Ztrains: Z Scale Basics: Ballast

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Add Ballast And Weathering To Your MTL Micro-Track®

Micro-Track® has a roadbed with ballast molded right in but by adding additional ballast you can take your Micro-Track® up a notch and pave the way for a more customized track and layout appearance. Ballast can normally be a bit of a trick to lay especially around turnouts. You have to be very careful with it or you could end up with balky track. The technique we present here eliminates this problem as we only add ballast to the sides of the track roadbed... we only go near the track to add a bit of color with weathering powders.

Some molded roadbed weathering techniques involve first painting the roadbed a solid color. I avoid that here as the Micro-Track® roadbed already has a good, gray base color with some nice color variegations. I prefer to build on this MTL color, trying to match new ballast to the existing colors.

I looked to

Woodland Scenics for a readily available source of ballast and the two candidates I boiled it down to were Woodland Scenics Fine Gray and Medium Gray ballasts. After looking at both the size and the color of the Micro-Track® ballast, I chose the Woodland Scenics Medium Gray ballast, part # B82. While not an exact color match to the Micro-Track® roadbed I felt it would be close enough to allow me to blend the color of the roadbed to it with some gray weathering powder.

The process is actually pretty simple and the photos below walk you through the process. I use Bragdon Weathering powders as they have a dry adhesive included right in their fine milled powder that activates with a bit of pressure from a dry brush.

Check the "Notes" section below for just a few more tips on how to get your track looking the way you want!

1. Test, Test and Test.
Always when trying a new technique... lay a couple of sections of track on a test board and use this to get a feel for these techniques. Though basic, there still is a bit of a feel to this... particularly when adding color. Be a happy Z scaler, test first!

2. Alcohol... Go With 99%
There are several versions of isopropyl alcohol available at your local drugstore with the 70% alcohol being very common. I strongly suggest searching out, and using, the "Not Less Than 99%" variety. With the 70% version... the other 30% is water. As a general rule the less water around my rails the better I like it! Also the 99% alcohol dries a lot faster.

3. Powders On My Rails?
I spoke with Joel of Bragdon Enterprises, makers of the Bragdon weathering powders and he assured me that the powders, once activated, would cause no ill effects on locos or rolling stock. To take this an extra step... I "lock" the powders in place, see my next note on how to do this.

4. Spritz It Baby!
A trick I've used for sometime now with the Bragdon powders is to give them a light mist of alcohol once they have been applied using a very small, inexpensive spray bottle to further lock the powders in place. I find the adhesive in the Bragdon powders reacts very well with the alcohol... sealing it in place.

5. As Always... Keep It Clean.
After ballasting and weathering, clean your track and rails. Trains are happy on clean rails... you will be too!

6. Check The Prototypes.
Check

RalPictures.Net for great examples of how ballast looks on different roads and in different parts of the country.

7. Experiment!
This article shows you one basic technique but don't stop there! Get creative, try something new and most of all... have fun!