Paving the Road
To begin, I mask the wood timbers with painters tape to make sure the asphalt does not get on the wood.
As mentioned, AK Interactive Asphalt and plaster are the primary ingredients of my asphalt. I place a scoop of the acrylic paint into a plastic tray and begin to add plaster to the paint. A spray bottle with water is used to dilute the paint and mix the plaster. I add approximately 1/4 parts plaster to 1 part Asphalt paint. I add a bit more water until the mix is the consistency of pancake batter and spread it on the Foamcore with a small trowel.
While I’m smoothing it with the trowel, I spay the entire road with the water bottle to help level and smooth the plaster. I use a hairdryer to speed the drying process to see how the asphalt is beginning to look. Before it dries, you will begin to notice if you have enough texture. Too much plaster and the texture will be too light. You can add more of the Asphalt paint to your existing mix and spread it over the drying first layer. Using the squirt bottle, continue spraying the road to make sure the road is level and smooth. Again, I use the hairdryer to speed up the drying process.
Before it dries completely, the mixture is a bit rubbery from the paint. Pressing into the Foamcore you can make divots and ruts in your road. To add even more wear effects, you can gently stretch the asphalt, creating cracks and broken pieces of road. If you make a mistake, use a paintbrush and dip it into the asphalt mix and paint over the mistake. The squirt bottle will help blend the mix into the road. Finally, before it dries completely, I will add some more asphalt paint to my tray and with a torn makeup sponge to dab diluted paint into some areas, darkening the color and adding a bit more “gravel” to the asphalt.
Once dry, I add an additional layer of the Fine Gray Ballast to soften the shoulder. To further blend the road into the shoulder, real roadside gravel is sifted through a screen leaving fine gravel and dust. I sprinkle it onto the sides of the road and brush it onto the asphalt and shoulder then glued it in place.
To finish the road, I mask the asphalt to add lines to the road. I use the other half of the makeup sponge to roughly paint the lines. In this case, I am trying to be sloppy to represent the paint peeling off the asphalt.