BALLAST MAGIC HELPS A CALIFORNIA DIORAMA LOOK PERFECT
SOLVING A MODELLING PROBLEM sometimes comes from a different direction. In this case, with a product called Ballast Magic. Mat Irvine: I was looking to apply a thin layer of (real) sand onto a small base, to display a figure with accessories. These were as supplied with a kit called ‘The Wild Ones,’ an original early 1970s MPC issue of the ’29 Ford Woodie/Pickup. In a diorama build like this, such a job is usually a matter of applying a layer of paint, sprinkling on sand, tipping off the excess, allowing to dry, then spraying a matt varnish or similar to seal in the grains and keep them in place. Overall, this method works pretty well, but there are always some grains that escape. Coincidentally, HaMeX Events colleague Paul Fitzmaurice of Modelling Tools recently handed me a bottle of white granules, marked Ballast Magic ( below ). Ballast Magic is made by Deluxe Materials and is intended, as the name suggests, to glue ballast down on model rail tracks. Ballast Magic i...