Make it Look Real: Ballast and Weather Model Train Tracks

[@MrFuoco555]

Your tutorials are always amazing! Just a question about isopropyl alcohol. Why do you use it? Maybe you explained it in another tutorial, but i've missed it! Greetings from italy

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Thank you Andrea! I am glad that you're enjoying these little demonstrations. IPA has low viscosity (I use 50% diluted which in my experience is enough for scenery work) compared to water, so when you wet the scenery before you apply the glue, it flows better and helps the glue coming after that reach deep in the scenery. It is also called a 'wetting agent'. It is possible to just use water and add a little dishwashing soap to make your own 'wetting agent' if you don't have access to IPA. The reason dishwashing soap is added to the scenic glue is also the same - lower the viscosity of the liquid so that it flows better. These two short videos by Luke Towan should explain this thoroughly: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bpuQoZ9oqtSKhck kzbin.info/www/bejne/qKHLl4qiisSYos0 Hope this helps. Cheers! Kaustav

[@MrFuoco555]

Trains and Dioramas thanks for answering, now it's all clear! May I ask you one more thing? When I Ballast my tracks, after the glue mixed with water and dish soap dries, the ballast looks like "wet", it doesn't look dry. Maybe I make some mistakes mixing the glue and the water?

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Andrea - that is most likely because of the type of glue that you're using - you need something that has a matt finish. What the glue essentially does is create a very thin, uniform layer to hold the ballast together - so if the glue you're using leaves a glossy finish, the ballast will look 'wet'. That's why I use Mod Podge Matt. If you cannot get that, just try acrylic matt medium which should be available in any art supply store. In addition, if you do the dry pastel weathering technique that I showed here, your track will lose all unwanted shine. Cheers! Kaustav

[@lucgagnon5241]

Now we have a guy who talks a smart and easy to understand way to do tracks and ballast. Intelligent and interesting. You're doing a very good job.

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Thank you Luc! I’m glad that you’re enjoying my work. Just out of curiosity, did you work at Oracle and Cognizant some 10 years ago?

[@lucgagnon5241]

@@TrainsandDioramas Hi again. No I'm not. I'm from the province of Quebec. Je parle français ! But I'm aware of the fact that they're are not only bad modelers on KZbin. Most of them are but some like you are pretty serious in doing things right and not like "good enough" should be the standard.

[@glipk]

I really wish India had bigger community for model train buffs but your channel is great

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Thank you ! Yes, it is a little difficult to build a hobby like model railroading in a country like India for various socio-economic reasons. But there are some really talented Model Railroaders here but most are difficult to track down. :) Glad that you liked the cannel and thanks for stopping by. Cheers! Kaustav

[@argusauge4812]

Great work

[@officialbritishtaxpayer5609]

Totally agree with you in using finer ballast than usual- I use 00 ballast when ballsting 0 track for instance. Using a modified pipette is a great way to apply ballast. Very infromative video - excellent!

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Thank you! Glad that you like my methods. Cheers! K

[@ericreither3666]

This guy is an artist. Most impressive!

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Oh thank you! Appreciate your kind words. 🙏🏻😊

[@unfitforpurpose6422]

Looks great I will be trying this next time I do some more ballasting

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Go for it! I'd love to know how it turns out and if you find ways to make it better or easier, so find me when you get to it. Cheers! Kaustav

[@BooklessT]

One of the better clips on track weathering!👌

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Wow, thanks!

[@deshkumar9]

Bro u have got an eye for detail...great work and excellent observation !!!

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Thank you so much 😀 Glad that you enjoyed this. 😎🙏

[@JimsonFurball]

I love watching your videos. I don't even have a train layout.

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Thank you! I believe watching a build is often more satisfying than building one yourself - I do it all the time! 😬

[@mgamga9476]

Excellent job. Will help me a lot.

[@NatarajanC12119]

Amazing work. learnt a lot :)

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Glad to hear that, Natarajan! I love your videos and often use them to reasearch IR, I am really glad that you found this video and enjoyed it. The video that shows building the whole diorama will be coming up at the end of this month, I'm sure you'll like it. staty tuned and cheers! Kaustav

[@Navneetyadavarts]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2fbY5qIeryEY7s Watch my Train's video.

[@christopherkingsland4604]

Congradulations on your VERY realistic techniques - I can't wait to do my ATSF tracks using your pointers!

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Awesome! Thank you and I am glad that you liked these unique techniques. I will be eager to hear how it works out for you. Cheers! Kaustav

[@jefftaylor1075]

Another excellent video, much appreciated and keep up the good work!

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Thank you Jeff! Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers! Kaustav

[@IamRobotMonkey]

Just wanted to say thanks for a great channel. Recently discovered JMRI and Raspberry Pi and their uses in model railways and your videos are superb and taught me not to be afraid. Huge thanks and best wishes!

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Great to hear and I am glad that I was of some help. I've had my fair share of 'scares' in the hobby. It is even scarier when you spend a lot of money for all those electronics and gadgets and realize there isn't any comprehensive tutorials out there! That's when I decided to make these simple and detail videos that shows exactly what needs to be done as opposed to beating around the bush. Nothing makes me happier knowing that it is helpful. Thank you very much for stopping by. Cheers! Kaustav

[@19scamps92]

A friend of mine sent me the link. You do great work and very well filmed! Thanks for your work and effort i am now a follower ;)

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Welcome aboard! Thanks to your friend for referring you here, and I am glad that you're liking what you see. Take a look around, there are some unique videos in there. Cheers! Kaustav

[@ratbeattie6884]

Great tips and video manner !

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Many thanks! ☺️🙏🏻

[@mcraft1]

Hi bro, how to make this type of track 🙏

[@DruSteel69]

Excellent video, Kaustav.

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Thank you Drew! Glad that you enjoyed it. :) Cheers! Kaustav

[@DruSteel69]

Trains and Dioramas - you’re welcome, my friend.

[@masroorkhan676]

It is hard to find supplies here in India.

[@MarceloPlus]

I swear, there are some moments where if I showed someone those scenes thy wouldn’t believe that I said it was actually a model and not real life. Excellent work

[@TrainsandDioramas]

I am so glad that you thought so! Thank you for visiting and hope you will find more interesting stuff in the channel. Cheers! Kaustav

[@HHExpress]

Thank you for these very usefull tips

[@TrainsandDioramas]

My pleasure 😊

[@pegbird9015]

Excellent videos. Great modeling, demonstrations and pacing. Eager to see more here in Midwest USA

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Thank you so much! I am glad that you enjoyed the videos and liked the content. Hope you keep exploring the channel and look out for new videos. Cheers!

[@sumitdhara2200]

Looking forward for more indian rail models

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Thank you Sumit! Yes, there will definitely be more models based on Indian theme. The complete how-to video of this diorama is in post production, and will be up in a few weeks' time. Stay tuned. :) Cheers! Kaustav

[@JimOberst]

Terrific video. Thanks!

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Thank you Jim! Glad you liked it. Cheers! Kaustav

[@davegregory4291]

Best vidio ive seen on this subgect.

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Thank you! I am really glad that you think so. Cheers! Kaustav

[@CreatorSandeeprajak]

Sir from where we can buy these tracks

[@atharvashinde6229]

Great work 👍👍

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Thank you! 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@mr.e1944]

All your video are top notch. I just subscribed. Please add videos showing the details of your n scale layout. Let us see what the track plan is. It looks like a mini layout which a lot of people would be interested in knowing about. Also some of the loads that your trains carry look interesting. Maybe a video of what they are and how you made them. It is getting late so I will request some other videos latter. There is a lot of stuff I see that looks really good on your channel and needs to have the details explained.

[@TrainsandDioramas]

A BIG THANK YOU for going through my work and subscribing - really appreciate it. I did one video of my N Scale layout here kzbin.info/www/bejne/bpi6dJWGedZrj80 where you probably saw the loads. I've been planning to make another video of the layout, especially with nighttime operation and exlaining some of the things that you mentioned but other things keep coming in the way. In the mean time, I will use the community to get the trackplan out and the inspiration behind it. Thank you again for your wonderful support. Cheers! Kaustav

[@FactsMaster-wk5ly]

While gluing your ballast which type of glue you have used?

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Please check @2:35

[@robertbage5052]

Smashing.

[@TrainsandDioramas]

Thank you! 🙏🏻

[@dibyendunandi3881]

From where I can get rail or what are process to make rail ??

[@TrainsandDioramas]

I buy mine from hattons.com or kernowmodelrailcentre.com - hope this helps.

[@mdmuar1532]

naic video Sir

[@SCRrailfan490]

How to shop railway track please link to your channel description

[@TrainsandDioramas]

hattons.co.uk, gaugemaster.com, modeltrainstuff.com - I use these shops.

[@sonudolui9000]

Plesetrackmakingvdeo

[@monoarabegum6991]

oh

[@crickgik]

Bengali ❤❤

[@prajwalkalokhe3550]

You are copying tricks from Luke Towan

[@TrainsandDioramas]

I 'copy tricks' from every good modeler that I know of and then add my own tricks on top of them, perhaps that's what makes me good at what I do! 😂

[@prajwalkalokhe3550]

Leser Creation World is also best