I did this tutorial to DD forums, so i thought to post it here too. Well, here we go:


1.Supplies what you need:

Sandpaper
Ruler
Hobby knife (sharp!)
Hairspray, or glue/water mixture
Two sided tape
Lentils
Sawdust


2.Draw the area, where the street is coming:


3.Lay two-sided tape slices on that area.


4.Remove the non-sticky side of the tape.


5.Start putting lentils onto the tape.


6.Pressing the lentils after putting them, will do the surface become flat. And that is what we want.


7.All the lentils are now set.


8.Cut edges straight, with hobby knife.


9.After cutting, it's time to start add sawdust.


10.Move sawdust to the gaps between "stones", using your finger.


11.After you're happy with result, begin mist hairspray or glue/water mixture onto area. Repeat this so long, that sawdust doesn't fall away from the gaps. (To test: turn base upside down, for example.) Let also dry for 5 minutes between misting.


12.When surface is finished, use sandpaper to add some texture to the stones.


13.Cobblestone street is now ready for painting!



This is method, that I use. Cheap, but very realistic look when painted. Hope this helps you guys!

Cheers,

-Cortez

Wow, this is great! Thanks.
Cannot go wrong with edible diorama. Hee hee

Finally a use for Lentils!!

We all know they taste like crap :-)

wow thats a really good tutorial. would love to see some of the finish product for people who have used this method.

Thanks for the Tutorial Anssi...
Time to get some lentils..

Jazza, I've used this method in my latest dio. It's still work-in-progress.

Pics:







Enjoy...

Cortez

Hey Cortez,
I have tried this method and went back to scribing plaster : The lentils were not really gluing to the tape so it was a pain to keep them in place...
Do you have any special tip to make them stick? Do you use extra strong tape?
Anyways i like the plaster one. For instance on the pictures you posted, the grey stones look so real! Wonderful painting! And I guess those are scribed plaster right?

Hi Ropi! Scribing plaster is good method too. I'll test it in fhe future.

Yeah, it's extra strong tape, which i use. But instead of tape you can use thin layer of PVA-glue. It works just
fine.

Ropi, the pavement is made of cork pieces, which were polished and some edges nibbled with hobbyknife. The cracks are also nibbled using hobbyknife.

Thanks for you comments mates! They really give strenght to continue my diorama...

Cheers

-Cortez

Wow thats some fantastic work. Thanks for sharing those photos Anssi.

You should submit this article as a feature on this site so that others can learn this as well.

i used it too - i tried the doublestick tape, and maybe it wasn't sticky enough (meant to be used for scrapbooking), so i worked in stages, laying a small bed of elmer's white glue, setting the lentils, then building the next section, until i was finished. Instead of sawdust, i used a fine silty soil from my backyard.
my On 2 Wheels campaign entry shows my efforts using this method.

Ughh , you mean you actually tried to eat them
:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
I think I'd rather try & eat real cobblestones ! :-) :-)
Thanks for the tip with the lentils , I often wondered what they were for ! I will try this technique !
Love Jenny

The result looks real good! Wanna try it myself!!!!
But what are 'lentils'??
I had to check a translation site, so to help others:

Dutch: Linsen
German: Linzen
French: Lentilles

Man, 'linzen', it's a sort of bean or something.
Think it's somekind of food before my time :-) :-)

I have been working along the same idea, using PVA glue, ready to use wallspackel and dryed beans. I have tried to lay the beans in a pattern:



Here the wallspackle is added and surrounding areas is made.

The base btw. is MDF board.



Its still in progress

Paul, you are in the right tracks... In here Finland we call lentils "linssi" . They are available here in many spicestores, different sizes are available too.

Jan, very nice looking cobblestone you have there! Is that coffee involved to give some color, or is it meant to be drinked? :-) :-)

Jazza, are you serious? It would be honor to me. But I also owe it to this whole site, cos' it and it's forum have gave me so much help!

Thanks also for your comments too... As I said in the previous page, they give me strenght to continue.

Cheers,

-Cortez

Coffee is for internal use only - same with the beer!

:-)

Nice thread!

By the way - coffee IS for modeling too. Use the grounds for pigment and orr texture on diorama bases

Beer - now that's 100% internal

I'm going to reference this thread in dioramas...
Thanks

Ola Anssi

Very neat tutorial you have made here.

@ Scott


Why not make an article out of it?

Hey, I'll have a cup of that coffee if there's one going !?

:-)

great tip - the lentils look good as cobbles. It would appear the dried foods and spices section of the supermarket holds many dark secrets...

If i get the time tonight, i´ll try to make the same pattern in drywall - and later try "the Carlos way" with cork :-)

Its funny experimenting with this stuff, especially since its so inexpensive.

Btw - using coffee for anything but drinking is close to blasphemy!

:-)

tried spackle and split peas, didn't work

I used lentils or split peas once. Glued them flat side donw with Elmer's (PVA) glue. After they had dried I seal them with polyurathane. Then, I spread on a layer of dry plaster of paris. I burshed off the excess, leaving dry plaster of paris between the "stones." Then I hit it with water out of a spray bottle. When that set up it was like concrete.

Shaun

On a side note, mice ate it a few months later in my basement. Paint and all...

Many years ago, I tried the split peas......
after a few weeks they started growing....... !!!! :-) :-)
I guess I did something wrong........ :-) :-)

What about those pebbles used in aquariums? I'm sure mice will chip their teeth if they try to gnaw through the pebble.

Angela

I have a tip for the mice problem. Buy a cat.