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Hey guys

I have never really completed painting a model to the point that I am happy with it, but I would like to ask something. I already have GW basing grass and snow, but no dirt. What is a good alternative to the GW gaming dirt? I have tried real sand and I am sorry to say that one of my models is out of commission until the time being because of it. What should I do as a replacement to the GW gaming dirt. The reason is that the closest place I can buy the dirt is over an hour drive away now due to the closing of my local store and I would rather not waste the trip that is hard to find time for.

You can go to a hobby and look at the train diorama stuff, they usually have large and cheap bags of sand. I use beach sand and sand from a park playground and my models look good.

Mail order or internet order it?

I've used GW basing sand for well over a decade and it has never let me down.

hamsterlord20 wrote:Hey guys

I have never really completed painting a model to the point that I am happy with it, but I would like to ask something. I already have GW basing grass and snow, but no dirt. What is a good alternative to the GW gaming dirt? I have tried real sand and I am sorry to say that one of my models is out of commission until the time being because of it. What should I do as a replacement to the GW gaming dirt. The reason is that the closest place I can buy the dirt is over an hour drive away now due to the closing of my local store and I would rather not waste the trip that is hard to find time for.

Go to a hardware/DIY store and you can buy a 10 kilo bag of sand for about the same price that you paid for the little tub of GW sand. If you have friends that game, get them to buy a few bags of different grain sizes and you guys can trade zip-top bags of the stuff for variety. Anything leftover can be used in terrain and game board making for years to come. Please don't buy GW hobby products: you pay out the rear for less quantity and less quality.

I use a mix of flock and different colors of sand for my bases. Throw in some static grass and coarse talus and you can make anything but the most badly painted model look good.

I've found pet store gravel & grit for birds works as dirt, takes paint pretty well and even has the odd "larger" piece of stone that shows up now and again (ends up looking like a decent sized rock on your standard marine base). I get mine at walmart for under $2 a box http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10412020