Realistic soil?

I go natural, using dirt not from my local hobby shop, but from small potted plants in my yard, or dug up for richer earth.

As with some of the posts above, some of the best results I've gotten are from using various grades and consistencies of real dirt.

QUOTE: Originally posted by shermanfreak The quickest and probably easiest is to lay down a thin layer of white glue where you want the dirt to stick. Sprinkle your dirt on, shake the excess off and do it again only the second time use a 50 / 50 mix of white glue and water. Now you are ready to seal it with dull-cote.

Most model railroaders use this glue mix, but to cut down bubbling they add a drop of ivory dish soap as well.

And yes, dirt is best for dirt! Screening it with a sifter is good because that keeps it from being too chunky, especially important depending on the scale being used.

Yes sir...dirt. It's hard to beat the real thing.

Somebody said they have to "bake" it to clean it of micro-organisms, bugs, what not, is this true??

OK a topic that I could be somewhat of an expert at seeing how I have spent the last 6 years of my life cooking dirt. If you want to get a wide variety of colors and looks of dirt find a construction site where they are grading. You would be suprised at the types that you can get into 10 feet and further down. If you want to have something that will sieve real well try to avoid any clay material it will hardly go through a 1/4 inch sieve, look for what is called sugar dirt. It is very fine comes in colors ranging from dark brown to pinkish. Any grader will know sugar dirt they all cuss it. Allow it to dry out to make any dirt easier to sieve also. Of coarse all this may depend on where you live as some places have typically one type of dirt where as here in GA there can be 20 different types in a 100 sq ft. One other thing if you want something that looks like real crappy soil (and it really is) that you can pretty much shape and when it drys alluviam which is a gray clay and sand mix that is found where there is alot of moisture. This stuff looks like the ground in alot of pics where it has been tore up say through intense battles.
Don't know if any of that can help anyone, just thought I would throw my 2 cents in on something here that I actually knnow about.

I have empty jars and a spoon in my car. Wheneve Isee an nteresting color of drt. Fill up a jar with it. Take it home shift it out and place it in another jar. I have four shades of dirt right now. It's the only thing I'll use

hey hey you guys...instead of backyard type dirt..which is good..no doubts there i use it alot myself..
instead try LOAM..or PEAT based soil. you can buy it in bags from gardening centers..it has your dirt in it along with,
fibrous elements and mulched leaves. assorted sized stones. tiny twigs..great for making turf covered soil where soil is exposed[ tank tracks]..[foxholes]..[stream beds] [riverbanks] etc etc makes great forest floor,, and mixes up into real sticky mud..[great for armour models]...
REGARDS.....D....

hey nothing looks like dirt than dirt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A word of warning --Woddland Scenics turf works for model railroads but not as well for 1/35 dioramas. I have not done any other scale dioramas.

As for the thin white glue that works really well, so does real dirt

The quickest and probably easiest is to lay down a thin layer of white glue where you want the dirt to stick. Sprinkle your dirt on, shake the excess off and do it again only the second time use a 50 / 50 mix of white glue and water.

Now you are ready to seal it with dull-cote.

Along those lines, how do you attach the dirt to the diorama's base? Do you just sprinkle it around and then seal it in with something?

I agree ...... dirt works.

Real dirt.

Seriously. Depending on where you live, dirt is comprised of varying materials. In florida, our dirt has alot of sand. South east has alot of clay mixed with sand, further west you go the clay content rises and the sand or gaurtz goes down. Northeast has clay with compost, etc. My best advice is to do your ground contours in whatever base material (celuclay, plaster, whatever) then sprinkle some fine dirt from the ground around your haouse on it. You can sift it with a flour sifter or a piece of screen, The finer the screen the finer the dirt. If you really need to have dirt, use potting soil, just remove the vermiculite and the water retension crystals from it. THe celuclay can be mixed in a way that once painted will look pretty furrowed earth like. The real dirt and rocks (kitty litter) you mix in are eye candy to help with the illusion.

Mike