Slight twist on a common Snow method

[Malebolgia]

I think it should work for wetter-looking snow. For the more powdery-looking fresh snow, it might not be so effective though.

You can make a regular snow layer to start with and then sprinkle some crushed glass on top of the wet snow layer to finish it off. This will make it powdery; it is my standard method

[Hupp n at em]

Would a very fine grained sand mixed with white paint and PVA work? What could replace PVA as the thickener since that will yellow with time too? 

[Major_Gilbear]

Would a very fine grained sand mixed with white paint and PVA work? What could replace PVA as the thickener since that will yellow with time too? 

Yes, and also see the previous posts in this thread? 

[sundayhero]

Here's some pics of soda bicarbonate (organic farming quality) with acrylic gel (using medium instead of gel should work too, perhaps even better) bases samples I made. I took 2 pics with diferent light conditions :

[Major_Gilbear]

@ sundayhero:

They look rather good! 

[sundayhero]

Thanks, I also think that "it works". But the unknown paramater is how it will look like in several months/years. Theorically, the acrylic resin "seal" should avoid yellowing, but i'm not sure.

It's why I'm still using woodland scenics snow for my customers, because I'm sure it will last correctly. But for my own personal needs, the baking acrylic mixture sounds "good enough". 

[Hupp n at em]

Yes, and also see the previous posts in this thread? 

I did, I didn't see a suggestion for replacement of PVA in the mix.    Having recently handled decades-old Plasticville buildings for my Fallout project, I've seen how PVA yellows with age.

Plaster was mentioned, but still mixed with PVA.  I'm not touching with a thousand foot pole what is essentially broken glass;  so that leaves me mixing WS snow, possibly plaster or a ? (PVA replacement) to achieve the more thickly piled snow, vs just gluing on the WS stuff for the fluffy effect.

[Major_Gilbear]

@  Hupp n at em:

You can get some sands and some paints that have some mica in them to give them a glittery effect (a bit like metallic paints basically!).

You can also get "white" glitter to add to the mix, and you can even use a light overspray of a pearlescent paint.

Might be if it's white enough. I'd probably just go with decorative sand which can be plain bright white or have some "glitter" in it.

And:

Personaly I made a few test bases with baking soda mixed with acrylic heavygel and acrylic gloss medium, instead of pva glue. This way the fake snow is "sealed" into acrylic resin, in a way.

A month later, after tryin to put the figure in direct sunlight (summer in south west of france is pretty hot) all day long, placing the figure under direct water (to try to activate some moisture reaction), etc... No yellowing so far.

I don't know how long it usually take for pva glue + baking soda to turn yellow ?

So you can use white decorative sand as a substitute for baking soda, and heavy acrylic gel as a substitute for PVA glue. You can add a little white paint too if you want. I guess you'll have to play a little with the rations to get a satisfying result though.

[Hupp n at em]

So you can use white decorative sand as a substitute for baking soda, and heavy acrylic gel as a substitute for PVA glue. You can add a little white paint too if you want. I guess you'll have to play a little with the rations to get a satisfying result though.

Hmm I suppose that'd work even if my intent is just using it as a thickener instead of a sealant. As I've recently moved, I have far more cardboard around than I have hobby uses for, so testing should be a problem. 

[sundayhero]

I made several tests, the PVA glue mix doesn't give a very diferent result than using acrylic mediums, in my opinion. You don't necessary have to use gloss medium (like the one I'm using), you can find satin or even mate medium. You can also find mediums wich are not completly clear.

The biggest diference is the price, I buy my pva glue for 5euros/litre, my liquitex gloss medium for about 20euros/500ml, 10euros for a big (200ml I believe) heavy gel tube. But baking soda is definitly cheaper than modelling snow.

I also tried to use some Klir (varnish for floors) mixed with baking soda, but it gave me a slightly yellowish result (but my Klir is a bit yellow itself).


I believe the cheapest and best balance (for terrain) would be making the snow bulk with plaster and pva, and then apply some quality modelling snow like you would do for modelling flock.

I didn't try it, but it's probably possible to sprinkle some pure plaster on the scenery, then spray with tap water, wait for drying, sprinkle again, then water, etc... to make a nice heavy snow bulk. Then, glue the woodland scenics snow on top of this.

I will soon experiment all this for my frostgrave scenery, I'll keep you informed.

[Major_Gilbear]

I personally don't like doing table surfaces with anything that's messy (like flock, that always comes loose no matter what) or that's abrasive (like sand, which scuffs models badly if they should get knocked over).

For the last two tables I made, I used textured spray paint. These come in many dappled shades, give a nice texture, and dry a little rubbery.  Plus, you can overspray them again with plain spray paint to get further colours.

On a snow table, I'd paint it dark grey, spray with light grey textured spray paint, then overspray with white. If you want cobbled patches, you could leave patches of the dark grey base coat free of the sprays and then use a stamp (made from card or cork or whatever) to add in the pattern. Easy, quick, cheap, flexible, and looks very good. :-)

[Silent Invader]

One of the various methods I use for snow is to combine Evostik exterior grade wood glue (which dries clear) with pure talcum powder and some white acrylic paint

Edit: http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=79393.0