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Ok. I've look on several forums and have found several threads about using baking soda/powder and most people are of the mind that it yellows over time. I have had the same thing happen to me, although I don't remember if it was baking soda or baking powder that I used. My question is: If you mix white paint, PVA, and baking powder/soda together will the white paint prevent it from turning yellow? I'd like to use ground glass or woodland scenics, but I don't have them and don't have the money to buy them right now. I tried using GW snow and it looks terrible. It looks like wet tissue paper when its dry, and it cracks. Any help would be helpful.

I've also heard about this yellowing thing. I'll be making snow bases for my nids. I'm going to be using GW snow, it doesn't look too bad, but I'll also be using it along with vallejo water effects. I believe that using these together will help with the cracks and those other complaints. You can see how it looks in this tutorial http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Zenithal_Airbrushing%2C_OSL_and_Snow_and_Ice_Tutorial%2C_subject_-_Grey_Knight#Step_11:_Snow
Hope this helps!

I used Woodland Scenics snow, mixed with some water and white glue. I would put a clump down on top of my grass and then with a wet brush, work it into the grass to make it look like late spring, when the grass is starting to poke out of the snow.

Ok. I've used baking soda, pure bicarbonate of soda, white paint, water and pva glue. It looks great. I was adding Woodland Scenics water effects to the metal armor of my Ogres and got some on the snow. I may paint a light coat of water effects over all the snow bases. It makes it look amazing. I don't know what it was about the batch of GW snow I tried to use. Maybe it was an earlier kind or something. It is basically bleached sawdust, so you can see the fibers of it once it dries, its pretty bad. Maybe they changed it and the new one is not like that.

 Ifurita wrote:
I used Woodland Scenics snow, mixed with some water and white glue. I would put a clump down on top of my grass and then with a wet brush, work it into the grass to make it look like late spring, when the grass is starting to poke out of the snow.

This is basically what I've just started doing (though I was just using straight PVA and Woodland Scenics snow). Does that yellow over time as well? Do you have any old models that have stood the test of time? It'll be kind of annoying if in a few years it's gone yellow.

Thinking I might swap to an actual water effects substance instead of PVA.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 urion wrote:
Ok. I've used baking soda, pure bicarbonate of soda, white paint, water and pva glue. It looks great. I was adding Woodland Scenics water effects to the metal armor of my Ogres and got some on the snow. I may paint a light coat of water effects over all the snow bases. It makes it look amazing. I don't know what it was about the batch of GW snow I tried to use. Maybe it was an earlier kind or something. It is basically bleached sawdust, so you can see the fibers of it once it dries, its pretty bad. Maybe they changed it and the new one is not like that.

I don't know if it's changed, but I did look at the GW snow effect at one point and it was basically just white static grass. It looked good from a distance, but up close it just looks like white static grass. Maybe they've changed it since then, I dunno, but I was rather unimpressed. I too bought the Woodland Scenics stuff as well, which I'm using now.

Here is a great article about the various ways to make snow bases: http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2010/01/details-8-ways-to-base-with-snow.html

I personally use water effects and modeling snow for any snow effects I do.

I really think if you're going to the effort of doing snow bases, just buy a snow product rather than bicarb. If there's ANY chance of it yellowing, it's just not worth the time IMO, given that a giant container of Woodland Scenics Soft Flake Snow is only, what, $15 or so? I think I paid $20 in Australia, I'm sure it's cheaper in the USA. That's a drop in the ocean when you're basing several hundreds of dollars worth of miniatures and I'm sure 1 bottle is enough to do a several hundred bases (by my calculations, about three-four hundred 25mm bases).

Well, when you don't have a job and you have $20 in the bank its more than a drop in the ocean, if you want to be able to eat. From what I've read online Bicarbonate doesn't yellow, neither do any of the purpose made materials. If it ends up yellowing in a couple years I'll just paint it white, problem solved.

IMPO I think when you start adding white paint to snow mixtures it takes away from the "natural" look of the snow and looks more like paint. I use the Woodland Scenic s snow and mix it with straight Future Floor Polish. I like the natural "wet" look it creates. Take a look for your self;



A.

 Redfinger wrote:
IMPO I think when you start adding white paint to snow mixtures it takes away from the "natural" look of the snow and looks more like paint. I use the Woodland Scenic s snow and mix it with straight Future Floor Polish. I like the natural "wet" look it creates. Take a look for your self;

Spoiler:

A.

That is gorgeous.
Unfortunately I'm doing Traitor Guard right now, and if I made every base like that I'd be broke and dead before I was done. Thus I do a very cheap and easy version of snow. 1. Glue white craft sand to base. 2. Drybrush white when dry.

Guys, seriously, the price of the Woodland Scenics snow is so low it is not even funny.

http://www.wholesaletrains.com/Detail.asp?ID=20010854&gclid=CJnUiau9g7wCFQ1yQgodDggA-g

One of those shakers will probably cover every army you might ever do in your life...ever.

 Todosi wrote:
One of those shakers will probably cover every army you might ever do in your life...ever.

I think I have had mine for about 10 years, and 3 2500pt Space Marine armies, multiple Khador and other Warmachine armies, it lasts for ever!

A.

 urion wrote:
Well, when you don't have a job and you have $20 in the bank its more than a drop in the ocean, if you want to be able to eat. From what I've read online Bicarbonate doesn't yellow, neither do any of the purpose made materials. If it ends up yellowing in a couple years I'll just paint it white, problem solved.

I mean, I don't want to tell you how to live your life, but if you're unemployed and your choices are buying fake snow to put on your toy soldiers or eating, you might want to reexamine your priorities... but hey, to each their own.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:
Here is a great article about the various ways to make snow bases: http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2010/01/details-8-ways-to-base-with-snow.html

I personally use water effects and modeling snow for any snow effects I do.

That's excellent, thanks! Water effects subs in for PVA, right?

Redfinger, why future floor polish? What is the ratio, and do you use PVA or water effects too, or just woodland scenic snow and the future floor polish and that's it?

Just Future and Woodland Snow, I mix it into a nice "cream of wheat" textured slurry and apply it on. Usually snow is the last thing I will put on a base, and as far as why I use future? It gives it a nice reflective, wet look, just like snow.

A.

 urion wrote:
Well, when you don't have a job and you have $20 in the bank its more than a drop in the ocean, if you want to be able to eat. From what I've read online Bicarbonate doesn't yellow, neither do any of the purpose made materials. If it ends up yellowing in a couple years I'll just paint it white, problem solved.

Well, someone posted that you can get it for $10 in the USA, a box of baking soda would probably cost you a few dollars anyway... so really we're talking, what, $5-7? If you can't afford $5-7, how did you manage to afford the brush and paint to paint the model, let alone the model in the first place?

 Redfinger wrote:

 Todosi wrote:
One of those shakers will probably cover every army you might ever do in your life...ever.

I think I have had mine for about 10 years, and 3 2500pt Space Marine armies, multiple Khador and other Warmachine armies, it lasts for ever!

A.

I have done 4 2000 point armies 3 display boards and given some away in baggies (that made for some interesting conversations in parking lots hehe) and you can barely tell I have used any. It's magic heheh

Secret Weapon Minitatures make a great snow kit.

http://www.secretweaponminiatures.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13&products_id=134

You might want to look into it.

If you're on a budget consider brilliant white tile grout/adhesive. It doesn't discolour, has very fine particles so is ideal for modelling and dries rock hard. I also use grout to build up my bases.

This is an awful photo of a test model I did but gives you some idea of how it applies.

I'm experimenting with a 50/50 mixture of Allene's True Snow and Allene's glitter snow on top of nail acrylic ice and with a little flock for texture. The regular true snow was too dull, and the glitter snow had too much glitter.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:

 urion wrote:
Well, when you don't have a job and you have $20 in the bank its more than a drop in the ocean, if you want to be able to eat. From what I've read online Bicarbonate doesn't yellow, neither do any of the purpose made materials. If it ends up yellowing in a couple years I'll just paint it white, problem solved.

I mean, I don't want to tell you how to live your life, but if you're unemployed and your choices are buying fake snow to put on your toy soldiers or eating, you might want to reexamine your priorities... but hey, to each their own.

Um...isn't that what I said. It's not a choice. I'm obviously going to eat.

Well, someone posted that you can get it for $10 in the USA, a box of baking soda would probably cost you a few dollars anyway... so really we're talking, what, $5-7? If you can't afford $5-7, how did you manage to afford the brush and paint to paint the model, let alone the model in the first place?

Well, Its a little thing called I haven't been unemployed and broke my whole life. I already have baking soda, thus the desire to use it rather than spend money I can't afford to.

On the upside I have found a formula I like. I use baking soda, PVA glue, water and Woodland Scenics Water Effects. It works amazingly and sparkles in a very realistic way. Luckily I already have all the stuff I need for it. Its possible I don't need the PVA glue, but it works so well I don't want to leave it out.

I just used bi-carb soda to do some snow because I didnt like the different textures available from model companies and such.

Iv had the snow bases done for over a year now and they havent changed colour at all.

Maybe bi-carb can yellow under certain conditions, but I havent seen it happen so far.


The steps I followed were:

1- Sprinkle bicarb on your base ( Already had mine painted to look like muddy trench bases), at this point you can push the bi-carb around and get it to sit how you want.
2- Seal it with some cheap hairspray, stops it blowing away in step 3.
3- Give the base a couple of thin coats of matte varnish.

I use army painter snow on my wolves. Its make up of lots of different size balls, I have the GW snow but its just white static grass which I didnt like at all.

Nail acrylic and white acrylic powder works very well for this.

Alternatively just pva with sprinkled acrylic powder on top also works.

Just ordered the following from the Warstore:

Soft Snow Flake (32 oz. Shaker) WOO SN140
Water Effects 8oz WOO C1212

And this from Amazon, which is just Future Floor Polish under a new name:

http://www.amazon.com/Johnson-11182-27oz-Pledge-Futureshine/dp/B000ARPH4C

Will decide whether I like using Water Effects or Future Floor Polish with the snow flakes better, and I should be good to go

I use water-based paper glue and salt (yes... stupid, Sodium Chloride). Just crush the salt to nearly dust, and then pour it onto the glue. Salt won't melt, don't worry. Then spray it with colorless varnish and done.

And by my experience, it won't turn yellow after time.

Easy, cheap and good-looking.