5 Ways To Make Asphalt / Tarmac Roads

5 Ways To Make Asphalt / Tarmac Roads for scale models, wargaming, terrain
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[@NerdPlayhouse]

for the cork, if you break the sheet and then put it back together, it will create cracks. it takes some effort, but it works pretty well.

[@EMTBAFV]

Spread the AK Asphalt over the sandpaper the effect is beautiful! For cracks lay a bit of wire or string down as your spreading it and dry with hairdryer for quickness and once dry after 2 hours of sitting then pull the string or your wire up slowly it'll start breaking the Asphalt like it's been cracked and you can pic at it like it's divited and cracked like whare the busses sit at the stops you see all whare the 4 wheels sit it starts to sink! The same technique works great with the AK concrete diorama paste to or you get a lovely crack just bending the foam once hardened and brush it and pick it away with took pick!

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

Nice idea :)

[@GrimmJD]

A hint for using the EVA foam. Use a knife to make the lines. Then use a heat gone to go over the foam. The cuts will open up and look more sharp than the pen lines. Also the heat guy will heatseal the foam and make the painting easier. These are tips prop makers use when using this medium.

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

Thats a nice idea, but I don't have a heat gun! Also, not enough texture for me!

[@fergusconnor7476]

I found that the rolls of sand paper you get for belt sanders work really well

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

Yeah, that is what the terrain tutor used I think, it looks good, only limit is width of the roll!

[@B-A-L]

@@TerrainMadeEasy I found the width of the sandpaper belt I bought was perfect for a two lane road on my n gauge layout. It also has an added bonus that the sand paper is red and practically the same colour as bus lanes, taxi stands etc and is easy to paint over for ordinary roads.

[@macdansav1546]

Thanks for the post. The foam with the cracks would look great for square paving slabs, a stone floor, or even the side of a building.

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

Yea you'd have to glue it on to something, ifyou used foam board you could take the paper of one side and do ti, but maybe you could just use card for a cheap option.

[@evelynlamoy8483]

Thank you! I'm planning out some chaos bikers, and I want them to have bases, but also be able to be set up in a diorama so my plan is to make broken up chunks of cracking apart asphalt, and their bases are just chunks of that, that can be slotted into the missing spots on the diorama or just act as their base on its own.

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

That sounds pretty damn cool, if I ever played 40k the chaos bikers are some of my favs!

[@cameronhenderson3451]

Aluminum Oxide! That's what sandpaper is made of! Lower the number, larger the chunks.. Thanks for the comparison

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

Well that is interestinf. Thanks.

[@craft-o-matic2377]

@Terrain Made Easy You could try crumpling the sandpaper to get the look of cracks before you paint it. I think this would work. I just bought some very thin cork at a scrapbook store for a diorama street. I'm going to try crumpling it before I glue it to the extruded foam. I didn't care for the look of the filler compound. Great tutorial! Lisa

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

I think you could and maybe actually just use a knife and cut it, but I haven't tried. Sounds interesting and good luck!

[@blastingphoenix401]

Thanks for the video, I'm restarting the Hobby after 15 years and a little more serios, so your content is REALLY helpful to start cheap.. Btw, in Germany, Filler is called "Spachtelmasse" :D

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

I won't embarass myself tryign to pronounce that! I'm delighted to help in any way though :) good luck and thanks.

[@B-A-L]

I wish you could get large sheets of sandpaper to make roads and car parks. I'm surprised none of the model supplies companies don't already do this. I use a lot of sandpaper for my roads and particularly sanding belts and the red belts you can get are perfect for bus lanes and taxi stands. I also love foam card because it is cheap and so versatile. I've used it as a baseboard and if you have the patience to remove the top layer of card the exposed foam makes a great base for ballast and also rough ground when painted.

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

You can get rolls and stuff but generally just not big enough for some roads and areas. It is a shame

[@nielschristianwithmller138]

What grid are you using? And which scale?

[@johnkelley9877]

I think the wall filler was the most interesting material. I was surprised at how you could make some nice textures with the brush. Thanks for sharing these ideas as they were helpful.

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

Yeah it's very useful material and didn't expect it to look as good as it did!

[@EMTBAFV]

I'm doing an Asphalt road base for a pit lane for the Tamiya suzuki GSX bike I've never used the AK stuff but have everything in hobby room for my armour model's this is just a present for my step dads 70th of his favourite bike! Anyway I just layed abit of sandpaper the finest grade out the pack from pound shop to make the polyesteren base solid! It really gives it a solid structure I've just speaded the AK Asphalt right over the top of it and it's looking absolutely amazing! It's so realistic the way my finger crumbled the edge of it holding it but leaving it as is it's just more for the effect!

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

Thanks for sharing

[@stillunsure7630]

Sticky=Tacky. 😁

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

Same Diff :)

[@ReallyBigBadAndy76]

I actually had a bottle of black sand that I picked up ages ago so I just used Modge Podge and then sprinkled sand over the top of it.

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

I was tempted to show a just sand comparison but thought people would know what that looked like. Any pics of yours?

[@ReallyBigBadAndy76]

Terrain Oddity I have pictures but I don’t know how to get them into KZbin comments, lol.

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

@@ReallyBigBadAndy76 discord is fine :-)

[@AzraelThanatos]

There's actually a quite easy way to do asphalt roads with no real work to it. There's a "road" tape thing that a lot of places now make that's intended for kids so that you can stick the stuff to the floor/walls/whatever to make roads to play on with toy cars. The wider version of that is rather easy, and just cut some plywood or HDF to fit sections of it, stick it on, use a little bit of black craft paint to hit the edges and a bit under the sides if not the whole thing, then seal it down with a spray varnish. Stuff is nigh indestructible and relatively cheap since it's intended to be a disposable toy for kids. It even has a texture in it that works well. Might take slightly more work if you want damaged asphalt or broken roadways for things, but it's still a cheap thing to make roads with.

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

For sure, I have seen that stuff but I was finding it difficult to find a good source in the uk (not saying it doesn't exist). If i ever find some I will buy some.

[@AzraelThanatos]

@@TerrainMadeEasy It's on Amazon, not sure about UK prices, but it's like a few yards for $8.99 from a lot of places, corners and intersections tend to be less distance for the cost since they're individually backed rather than longer lengths.

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

@@AzraelThanatos I'll have a gander

[@phileast1654]

Nice to see the comparisons in 1 video, just found your channel and am enjoying your content. Have you ever used tile grout for texturing ? It scales well and would maybe make the cork and foam surfaces look great.

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

I have used tile grout but it just gets everywhere and sticks to everything! I find it often more trouble than it's worth! But saying that, I do really like the fine texture it provides. Thank you very kindly :)

[@phileast1654]

@@TerrainMadeEasy thanks for all the vids, i have picked up lots of good knowledge and ideas from your channel. I agree about the grout being difficult especially for larger projects.

[@CJ2CUTE]

brilliant video. perfect examples too :0

[@bobbybeegan3651]

Thanks for the video.

[@Pintroll300]

I’ve seen one fairly weird method my friend used for roads (that i honestly wouldn’t recommend because of the cost and difficulty getting it to work) where he took thin plywood sheets and painted the top side with a Blackboard paint - essentially it turns whatever it’s painted on into a blackboard surface you can use chalk on, and so the same set could have whatever markings he wanted Again, a wild idea I wouldn’t recommend, but it does look pretty snazzy when he changes the markings midgame xD

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

##sounds fun if not practical at least :)

[@joeythegoth]

This sounds like a great idea instead of plywood could just use vinyl floor tiles and hit them with chalkboard paint,I feel an experiment coming together soon

[@HomesteadDork]

Thanks for doing this comparison, I want to do a city board and this is helpful! I wonder if the AK stuff is pumice gel with black paint mixed in?

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

Yes I think something like that!

[@HomesteadDork]

@@TerrainMadeEasy Tried both fine pumice gel and the AK Interactive stuff and while somewhat similar I think the AK-Interactive looks a tiny bit better (plus it dries quicker and doesn't retain brush strokes as badly).

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

@@HomesteadDork yeah I really liked the stuff, very road like surface. Bit expensive in a way, but one tub can do a lot of work.

[@tabletopgeneralsde310]

Nicely done and good methods, i would go for sandpaper

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

I really like the look, may have to check if I can get it the right width. Though an issue for t junctions!

[@tabletopgeneralsde310]

@@TerrainMadeEasy as i was working on road construction, i can tell you there are thin lines in the asphalt, or should i say between several constution sections. So i can't see the problem

[@m.j.mckinley5991]

Thank you for this video.

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

My pleasure :)

[@sharkytampy]

can i use the polyfillar method on top of say, harwood plywood and mix it with paint then stipple with end of brush and leave to dry ?

[@EMTBAFV]

Just ordered 6 rolls of Cork sheet off you know whare for £12.50! It'll last a few dioramas so take a look for them there's good deals on Cork sheets!

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

Not a bad price :)

[@colossalbigfoot256]

AK asphalt works well. Our asphalt, states, does have the sparkles in it. I’ve been working on a mixture of various thinks to come up with my own. Using some unique things but looks good.

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

Thanks for the info!

[@anthonystike6034]

For the Asphalt Terrain, I would suggest putting a coat of polyurethane over it. That should take care of the transfer of contaminants, or would be easier to clean off after use.

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

Sure, I could do that, but I don't want to spray it (and if I am brushing it on, I can just brush on paint) I guess.

[@origami2365]

Thanks a lot for sharing! Have you tried Golden coarse pumice gel, or the extra coarse one, or maybe Rust Oleum stone textured spray and know to tell if one of them can also work nicely as asphalt texture? Thanks!

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

I think the stone texture spray would be a bit much, but maybe, it would be worth trying.

[@gerlandkent6377]

[thank, you for you're video]👍

[@PhilipJFry-tm9ve]

You can do cracks with the cork just tear a piece and line it back up with just a tiny bit of space and you get an easy natural looking crack

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

Yeah I just wonder if you can do that in the iddle of a piece, I bet you can.

[@thrashviking7707]

Is the tarmac similar to the spackle but colored with black paint?

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

sorry for late replay, but yeah I used filler and that was an okay option!

[@everythingpixel1009]

Whats the blue square called??

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

The blue type of foam I use as a base? Thats's called xps foam, or extruded polystyrene (like a denser version of the white pakaging material (though that is called expanded polystyrene)). I get my stuf fin the uk as floor insulation, but you can get thick sheets for wall insualation etc if you live in colder countries.

[@GrumblingGrognard]

Aw hell... I thought Asphalt and Tarmac were the same! You made me look it up! lol "...the bonding agent used in each material comes from different sources. Tarmac traditionally uses tar...Asphalt uses bitumen as its bonding agent." Now we ALL know. lol

[@thunderchild2237]

Did you paint the sandpaper?

[@theezekarion164]

I break the cork in pieces an use the asphalt spread over to make it look like a war ridden urban area

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

Nice

[@stillunsure7630]

😍 oh, would these work for a Airfield Runway?

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

I don't think so, you'd want something to look like concrete I think. I think just painted foam would look decent.

[@colorfulsloth6448]

I think I'm gonna use the sandpaper for my highway diorama.

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

Sandpaper is pretty standard and it looks great! Good luck.

[@nielschristianwithmller138]

What grid are you using and in which scale?

[@soledude]

👌👌👌

[@MrMediocrerevolution]

Rich evans?

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

I think more Sam Tarley

[@jamiepape147]

filler add sand

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

you could use sand as long as it was super fine!

[@gregwhite6005]

Misspelt thumbnail intentional?

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

Lol no!

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

Thanks for letting me know :)

[@gregwhite6005]

@@TerrainMadeEasy I wasn't sure if it was a nod to Luke's APS who has started intentionally doing that - as a response to a lot of unintentional ones.

[@TerrainMadeEasy]

@@gregwhite6005 I'm not smart enough for that!