:hellosign:
Hello folks !
And now, it's time for the newbie (me) question of the day:
What's your favorite kind of ballast ?
I'm planning to use Woodland Scenics (http://www.hattons.co.uk/19092/Woodland_Scenics_B75_Bag_of_Ballast_Fine_Grey/StockDetail.aspx) or Javis Scenics JFGST (http://www.hattons.co.uk/7961/Javis_Scenics_JFGST_Bag_Of_Ballast_Small_Fine_Grey/StockDetail.aspx).
All your advices and replies are welcome !
:thankyousign:
Long term fan of Woodland Scenics products here, and you can almost never go wrong with them. The fact they come in distinct colours including dark brown ballast for yards and clean grey colours for modern mainlines is a plus.
HOWEVER, I've started finding myself using Javis stuff with some frequency. A big difference with many of their products is they're often blends of colours or textures. I picked up a couple bags of 'BattleZone field loose scatter' and by jingo it's useful! Contains variously sized small bit of talus, fluffy grass blobs, tiny chippings, all sorts really. Makes superb stuff to lay down in the space between cliffs and ballasted track (or rough country roads) where you want a sort of gradation.
So where I'd need to buy a number of bags of Woodland Scenics stuff, I'm finding a single bag of the Javis stuff will do. I'm also liking the fact the Javis stuff is much cheaper than similar Woodland Scenics products.
Not much of an answer really, but an observation they're both good. I will opine that the Woodland Scenics ballast looks finer to me, and the finer the better with N. I use Woodland Scenics ballast, though usually mixing a couple colours, and then airbrushing with suitable shades of brake dust grey afterwards to blend it all in.
Cheers, NeMo
Like my women - loose :-X
Careful, Mick.... moderation can be worse than medication ;) :P
Woodland Scenics fan here from way back.
I did all my ballasting using the Gaugemaster GM115 granite ballast, it is fine and has mixed colours and I'm very pleased with the final result on Claywell. Perhaps a little weathering here and there in the sidings and sheds to dirty it down it bit and it should look the dogs. :)
(http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/12/main_32221.jpg)
Freshly laid! (I'll get my coat)
I like Woodland Scenics but mix three colours together to get what I consider to be the right shade.
I find ballasting a real pain and am very pleased when it's completed.
:NGaugersRule:
It's the most mind boggingly boring job in railway modelling, and difficult to get right.
I loved it, very therapeutic and was probably the first big step in turning a "train set" into a " model railway" :)
Oh, and Woodland Scenics here ;)
Paul
A mix of Faller and WS for me. Not tried GM or Javis.
Sadly, the Faller stuff that had an excellent grain size, is now discontinued. I'll mix it with some WS, when I actually get around to ballasting the current work in progress.
Ballast isn't 100% consistent colour-wise so variations look OK.
Dave G
Quote from: Sprintex on August 20, 2016, 12:10:25 PM
I loved it, very therapeutic and was probably the first big step in turning a "train set" into a " model railway" :)
Oh, and Woodland Scenics here ;)
Paul
Yeah but you had an army of ponies to tamp it all down ;)
:thankyousign: :thankyousign: :thankyousign:
No comparison to Caz's great shot but here's a close-up of the Faller fine ballast I used on the previous layout.
http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/63/main_1499.JPG (http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/63/main_1499.JPG)
Dave G
As I said here (http://le-forum-du-n.forumotions.net/t20564-rails-kato-t-trak-les-questions) in another language, I use a mix of Woodland Scenics ballasts for Kato Unitrak : one part of Fine Ballast Cinder (ref: B1376), one part of Fine Ballast Light Grey (ref : B1374) and five parts of Fine Ballast Grey (ref: B1375). This is the best for Kato. Tip found here (http://thomas.tuerke.net/on/mrr/?thread=1289869264).
I did a little comparison here.
http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=32112.msg367713#msg367713 (http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=32112.msg367713#msg367713)
Maybe somewhere for you to start.
I use Jarvis or Gauge master stuff as that is what my local shops sell.
However the best I think.is ballast laid expertly by someone else. I hate the job.
:thankyousign: All your answers are very helpful.
I favour Gaugemaster ready ballasted foam underlay, saves a whole load of grief!
Hi there,
I rather like Green Scene GS408 (light grey) which I believe is made from ground peach stones. It doesn't fade, and has a good variety of colours within the overall "pale grey" theme...
cheers
Ben A.
Anyone tried Dapol ballast? I've just ordered a tub from Hattons. This will be my first attempt at ballasting track.
John
You got yourself a fine brush, a ballast spreader, a fine dropper and a heap of patience, John?
Welcome to ballasting! :thumbsup: ;)
Quote from: Bealman on August 21, 2016, 11:36:18 AM
You got yourself a fine brush, a ballast spreader, a fine dropper and a heap of patience, John?
Deleted the unnecessary item - if you were born with fingers you have plenty of ballast-spreaders ;)
Paul
Quote from: JRS747 on August 21, 2016, 11:27:34 AM
Anyone tried Dapol ballast? I've just ordered a tub from Hattons. This will be my first attempt at ballasting track.
Not used this but looks very similar to the mixes used by people to expand the ballasting around Unitrack. Should be fine for modern railways, but a bit pale for a 1930s branch line!
Quote from: Bealman on August 21, 2016, 11:36:18 AM
You got yourself a fine brush, a ballast spreader, a fine dropper and a heap of patience, John?
If we're adding tips, here's one of mine: lay down some pound store superglue bottles and UHU (again, from pound stores). Both are really good for gluing down ballast in awkward spots. The superglue is especially nice for repairing spots that didn't stick down first time with the PVA, as well as heaps of ballast, for example around buffers or catch points. The UHU is great because it doesn't spread, so I find it indispensable for gluing around the most delicate parts of points.
Cheers, NeMo
Quote from: Sprintex on August 21, 2016, 11:46:32 AM
Quote from: Bealman on August 21, 2016, 11:36:18 AM
You got yourself a fine brush, a ballast spreader, a fine dropper and a heap of patience, John?
Deleted the unnecessary item - if you were born with fingers you have plenty of ballast-spreaders ;)
Paul
Not with my shaky fingers, Paul! You should see me put salt and pepper on a boiled egg :beers:
Quote from: Bealman on August 21, 2016, 12:19:16 PM
Quote from: Sprintex on August 21, 2016, 11:46:32 AM
Quote from: Bealman on August 21, 2016, 11:36:18 AM
You got yourself a fine brush, a ballast spreader, a fine dropper and a heap of patience, John?
Deleted the unnecessary item - if you were born with fingers you have plenty of ballast-spreaders ;)
Paul
Not with my shaky fingers, Paul! You should see me put salt and pepper on a boiled egg :beers:
Or a pickled one :D
Paul
;D ;D
THIS kind of ballast.....
(http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/43/1473-220816230646.jpeg)
Favourite kind? shouldn't that read "least loathed kind"?
Some will have seen this one in the NGS Journal but I felt it might be appropriate to use it again. Marley Hill Station on the Tanfield railway- and they were running trains over it.....
Les
Quote from: Les1952 on August 22, 2016, 11:11:52 PM
THIS kind of ballast.....
(http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/43/1473-220816230646.jpeg)
Favourite kind? shouldn't that read "least loathed kind"?
Some will have seen this one in the NGS Journal but I felt it might be appropriate to use it again. Marley Hill Station on the Tanfield railway- and they were running trains over it.....
Les
Ash ballast, the stuff that has had me pulling my hair out for years. This is the closest I have got so far - still a bit coarse but I'll live with it for now.
(http://i753.photobucket.com/albums/xx178/glencoyne/DSCN0710_zpsv2xa2me9.jpg)
Quote from: JRS747 on August 21, 2016, 11:27:34 AM
Anyone tried Dapol ballast? I've just ordered a tub from Hattons. This will be my first attempt at ballasting track.
John
I've used Dapol ballast extensively on my layout and found it to be fine but horribly coloured ,I got over this by simply colouring the water /pva mix with artists acrylics until I arrived at the shade of grey I wanted and so killed 2 birds with one stone , I have to say that I have no experience with other brands but apart from it's colour ( a very pale buff ) Dapol ballast is fine by me .
That ash ballast looks great to me, belstone! :thumbsup:
Quote from: Bealman on August 21, 2016, 11:36:18 AM
You got yourself a fine brush, a ballast spreader, a fine dropper and a heap of patience, John?
Welcome to ballasting! :thumbsup: ;)
This is my first attempt, a little rough I know. And a bit less colour next time, I thought it would fade as it dried but it actually went a deeper colour. I thought that the Dapol ballast was too fine until I started laying it, now I wouldn't want anything coarser. The Dapol ballast seems to take colour well.
John
(http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/43/5054-280816123317.jpeg) (http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=43183)
Nice start in ballasting. :thumbsup:
chincilla dust :) £ 4 for 1 kilo
Chinchilla dust is WAY too fine for N Gauge - probably about right for T gauge actually!
Paul
Hi ,
Real ballast does vary in size with 75mm down to 50mm common figures. And quality varies with locations in the country and around sections of route. So really layouts could have several sizes, from ash in sidings to a good clean stone on mainlines.
Having walked on the stuff many times (and shovelled a few tons in the day!) and compared the lumps on sleepers on our models to real stuff. The finer the better! Ash ballast I have seen done with DAS clay and stippled with a tooth brush, chilla dust looks good for small fine top ballast and the woodland scenics mixes for modern or new works - and that adds another twist to choice as you could have "new works" lengths or around packed joints new colour and clean ballast. It all seems to colour back to a brownish hue anyway.
Just my 10 pence worth.
Robert