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You probably can't find it anymore, but years ago, I helped myself to some of the fine sand that was used in the large ashtrays in the main lobby of the Admin. building at work. As indoor smoking is now forbidden, this could be really haed to find.

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You probably can't find it anymore, but years ago, I helped myself to some of the fine sand that was used in the large ashtrays in the main lobby of the Admin. building at work. As indoor smoking is now forbidden, this could be really haed to find.

The same stuff is often sold as suitable for children's sandpits and horse rides, so you should still be able to find some. I can source even finer sand than that, which would be better still for scale effects, but posting it across the pond could be tricky ...

What about caster sugar?

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Model railroad ballast is far too coarse for 1/48 etc sand. It's *ballast*, not sand. Go look at some railroad tracks---those are pretty big chunks. Scaled down to 1/87, it's still far larger than 1/1 beach sand.

::edit:: O scale is 1/48. Their conversion chart says even their finest ballast scales out to 0.5"-1.6" then. 1.6in chunks isn't sand, that's rocks. :thumbsup:

Edited by David Hingtgen
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Interestingly perhaps, I was just looking at this.

Sand grains vary between 0.063mm and 2.0mm, but the beach sand outside my house is about 1mm

So, if we assume 1mm as a "basic" sand grain.

1/48 = 0.02mm

1/72 = 0.013mm

Caster sugar is generally around 150-350 microns, so 0.15-0.35mm

For true scale, we're looking for 13 Micron for 1/48 and 20 Micron for 1/72

20 Micron is roughly the size of a white blood cell...

10 Micron is roughly the size of a particle of talcum powder...

Perhaps makeup powders would be about right, and they come in all sorts of colours..

Problem I can see there is density, how do you get particles that fine to stay put?

Edited by MattC
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Looking for some ideas or a product for scale sand in 48th and 32/35th scales....

I have investigated this on various forums also and found some people felt the play sand or even finer decorative sand sold in craft stores was too large. What was suggested was Chinchilla Bath Sand sold in pet stores and is a very fine powdered dust. I found some but didn't buy it so I am not really sure but if the micron figures suggested above are correct this would probably be the right stuff.

To get it glued on a base would be another problem as a thinned spray glue in a Windex type bottle would probably unsettle the stuff. I would use a fine mist pump bottle as found in some hair spray products that can be emptied out and thinned glue replaced.

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I was just at a hobby shop yesterday and found the perfect stuff---scale sand!

http://www.rrscenery.com/azrock3HO.html

They make mostly ballast, but I did see the "beach sand" personally, and it's basically powder. Much finer than scale ballast or play sand. (the site says "brown beach sand" but to my eye it was rather light---not white sand beach, but lighter than an "average" beach IMHO) Good for a pacific island diorama etc.

Edited by David Hingtgen
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if you have a metals casting foundry / or unit close to you they should have lots of used fine silica sand used in making the casting moulds ( most breaks down again ) you should get it for free !!

look up your local foundrys in your yellow pages ask if they use the black or sand coloured before you make the trip

also with the casting heat of the molten metal it can give nice baked colour variations !!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here is what I use. Floor grout, sanded or unsanded. It comes in every color under the sun nowadays. Next time you are at the home improvement store, look at the grout colors. An 8lb. of unsanded grout is around $10 dollars or so. It will last you a lifetime. I used to work at a flooring dist. and have way too many bags of the stuff just sitting around. You can custom blend colors and such and it will not discolor over time. Just a thought.

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