How to create roads and pavements on a card model with spray paint, then add grass with flock.
Products used
- 24mm masking tape
- Grey plastic primer
- Beige, white and black spray paint; white and black are IronLak
- A 25mm bristle brush
- Green flock adhesive
- Mid green flock
Notes before spraying
Always spray in a well ventilated area, preferably in a spray booth, wearing a suitable fume mask.
Apply the spray paint in thin, even coats to give a consistent finish across the model, making sure the paint does not pool on the surface, using the technique described below.
Before you start spraying, shake the can well and check that the nozzle is clear. Test the paint by spraying away from the model, to make sure it is coming out evenly and not spitting out blobs. Be especially careful with the white paint, as this colour is particularly prone to it. For the colours used for speckling, make sure you are using the blue dot nozzles, as these give a softer spray, ideal for this effect.
Base coat: grey primer
To create the roads and pavements, glue raised areas of card onto a card base to form the pavements.
Spray the grey primer holding the can around 250mm from the surface of the road, moving the can swiftly in a continuous zig zag over the model. Start each pass off the model and end it off the model: this gives a more even paint finish. Spray three coats in this way, turning the model 90° between coats.
Rotate the model by 45° and spray as before two more times, to give a total of 6 thin coats. This should give an even grey surface finish, but apply more coats if you need to.
The road surface
Create the tarmac surface of the road by speckling beige, white and black paint onto the grey base.
You need to let the paint fall onto the surface rather than spraying it directly at the surface as with the base coat: this is what creates the speckled effect. If you are using a spray extraction system, turn it off so that it does not interfere with the process.
Start by spraying beige spray paint over the top of the model, so that the nozzle is not pointing directly at the surface, at around a 60° angle, in a swift zig zag as before, letting the droplets of paint fall onto the surface of the model. It is very important to do this as evenly as possible, to avoid patches of colour on the model. Rotate the model by 90° and repeat from all 4 corners (4 coats). The beige is important, as it removes the blueness of the grey base coat.
- White: from all 4 corners, then horizontal and vertical (6 coats).
- Finally black: from all 4 corners, then horizontal and vertical (6 coats).
This should give you a reasonable representation of a road surface, but you can add more coats if you feel the colour is not quite right for your model.
The pavement surface
First, gently brush off the dust that will have built up from speckling the road colour. Then mask the road with masking tape, and speckle the pavement colour in the same way as the road surface, to these ratios:
- Beige: 4 times from each corner, then 1 horizontal and 1 vertical (6 coats).
- White: 4 times from each corner, then 4 times from horizontal and vertical, then 4 times from each corner again (12 coats).
This should give a reasonable representation of a pavement colour. Peel back a little of the masking tape to check how the road looks against the pavement, and if you feel it is not quite right, add more speckled coats.
The grass surface
Before masking the pavement, brush the dust thoroughly from the surface so that the masking tape sticks. Mask the paved areas, pushing the tape down firmly. When all the pavement is masked, paint the grass areas with the flock adhesive, applying it as evenly as possible. Then sieve the flock onto the adhesive with a flour sieve, making sure it is completely covered.
Leave it to dry for about an hour, then tap off the excess flock, collecting it for further grassing projects. Carefully start to remove the masking tape between the pavement and the grass. It is important that the adhesive is still soft as you remove the tape, so that it leaves an even line. Be careful not to touch the flocked surface: it will mark or be damaged until the adhesive is fully dry.
Once all the masking tape is removed, leave it to dry for about another 2 to 3 hours. When it is dry, any loose flock can be knocked off and vacuumed up.