# Help with roads n town pavements color



## musicwerks (Jan 4, 2012)

Dear friends,

In my rush to complete my layout before starting work again, I bought several bottles of woodland senics asphalt and concrete colors to paint the roads and concrete train yard. I had applied household speckle (the ready mix ones) to form the roads and all.

Much to my dismay ( and spending much on the WL senics colors) I noticed the asphalt is way way too black, worse, the concrete didn't look anything like Portland cement color, it looks beige...

I didn't think much before applying the colors as I had very good experience with their ground cover colors (nice pigments and vibrant colors)

Can anyone give some pointers to help? I am on a budget, ( I soon realized the scenery had cost 5 times more than the train set!)

Kiong


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

If you look at concrete, you'll see that it is naturally beige after a short time in the sun. I use Testor's Wood Tan myself, dusted with some pastel chalk powders to tone it down, then sealed with clear flat paint...










My roads are asphalt shingles dusted with pastel chalks and again, sealed with clear flat. Adding some white to your paint should tone it down as real asphalt remains black for only a couple months.










My chalks are simply artist pastels, scraped with a knife blade, producing a variety of colored powders for dusting onto models, then sealed with Krylon's #1311 Matte Finish clear flat paint.

I appreciate the many comments my scenery gets but my secret is really quite simple: Regular observation of what you're modeling, then using what best replicates that on hand, while spending as little as possible on it, to have more money for models. My hobby budget would make your average hobby shop owner break out in a rash. 

I use real dirt, sifted and demagnetized, I buy my scenic materials in box lot leftovers from other modelers, I do the same for paint and, I buy my buildings in box lots as well, most assembled---some badly---others as rejected kits. A little paint and weathering of them is usually all they need...



















Don't be afraid to use your imagination and a couple bits of plastic cast-offs, you'll never know what you come up with...:thumbsup:










...the only thing store bought in that picture is the figure and a length of .015" wire, everything else came from the scrap box.

My local hobby shop more often than not is a local second hand store or yard sale. I have good relationships with hobby shop and train show vendors who sell used model trains. They know I'm a tight fisted chap who has no interest in the new stuff, but is also the one who is most likely to buy that "box of junk" under their table---after a jolly round of haggling

Hope that helps a little...


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## musicwerks (Jan 4, 2012)

hi shaygetz,

Wow, your layout is cool..the tlc you give to your buildings. That buggy and lawn mower is way Way cool! 

A) Thanks for the advice on concrete...can you share with me how you do your asphalt? It's nice...I am still scratching my head over my road...

For my train yard, I think I might have salavaged it by mixing white speckle with a touch of WL scenics Asphalt...let's hope it drys well and weathered...speckle seems to be a doubled-edged sword. It worked for m mountains but it just cracks on my train yard...

Kiong


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

Thank you for the kind words...

The buggy is primarily bent plastic ladder stock with an engine made from a fire hydrant, wheels from an N scale truck, steering wheel from an N scale brake wheel and other bits...










The mowers are more bits and two N scale brake wheels...










My asphalt is the back side of asphalt shingles, a very common material stateside and found in massive quantities in my area after a good hurricane---you can still see the dirt from the mud on mine, I don't even bother to clean them...

I just cut it to fit and then weather it with chalks, line it with Elmer's Paint pens, and then seal it with clear flat...



















The grade crossings are just Campbell railroad ties and/or matchsticks, whichever I have at the time. I glue them in, trim them, them stain them with a wash of old paint thinner and brown craft paint, push in bolts with the point of a pencil, weather and seal...



















Hope that helps...


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## Xnats (Dec 5, 2010)

Kiong did use us it right out of the bottle, as in full strength? I had the same results too :laugh:. Just sand it down some and dilute the asphalt pigment. I found it worked best for me doing a 1 to 3 ratio. 1 part asphalt 3 parts water. It took like 5 or 6 coats but looks halfway decent. I was looking for an older worn road. I think I even used concrete in one layer. If you want a new looking road, just not as dark as your first attempt, try a 1 to 1 ratio.


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

Years ago, I had an art teacher who would rail against flesh colored paint...

"THERE IS NO FLESH COLORED PAINT!!!", as he grabbed the tube from some poor, hapless sot, "WHEN I LOOK AT THE BACK OF MY HAND...I SEE RED, I SEE RAW SIENNA, I SEE GREEN, I SEE BLUE...I SEE NO FLESH COLOR ANYWHERE!!!"

I shudder to think the heights of his raging at the thought of "Asphalt" paint and "Concrete" paint...:thumbsup:

"WHEN I LOOK AT A ROAD...I SEE SILVER, I SEE BLACK, I SEE BROWN....I SEE NO ASPHALT COLOR ANYWHERE!!!!"


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

Well, when you're color-challenged it REALLY becomes interesting. That's why my layout is not as detailed/weathered as I would like it to be. My grass is GREEN, my asphalt is GRAY, and my blacktop is BLACK. I'm scqred stiff to try much "shading" or "blending" with colors.
Still havin' more fun than ever for an old geezer.  :laugh:
Bob


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## Bucklaew (Oct 7, 2010)

That tip about using asphalt shingles is outstanding. Got some left overs I did not what to do with. Now they are no longer left over, they have become craft and RR supplies. Thanks again for all the tips and instructions.
:laugh:


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