How to create black smoke

Smoke is notoriously tough to model because of its moving nature.  Cotton on a wire support, properly frayed, sculpted and painted, could look good for still pics, and with a slow-moving electric motor rotating the smoke plume, or moving it in some way, might work...  but it would take a lot of planing and a good execution!

Let us know if you try, and how you procede! 

A lot of people try to use cotton balls or something, but I have been thinking, and I wonder if it would make more sense to model the smoke out of a solid building material and then paint it as if it were a model itself, and not to worry about moving it. People can model water splashes and such, why can't you model smoke? I haven't tried this idea but I think it would turn out better than cotton because that never seems to look good. Smoke is not made up of fibers like cotton, so I think a more solid creation would look more realistic.

The color of smoke can be other than black--blue, white, gray, and varing shades of each; depending upon what substances are burning.  To model smoke should be approached as a frozen asset in the diorama.  Everything else is " frozen in time ", so should the smoke.  I have some ideas for imitating smoke that I'm experimenting with that I'll submit to Finescale Modeler as an article when it's perfected.

Having said that, here's the basic materials-- (1) Cotton balls and / or batting because cotton is organic and is easily dyed different colors.  Man made fibers usually cannot be dyed convincingly or at all.  The coloring has to be obsorbed, not "painted" on.  (2) Ritt's dye in dry form.  It's easier to work with and accidents easier to clean up. Spilled liquid dye is extremely messy.  (3) Small guage wires that are strong and pliable. Ex: the " little 'E' guitar string.  (4) Clothing starch. 

Those should be enough hints to get some thinking caps pulled low. 

 

Thanks all,

I'm going to try a few of the tips !

 Regards

Johan

Take a look at this post that just came up

/forums/787090/ShowPost.aspx 

As for 'Real' smoke... when I was a kid I had a Lionel 'O' gauge train set (lucky kid, huh?!) and an Engine that I could drop little pellets down into the stack. It would burn these pellets on what looked like a little grill made of thin wires if you looked down in the stack. Made 'steam' when I pushed a button next to my transformer. Anyone know what I'm talking about? Why couldn't that principal be applied to static models??? 

Hi all

 yes, you can buy train smoke generators.. i was thinking to do that when I ever build the Waterloo farm La Haye Sainte in HO were part of the roof was on fire...  I guess one could use it for larger scales for a general impression of smoke on a battlefield

 JS