Diorama FX Landscape Texture Arid Yellow 0,1-0,6mm

The dust of a parched landscape

The range of 0.1 to 0.6 mm is at the limit where the eye stops making out individual grains and sees a continuous surface. The Arid Yellow shade aims at dry clay and burnt grass, that is at landscapes where dust rises with every step in summer. In a display case it works in two ways: either as a top layer of terrain, or as a deposit on the underside of a model that has just driven through such a landscape.

Two different ways of using it

On terrain the material is scattered in the usual way into thinned glue. On a model, however, it is applied differently, that is dry with a soft brush and only in the places real dust would reach: into the corners of fenders, onto leading edges, into the grooves of the running gear. The key is restraint, because a machine dusted evenly looks more like a neglected model than a machine in service.

• Apply a little at a time, as taking away is always easier than adding.
• Blend the transitions with a clean dry brush, as a sharp border gives the deposit away.
• Fix the layer on a model at the very end; until it is fixed, it can be corrected.
• Apply less to vertical surfaces than to horizontal ones, as dust does not cling to them.

The fine grain will survive even under a matte varnish, but reckon on the shade darkening noticeably more after spraying over than with the coarser fractions. A test on a plastic offcut saves disappointment over a finished scene. It is equally worth thinking out in advance which direction the wind blows from in the intended scene, because dust settles unevenly and this small point gives away a careful builder more than the number of parts.