PhilPalmer Posted September 13, 2011 Report Share Posted September 13, 2011 I'm interested in doing an aircraft base that represents the crushed coral airstrips used by the Navy in the early stages of the war in the Pacific. The vegetation is readily available through W K Walthers.The construction of the base is pretty straight forward, it's the coral surface that's the problem. Anyone have a clue about the color and/or texture. I have seen several B/W photos where the surface looks snow white and very dusty. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Montgomery Posted September 13, 2011 Report Share Posted September 13, 2011 Just some thoughts.... Keep in mind that in the real world the material used would actually be crushed into very small particles so as not to damage or puncture tires. Perhaps the size of BBs? That being the case I'd go to any local hobby shop or Hby Lby that sells Woodland Scenics material and I'd find the smallest light sand color or white color they have and give that a try. And if you want to go cheap...go to Home Depot or Lowe's and buy a small bag of play sand. I've used straight play sand on my HO layout for years....I've also done some 35th scale Artillery with play sand as the main "base" ingredient upon which other scenic materials are added. This is a good question and I hope someone provides a more definitive reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glweeks Posted September 16, 2011 Report Share Posted September 16, 2011 I used celluclay elmers water and paint. Don't mix the celluclay much. Load up the four ingreadents before you start mixing, then try to leave it as "chunky" as possible while mixing. Spred it out like your runway needs to be and let it sit over night. Don't worry it won't dry. Nexxt day mix a darker wash (oh yeah, the paint is craft store acrylic- white) say a light cream, brush in depressions and all over. Use a real light grey for dark. Play with light & dark washes. You could also go to the pet store and get some coral or something close. Fish section. Haveing grown up in Miami, kicked around in the marines some that coral was not like white dirt. So they was and are "rolling" it often enough which gets the dust and small particles going. Otherwise knarlie, jagged, calicum rock, and you will see that underlay around the edges etc. Hope this helps. g.l. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyschurr Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Try this stuff. Dried out it looks very realistic, especially in larger scales: http://caribsea.com/pages/buy_it/aragalive/buy_bahamasoolite.html Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
802chrisg Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Philp, When I was stationed on Guam back in my Navy days all the roads were made of crushed coral. The color was an off red more pinkish color. It was crushed up very fine. Also of note is that there was a standing rule on the island. During a rain storm if a aniamal crossed your path while driving you were to hit it and not try to move out of the way. The reason for this was that coral in super slippery when wet and you were more likely to cause an accident by moving out of the way instead of just hitting the thing in your path. Hope this helps, Chris Graeter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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