Ground Cover

I am still working on my WWII German Cossacks. This project is nearly completion, but I still need to flock the bases of the wagons and accessories. There is a bit of touch up paint needed and a little bit of gluing. These accessories are glued to a little bit of sheet styrene. I painted the bases with Liquid Tempera brown paint. Just a quick brush over, no need to get every minor detail.

This project only needs a few products, Liquid Tempera paint, white glue, and ground cover. This is "ballast" because I want to give the bases a "dirt" look. My Muslim Cossacks are generally gray and with brown bases, it will help to tie the unit together by giving them all a similar look.

Tools needed for this project are very simple. The cheapest nylon brushes I could get, an eye dropper, a cup for mixing the white glue and a cardboard box. Add a bit of white glue to the Dixie cup and a few drops of water. The water will thin the glue so that you can apply it to the bases with the paintbrush. Slosh the glue / water mixture onto the model base. Don't worry about getting too much on, and be sure to get it on the edges of the base.

Sprinkle and by that I mean dump, the ballast onto the glue. Do this in the box to contain the ground cover. After a few minutes, remove the accessory and gently shake off the excess. Don't brush it or tap the edge.

One the excess is gone, place the items aside and allow them to dry. Once they are dry, wait at least 8 hours, I usually wait overnight, spray the entire model with a dull coat, I like Testors Dull Cote. If you are concerned about ground cover falling off due to potential rough handling, you can use the eyedropper with a very thinned glue mixture to add a little more glue for super bonding power. This system works well with green flocking ground cover too.