# Display stand - first ballasting attempt



## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

I think came out no to bad. used WS medium gray ballast. 
my new camera is still not here but our ultra-compact point-n-shoot'er macro mode is not bad at all.

i did miss several spots. i will glue in some vegetation. adding ground cover (whenever thats going to happen) will help as well.






















need to work on not including the surrounding mess in the picture.
but nevertheless i like this photo











and the small display stand for a friend


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

continued working on the displays. painted track and sleepers brown, and put some ground cover. wow. what a difference this makes. i can't wait to do scenery on my main layout.





















i like it so much that i decided to unpack my genesis engine and hopper for couple pictures


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## tworail (Apr 13, 2006)

Looks great!

Did you consider 'weathering' the ballast at all? Using chalks or light wash of india ink.


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

i was thinking about it actually. but i need to find better "how-to".
actually i got bit carried away - those displays are bit distracting from main layout. but now i feel much more confident. 
and the BIG lesson learned is to weather the rail first. I'll be damned if i ever paint each tie again :laugh:


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## tworail (Apr 13, 2006)

Yeah, definitely paint the rails first  Get an airbrush it will make quick work of your entire layout if you don't have one.

One way I thought about doing the weathering of the ballast, and this would be a simple first step, is to have a spray bottle with india ink, water and dish soap drop to create a spray that would give a gentle black wash to the rock. Light spraying in some places, heavier in others for example in yard areas or switches.


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## vtecnturbo (Dec 24, 2009)

those look great, nice work


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## igmuska (Nov 21, 2009)

The weathered rail and ties look fabulous. Can you list the colors and type of paint.
For my layout, I experimented on loose sectional track using cheap water-based acrylics but didn't like the result. Then I tried some Testors enamel colored as rust dulled down by mixing it with black and like the effect.
Then seen a video using those weathering marker pens but after reading more into them, I'd rather stick to a paintbrush.
Would using solvent-based acrylics be cheaper than using Testors?


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

this was painted with cheap acrylics - craft paint from WM 
i don't really think think the color matches perfectly, but that was first attempt 

main layout and diorama i painted with rusty primer, and followed up with very watery acrylic of black/dark brown hue (airbrushed in several very watery coats). imho much better. but i did noticed a difference between color pictured and how it looked in reality


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## igmuska (Nov 21, 2009)

I don't have an airbrush yet, hopefully Santa will see that I was a good boy this year and get me one. As a fan of Bob Ross and his Joy of Painting series, to keep from going postal, I'll be making diesel horn sounds and other track noises because I can already see a few days of hand painting coming my way.
On my test sectional track (wrecked by nailing without the cork to the plywood), I just painted the ties with Liquitex raw umber, and am totally satisfied with the result.
I also went and bought more Testor's rust enamel that I'll darken with flat black.
And thankfully I had the chance long ago to pound some real spikes during a tamping job across a marsh for some painting practice, the spikes and the ties became very familiar to me even causing my fingers to hurt thinking about that craziness. And I haven't forgotten those hummingbird-sized mosquitoes either.


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

igmuska said:


> I don't have an airbrush yet, hopefully Santa will see that I was a good boy this year and get me one. As a fan of Bob Ross and his Joy of Painting series, to keep from going postal, I'll be making diesel horn sounds and other track noises because I can already see a few days of hand painting coming my way.


harbor fright tools, they have ok airbrush for 15$.
http://www.harborfreight.com/deluxe-airbrush-kit-95810.html
compressors are also not to expensive

i'd rather shoot myself then paint by hand again, that was a valuable lesson and thats something i will avoid like a plague


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