Woodland Scenics "Smooth it"

[Chris333]

Never bought this before. Is it just regular plaster? 

Or different?

I wanna make roads with it.

 

[davefoxx]

Seemed like regular plaster to me when I built the roads for the Virginia Central.  You may want to tint it first, though, because, I found (at least in my batch) that it didn't take washes too well after drying (I poured the excess into rock molds).  Of course, that's not an issue, if you're going to use paint as the final finish, which I did for my roads on the VC.

DFF

[davidgray1974]

Daves right.  It is like plaster but actually dries grey versus the bright white like hydrocal and does not accept washes very well.  Woodland scenics sells two colors of top coat paint, asphalt and concrete, to help you get the desired road you want. 

[MichaelWinicki]

It's a good product. 

I think it may create the best looking asphalt-type of road out there.

[Chris333]

I need to make concrete parking lots. I'll make "forms" put the goop in and smooth it with a wide blade.  Just didn't want to order this and find it is just plaster (which I have).

[SkipGear]

Chris,
 Get lightweight spackle at the local big box home improvement store. Tint it to the color you want, thin it slightly with water and then spread it into your forms. I think it is basically the same stuff and you get much more in a bucket for the price. Plus you can use it for other scenery. I mainly tint and use it for asphalt but I'm sure it would work well for concrete also with a little less tinting. It sands really easy also so you can smooth out your roads even more once it is dry.

Warning: 'H'orribly 'O'versized Example...

[DKS]

My suspicion is that Smooth It is pre-tinted lightweight Hydrocal. The fact that it doesn't take washes well suggests it's not plaster. Hydrocal is known for not taking washes or stains.

[Chris333]

I think Tony's idea is worth a try. Plus I can just go down to the store and get it. I'll do a little test patch

[DKS]

Oh, I agree with Tony 100%. You may want to do some tests to find out what tinting works best. Usually it needs to be a little darker when wet, as it'll dry lighter.

[bbussey]

I need to make concrete parking lots. I'll make "forms" put the goop in and smooth it with a wide blade.  Just didn't want to order this and find it is just plaster (which I have).

If you're going to pour concrete parking lots, use the real thing instead.  Quickrete is available at Home Depot and will give you the exact look you want.  See Ian's Amoskeag Northern photos for reference:

http://www.amoskeagnorthern.com/v2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=111:modeling-using-real-concrete&catid=22:modeling-articles-and-how-tos&Itemid=40

Pour it and level with conventional tools, or make a molds for individual slabs.

[Chris333]

I picked up joint compound, went for a bike ride, and stopped at the hobby shop to get concrete top coat. So I will do a test with that first.

The real cement might work, but I'd like to see some close up pics to see if the grain looks over sized for N scale.

I'll be making curbs out of styrene so at least those will need painted.

[MichaelWinicki]

The challenge I had with WS Concrete Top Coat is that it seemed a bit too yellow. 

You may want to consider adding complimentary colors in order to make it a shade you're comfortable with.

I went down to Sherwin Williams and picked up a quart of "Stamped Concrete" latex which was perfect for the color of concrete found around here.   I use that as the base for all my concrete-colored projects for the layout. 

[bbussey]

The real cement might work, but I'd like to see some close up pics to see if the grain looks over sized for N scale.

I think it's more than satisfactory.  These abutments were poured into rapid-prototype molds.  You could build molds for the roads from styrene with the textured side facing into the mold.  That would give you the texture you are looking for.

[wm3798]

I used regular joint compound to pave my roads around Thomas.  I used a mixture of black and burnt umber to tint it, added water to make it a little more viscous, and used a 1" flat craft brush to apply it to the subroadbed I built up with sculptamold.  When I tinted it, the mixture was almost completely black, and it dried to this lovely weathered color.  Since it's colored throughout, I could go back and touch sand it to smooth it out a little better.  It's not 100% smooth, as evidenced by the shaky line applied with a yellow pencil, but it's adequate for my purposes.  The concrete deck on the bridge is painted styrene with some Sharpie "tar"...

Personally, the only Woodland Scenics products I buy are the bulk packs of ground foam and foliage.  Pretty much everything else they sell is repackaged product that you can get cheaper and faster, and usually in larger quantities elsewhere.  They market directly to people who are getting started in the hobby, and are easily fooled into thinking that you can only use things you buy at a hobby shop at a premium price...

Lee

[Ian MacMillan]

I think it's more than satisfactory.  These abutments were poured into rapid-prototype molds.  You could build molds for the roads from styrene with the textured side facing into the mold.  That would give you the texture you are looking for.

Yes it works pretty well....wonder where you got that from!

I used it for bridges on the first AN