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A friend of my suggested this stuff for my Tomb King bases and I figured I would share my experience and see if anyone else had any.

The stuff is light grey and full of fine grit.  There is an inner seal in the container that appears to be guaranteed to result in you getting some on you.  It is described as a gel and it is somewhat flowable.  Being rather foolhardy, I dove right in and put it on a finished chariot base, expecting it to work a bit like thick white glue.  I had done some research on what rippled sand dunes look like and I was thinking I might try that.

First, the stuff is hard to get onto the base.  Not all that much sticks on your tool or brush and then it won't come off onto the base.  I ended up kind of spooning it on with a large tool and then trying to spread it.

Second, it's tacky and sticks to your tool, even if you wet the tool, so acheiving a smooth texture is near impossible.  It also "wets" other surfaces which is not at all how sand behaves, so I could not create a realistic look around a hoof or chariot wheel.  You really need to sculpt every milimeter, it doesn't flow on it's own.

Third, when I water the stuff down, I can get a smoother texture, but now it won't hold shape and it's wetting properties increase making it look even less realistic.  It is also prone to dribbling off the base.

The good news is that I was able to wash it all off the base without much damage to the model.  Undaunted, I though today about some other ways to handle the stuff and tried to find some tutorials on-line.  I found one nice looking desert base a military modelor did, but he was adding the models later and he was willing to spend a lot of time on the base.  I also read about a Dorkamorka club guy who managed use it in extremely thin multiple layers to emulate concrete.

For my second outing, I decided to try it thick again and tried some new ways to move it around on the base.  Poor results all over again.  I then thinned it down and applied it to large empty base, and I am waiting for it to dry.  We'll see how that looks dry.

If you are considering this stuff, I recommend getting some fine sand and using that mixed with white glue - I have had good results with that making snow that could also have been sand, and it was much less time consuming and painful.  I welcome any input from those who has had good results.  I hear it's great for weathering.

yeesh.  Sounds like a wonderful product >.>.....

I'll stick it out with the basics...

There is a reasonable chance that it's great when you know some trick for handling it, but I suspect the reality is that it's just too finicky for projects like basing an entire GW army.

I'd be the "DorkaMorka club guy" in question-

I basically just used a soft-bristled flat brush.  Way too big for painting minis, probably too small to be an effective tank brush.  The coats were indeed thin- after the first, you could still see the MDF through it, a little less to not at all after the second, and the third sealed the deal.  But even though I brushed it on after the buildings were in place, it was still wide-open space really.

If I wanted to apply it to bases... I dunno.  I think it would work well, and I think you can get the rippled sand effect fairly easy (trying to get it to lie flat is a bit of a challenge for me, it likes to peak like frosting) but I'd definitely expect it to take a few layers to build up.

Hm, interesting. These days, I base my minis using Vallejo's pumice paste exclusively. It is, I understand, coarser than the sand paste, but it has the same overall characteristics, except is (again, I think) slightly goopier. I do get the occasional problem with it sticking to vertical surfaces like boots or scenery elements in a gravity-defying way, but I've found its adhesion, grain size and lack of tediousness to be an advantage compared to PVA+Sand.

For spreading it around a base, I use small spatulas, made from strips of card or styrene (old MTG cards make good ones, sliced into different shapes) and smear it around like cake frosting. If I want raised areas and such, I've found it easier to create the lumps in the base using other materials, and then covering these lumps with the paste, as it's not really suitable for any kind of "sculpting". I also tried mixing it with paint, which does stain it nicely, but the acrylic in the paste dries glossy, so you might want to matte spray over it before continuing.

Seems like a lot of people are enjoying this and the related products for quick basing where they want a rough uneven look. Cool to have you pop up after I read your stuff, 13. As for it being easy to make rippled sand, I did not find it so and I am not exactly new to modeling, so if you know how I am all ears. It is pretty easy to make uneven surfaces, but sand has an overall shape while still having smooth contours and this stuff shapes up more like mud, spackle, or concrete. I am also probably too much of a perfectionist.

If it is anything like the vallejo lava effect, then it is very helpful to let it start to dry a bit and then shape it as you like.  From everything you said, it sounds like they both have the same properties.  I have had good success withthe lava effects (although not making sand ripples) and shaping it once it just begins to dry.  I use sculpting tools and anything else that has the shape/texture that will help produce the effect I want.  If you are looking for regular ripples that wind-blown sand looks like, then perhaps try using a peice of 'corrugated' plasticard to drag across the slightly dried material.  Also, I would not try to put the stuff on around an model already glued to the base- that just seems way too hard, especially if you are trying for a uniform appearance.  Pin the models on after the stuff is dry...  Just my $.02

Good luck with it.

Thanks for the feedback. I am guessing it could also be roughed into shape and then sanded smooth. I am going to see what I can do with a sand/white glue slurry and decide what I like better.

Posted By Beast on 09/20/2007 6:05 AM

If it is anything like the vallejo lava effect, then it is very helpful to let it start to dry a bit and then shape it as you like.  From everything you said, it sounds like they both have the same properties.

+1

I am the paste's advocate, so I feel like I should say something as I have really fallen in love with these mediums.

I use it all the time now. I sometimes apply with a brush too. You can spot some on my latest TWAR base too, and I've used it to do some very very smootht hings, like the "tarmac" texture of the base of the fist assault termi. It dries so nicely and gives such great, in scale texture.

Sometimes I use pva glue and sand on it while it's still wet and quite liberally leave areas where there's almost no sand. This dries into IMO very realistic looking urban terrain, where sand is way too coarse alone for models the size of these.

It is also perfect for doing accumulated dirt on vehicles and to reinforce seams, or do entire wall coverings on terrain projects where you want a cement like finish.

All very good points. I've been meaning to buy a second jar to go with my Gray Pumice paste, anyone got any other testimonials regarding the range?

Posted By migsula on 09/21/2007 12:28 AM
or do entire wall coverings on terrain projects where you want a cement like finish.

Now that's an idea I can get behind...I might have to give this kind of stuff a go sometime.  I've been using spackle for this sort of thing.  It's become my 'model all' for terrain as of late >.>...