Hmmmm…?
I might try a variation on the same theme as your dust could, but try to glue a small amount of fine and coarse sand to the cotton. Maybe tease the cotton out into a sort of flat sheet, give a light “spritze” of a spray glue, then sprinkle the sand grains on (just a few should give the effect). After the glue dries, airbrush with the same color as the dust “clouds,” then again tease out and trim a small, thin sheet of it to the same width as the tracks. Tuck the end up under the fender over the tracks, and adjust the “fall” and “trajectory” of the “ejecta.” If it looks right, then glue it on.
I’ve never done this, but I have seen a couple of effective builds which used torn pieces of clear food wrap strengthened with tinted clear artist acrylic medium to replicate-simulate splashing water and mud (both on ships models for bow wakes and armor models for mud splashing).
The cotton matrix might be able to be used in a similar way with the “forward ejecta.”
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You can’t see it from a front angle, but there actually are some bits flying in the rear of the dust cloud;
The bits are small, but they’re there. I thought of small patches of dried acrylic modeling paste, painted dusty, with more bits glued to it.
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Thanks brek. that was exactly what i was looking for with a little bonus of how to make palm trees.
Joe
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Celluclay, the bain of my dioramas. I have had it crack. It always curls up at the edge of the base. It is what I want to use but it refuses to cooperate. Any secrets to taming the beast?
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I’ve never had cracking as a problem. Maybe you’re applying it too thickly? I occasionally get the edge curl, but to fix that, I mix a little extra Celluclay and put it aside in a sealable container so it doesn’t dry out. If the edge curls during drying I fill the gaps with the reserve Celluclay.
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I have gone so far as to put tacks into the base, leaving the head about 1/16th above the surface so the Celluclay could fill under the head to keep it from lifting at the edges.
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Hmmm…have you tried mixing in some white glue to the Celluclay?
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IIRC, in addition to white glue, a drop or two dish washing detergent added to the water mixed with celuclay also helps.
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When I use celluclay, I use a lot of wood glue. I usually use it for my vignettes, armor or single figures; I’ve never used it on a large diorama yet. I try to use as little water as possible.
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