclay. It never looks right and the edges always come loose from the base.

Someone told me to use something that will level well like plaster. What ever is used I still need to somehow make realistic ripples in the sand and will allow me to make tank tracks in the sand.

Please fire off your suggestions before I get started on my third sand diorama. Thanks, Greg.

Have you tried wall filler,that is quite workable for a long time and doesnt useually lift I add cheap acrylic paint to the mixture so no white spots show.

When you say "wall filler" do you mean joint compound that is used with sheet rock?

You have a trip to Lowes or Home Depot in your future.

Wall spackle (Dap brand) is the best thing to use for what you're looking to do. Its easy to use spreads well, has a decent work time, and paints well.

What I would do is get your base down with styrofoam and put a thin coating of spackle over it to act as a base. Let that dry then come back over it with thin movement (sand ripples) layers. Spread it with a knife and work in ripples and waves etc. You can also experiment with mixing in a fine grain sand pre application and this will give you more texture. If you are going to be working (cutting sanding etc) the ground much I would color it first by adding some dark yellow/sand hobby paint. This isn't supposed to be the final color as you will paint over it all once its dry. This added paint will help eliminate bright white spots that crop up when you sand or cut away the top layer.
When the spackle is still wet you can push your AFV's into it to get decent track marks.

I think your best bet is to put a layer of joint compound down and sprinkle an even layer of sand ontop. After that is done, for the ripples i would take whatever you can find (folded up piece of paper, or fine funnel) to sift some more sand down to make the pattern. You would get the peaks of the ripples by moving the sifting object (like piping the fancy icing onto a cake) and naturally the sand will make a furrow. Imagine how sand settles in an hourglass, for example. Obviously you have artistic license on how they will form, and after you have the topography you like, you should seal it down with an eyedropper with 50% white glue or wood glue to 50% water. You might want to add a few drops of soap in there so that the mixture seeps down into the sand rather than beading up and rolling down the ripples. I use this technique a lot in my dioramas and it works fine. The problem i see with trying to sculpt the ripples is that youre either going to run out of working time or you arent going to be able to make it look naturally made, and frankly is going to look mandmade, rather than windmade. Just my 2 cents

What Scott discrbed, we call it poly filler in the uk I think you call it spackle.

Thanks for the ideas! Lowes here we come. I also had a thought for the ripples. I saw a office chair pad that had what I thought was a good looking ripple pattern. Maybe apply the spackle to the base , push the ripple patten onto the spackel, then finish the surface.
Greg.

Greg, Ialways use a good amount of white glue and liquid dish soap in my plaster mix. Glue helps bond to the surface and dish soap breaks the surface tension so it will flow easier. Depending on the amount of glue, the plaster can become very hard and inserting can become a p.i.t.a. but I have yet to have any ground work raise after drying. As for the top cover i use baby sand , the sand sold for sand boxes for kids. It is the smallest sand available and sets down easy with water and white glue. Dry and air brush. If you need some texture to the dessert sand (depending what dessert you're in) use kitty litter. The beige colored stuff as the gray is clay and makes a heck of a mess as it basicly melts. Paint and dry brush to your preferance. You now have instant dessert from a box. Good luck. .