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Has anyone tried this? And does it work well?

I've got a bag that's been in the pantry for about 3 years, so it's pretty safe to say we'll never use it.

As long as its not instant I don't see why not...

No, no, that's supossed to be in my cup, along boiling water D=

Now, sand should get the same efect and will be cheaper (for a more finer grain, why not white powder?)

sand would not be cheaper, it would be much more expensive unless you're talking about actual sand that you can find on the street, but that never looks very good...my room mate tried using coffee and it looks pretty good actually and is very cheap, compared to modeling sand

I dont know, stuff from the outdoors do not look so bad to me.




I would say it has a nice variation.

Just dug out of the garden and sifted.

crimsonmicc wrote:Just dug out of the garden and sifted.

I've been trying quite a few things out. I tried dirt, but it had a tendency to dissolve in the glue and turn into mud. It dried rather nicely, but bits still had a tendency to flake off. I was worried about the models getting dirty, so I passed on that idea.

However, I just tried the coffee grinds and they work really well. There's also the added benefit that they smell amazing when you're using them.

Things that can go bad are generally bad ideas for flocking. Basically anything resembling food is a bad idea for flocking. Just get some sand for cheap from a railroad store or something.

starhawks1 wrote:sand would not be cheaper, it would be much more expensive unless you're talking about actual sand that you can find on the street, but that never looks very good...my room mate tried using coffee and it looks pretty good actually and is very cheap, compared to modeling sand

You can get a 10kg bag of sand from Home Depot for about $3.

There is a specific type of fungus that can grow quite happily on coffee grounds. This will then encourage bacterial growth (the caffeine kills bacteria, but is broken down by the fungus).

It's good for a clotting agent if you need one in a hurry though (coffee grounds will soak it up really well).

I just use the fine beach sand from the local beach.

I normally use sand but a couple of times ive had a good result by getting a couple of cups of dirt, layer it on some tin foil in the oven on a low heat for a couple of hours, it should dry it out and it doesnt have the tendency to turn to mud when gluing and painting, gives a nice variation of fine and coarse too


Dan

Also cockroaches love coffee grounds - absolutely true, I promise!

starhawks1 wrote:sand would not be cheaper, it would be much more expensive unless you're talking about actual sand that you can find on the street, but that never looks very good...my room mate tried using coffee and it looks pretty good actually and is very cheap, compared to modeling sand

Sand out on the street? Where are you?!

I suppose coffee, if properly sealed, would work. I wouldn't recommend it, you'd be better off using the lint in your belly button.

infilTRAITOR wrote:

starhawks1 wrote:sand would not be cheaper, it would be much more expensive unless you're talking about actual sand that you can find on the street, but that never looks very good...my room mate tried using coffee and it looks pretty good actually and is very cheap, compared to modeling sand

Sand out on the street? Where are you?!

I suppose coffee, if properly sealed, would work. I wouldn't recommend it, you'd be better off using the lint in your belly button.

I pillage constructions, for they leave that lovely sand on piles right on the street.

Apparently taking sand from a beach in the UK is against the law.

SilverMK2 wrote:Apparently taking sand from a beach in the UK is against the law.

Then those who leave with the luxurious granular gold between their toes are all felons and deserve nothing less than a bullet in the temple!

infilTRAITOR wrote:Then those who leave with the luxurious granular gold between their toes are all felons and deserve nothing less than a bullet in the temple!

The white cliffs of Dover are actually the bleached bones of those criminal scum who have done just that.

infilTRAITOR wrote:

starhawks1 wrote:sand would not be cheaper, it would be much more expensive unless you're talking about actual sand that you can find on the street, but that never looks very good...my room mate tried using coffee and it looks pretty good actually and is very cheap, compared to modeling sand

Sand out on the street? Where are you?!

Thats exactly what I thought when I saw that!

plastictrees wrote:

starhawks1 wrote:sand would not be cheaper, it would be much more expensive unless you're talking about actual sand that you can find on the street, but that never looks very good...my room mate tried using coffee and it looks pretty good actually and is very cheap, compared to modeling sand

You can get a 10kg bag of sand from Home Depot for about $3.

Actually I used to work at home depot and couldn't recommend the stuff enough. It's cheap, very fine, mix it with some paint and apply to your base and your good to go! Also works great for outdoor ashtrays if your a smoker.

The cockroaches at my house like to eat dried white glue as well, so I may be doubly borked.

I like the texture, but we'll see how they last. I've also got some sand that I picked up at the beach. It's drying right now, but it seems a little too coarse.

Here's my experiment with the coffee grind (click for bigger pic):

Also, seriously, you're going to flock with something that can rot?

Ailaros wrote:Also, seriously, you're going to flock with something that can rot?

Yeah, that was definitely a concern. Right now I'm experimenting with different materials. If they don't work out, I'll have learned something at least.

Don't use biodegradable food materials when nature provides! With a caveat however, that if you're going to use outdoor sand and dirt, go out and first invest in a kitchen strainer, the screen kind, a couple of different ones if you can, one finer than the other, then sift your sand and dirt into a few different grades, then apply fine grades first, followed by coarser, in clumps.

Here is the effect on my Chaos Realm Of Battle board, just after priming but before painting.



This is at least three different grades of sand/dirt/dust and clumps of pebbles.

Mix it with some modelling sand to get a nice, random gravel. Perfect for cities of death.
And yes, I have tried it.

Coffee sounds like it would work
Have used leaf tea for scatter grass and it works fine.

You are a genius
Have just thrown out a pack of old coffee.
It will be similar to the bark chipping type scatter
I'm now going to bin dive
Thanks for reminding me Sailense, I normally cotton on to these things before binning them, don't know how it slipped past the radar!

starhawks1 wrote:sand would not be cheaper, it would be much more expensive unless you're talking about actual sand that you can find on the street, but that never looks very good...my room mate tried using coffee and it looks pretty good actually and is very cheap, compared to modeling sand

You can get sand for free.

Like in places with sand.

Like, not on the street.


And using coffee is okay, as long as you don't mind these following things invading your bases/terrain/ pieces/gaming board:

a) Fungus

b) Ants

c) Flies

d) Cockroaches

e) a putrid smell when the grounded coffee beans embrace the sweet, sweet embrace of decay.


This coming from me, the once-art-student who was instructed by the professor to use alternate mediums instead of paints. I used coffee to make a portrait of my crush (at that time). I sealed it properly, and the roaches didn't give a damn. The portrait has been missing a part of its nose ever since. Also, there are dead bodies of ants inside the frame when you open it. HUZZAH!

Seriously, don't.

Coffee grounds is a great idea!

If you get a little sluggish during a long game (maybe playing against Foot-slogging Orks?), you can just suck on a base or two to pep up!


Seriously, ugh. Use something that won't rot. There's enough gamer funk without mildew on your models.

on one of the Dakka blogs, I saw someone used pistachio shells and it looked very alien...

I experimented with dried toast and orange peel for basing materials. It started looking great but it crumbled too easily.

Coffee grinds, mmm, would it not just discolour the paint horrifically?

Ailaros wrote:Also, seriously, you're going to flock with something that can rot?

Hmm... maybe I'll try this w/ my next squad of Plague Marines.


@ sailense- if you are bound and determined to recycle trash from your kitchen into wargaming material, here's a better idea- of you use a "stand alone" water filter (not the one connected to the faucet tap, the container you can put in the fridge) you can take the old filters apart and they have very nice sand inside. Bonus is that you can also use the filter housing for terrain junk. I've done this before and most of my Necromunda miniatures are based with that.

The coffee grinds were really just an experiment to see how they worked since I found a really old bag of coffee in the pantry.

The consensus has been that it's a bad idea, so I'll just leave the one's I've already flocked and see how they turn out after a few months.

Also, I couldn't wait for my wife and kids to get back from the beach that day with sand.

I'll also support the "Big bag of play sand at Lowes/Home Depot/Menards" idea. For $3 you get like 50 lbs of the stuff. Also, cheap clay kitty litter work fantastically for ballast. I rolled my eyes when a buddy bought the GW stuff for like $6 for a small bag. $2 buys 20 lbs that works GREAT for rubble out of the bag, or you can sift it to get more specific sizes (Just get a couple of tupperware bowls that seal up and you're good to go!)