Snow Product Experiments - Snow Basing

Hi everyone,  hope you are all doing well.

At the end of the last post Building a Scenic Plinth I mentioned that I had a few snow products I wanted to experiment with.

Well it's a mix of snow products and art materials, I spent the evening trying them out in different combinations on some test bases to see what I liked the look of and I'm sharing the results of them here for my own future reference and maybe somebody else might find it useful.

The Products:

In no particular order the products and materials I used in my tests were:

• PVA Glue
• Winsor & Newton - Artisan Satin Varnish
• Winser & Newton - Galeria Structure Gel
• Winsor & Newton - Modelling Paste
• Woodland Scenics - Soft Flake Snow
• Citadel Texture - Valhallan Blizzard 
• Greenstuff World - Realistic Snow Flock
• AK Interactive - Snow Microballoons
• AK Interactive - Snow Sprinkles
• AK Interactive - Terrains: Snow

During this write-up I'll refer to the product name but drop the manufacturer name for the sake of some brevity.

There was one other product I tried after but I'll save that for the end.

The Test Sheet:
Here is how my test sheet looked at the end, with all my test bases glued in place and my (probably incomprehensible) notes alongside each one.

Don't worry about the chicken-scratch, I'll be writing up each one properly for this post. There may be a little blurriness in places, it was difficult to get enough direct light to show detail and not wash out all the white snow at the same time.

Base 01:

Citadel Texture - Valhallan Blizzard.

1. Pure Valhallan Blizzard.
2. Valhallan Blizzard, Realistic Snow Flock sprinkled over.
3. Valhallan Blizzard, Soft Flake Snow sprinkled over.
4. Valhallan Blizzard, Snow Microballoons sprinkled over. 

I've been interested to see how Valhallan Blizzard turns out, I've been a fan of some of the other Citadel texture paints. At first glance of the product alone I think it works well for a very wet snow. It also works well as a body/form for the other products. I particularly like the soft/fluffy look of the Microballoons over the top.

Base 02:

Woodland Scenics - Soft Flake Snow.

1. (in the centre.) Soft Flake Snow sprinkled over PVA.
2. Soft Flake Snow mixed with PVA.
3. Soft Flake Snow mixed with PVA, Soft Flake Snow sprinkled over.
4. Soft Flake Snow mixed with Satin Varnish.
5. Soft Flake Snow mixed with Satin Varnish, Soft Flake Snow sprinkled over.

Pretty happy with this product overall. The first one straight over PVA is a little weak, but all the others do a great job of building up some snow with body. The PVA ones are a little smoother overall, the one's with Satin Varnish being a little more rough/granular.

Base 03:

Greenstuff World - Realistic Snow Flock.

1. (in the centre.) Realistic Snow Flock sprinkled over PVA.
2. Realistic Snow Flock mixed with PVA.
3. Realistic Snow Flock with PVA, Realistic Snow Flock sprinkled over.
4. Realistic Snow Flock mixed with Satin Varnish.
5. Realistic Snow Flock mixed with Satin Varnish, Realistic Snow Flock sprinkled over.

Great product, with similar outcomes to what I found with Base 02. There is something about this product that I really like that wasn't captured well in the picture. It has like a really fine glittery substance mixed in and as the light hits it it adds a slight twinkle to the snow and it is apparent in all the mixes. Very pleased with these ones.

Base 04:

AK Interactive - Snow Microballoons.

1. (in the centre.) Snow Microballoons sprinkled over PVA.
2. Snow Microballoons mixed with PVA.
3. Snow Microballoons with PVA, Snow Microballoons sprinkled over.
4. Snow Microballoons mixed with Satin Varnish.
5. Snow Microballoons mixed with Satin Varnish, Snow Microballoons sprinkled over.

This product was odd to work with in this manner. #1 in the centre I think worked better than the previous bases in producing a thin melting snow look.

But when I made the same mixes as the other bases, the product reacted quickly with the PVA and became really thick and gummy, it was like working with sticky chewing gum.

The mixes with the Satin Varnish also gummed up but was still a little wetter. I think overall this product works much better as a topper than as a mixer.

Base 05:

AK Interactive - Terrains: Snow.

1. Pure Terrains: Snow.
2. Terrains: Snow, Soft Flake Snow sprinkled over.
3. Terrains: Snow, Realistic Snow Flock sprinkled over.
4. Terrains: Snow, Snow Microballoons sprinkled over. 

Terrains: Snow is a very good body/form to build up thick snow drifts and as can be seen is above works well with other products used over the top. I particularly like the Realistic Snow Flock with it's touch of twinkle here and the Snow Microballoons looks light and fluffy.

There was some similarity with the results of Base 08 as you'll see momentarily and I did another experiment after the bases were done, we'll go over that later.

Base 06:

AK Interactive - Snow Sprinkles.

1. Pure Snow Sprinkles.
2. Snow Sprinkles, Soft Flake Snow sprinkled over.
3. Snow Sprinkles, Realistic Snow Flock sprinkled over.
4. Snow Sprinkles, Snow Microballoons sprinkled over. 

This product was a little more liquid than I was expecting. It seems to have a lot of acrylic carrier medium or gel with snow flock suspended in it.

As you can probably see in the 4 tests on the base, it seemed to react/reactivate the washes used on the base and had the colour bleed into it.

Depending on what type of snow you're after this could be seen as a problem or a feature. I think it does a great job stand-alone and with the other products to emulate a muddy slushy melting snow.

But if you see it as more problematic, maybe a quick varnish before using the product will prevent this happening.

Base 07:

Winsor & Newton - Galeria: Structure Gel.

1. Structure Gel mixed with Soft Flake Snow.
2. Structure Gel mixed with Soft Flake Snow, Soft Flake Snow Sprinkled over.
3. Structure Gel mixed with Realistic Snow Flock.
4. Structure Gel mixed with Realistic Snow Flock, Realistic Snow Flock Sprinkled over.
5. Structure Gel mixed with Snow Microballoons.
6. Structure Gel mixed with Snow Microballoons, Snow Microballoons Sprinkled over

I decided to try using Galeria Structure Gel as the mixer/adhesive and see how that turns out. This is what I use for my Icicles and water effects among other things.

It works really well to build up a fuller melting snow look, the gel keeping it's shape but turning transparent gives a wet look throughout the mound.

Again the Microballoons became a little gummy when used to mix and it gives a very soft smooth look.

Base 08:

Winsor & Newton - Modelling Paste.

1. Pure Modelling Paste.
2. Modelling Paste, Soft Flake Snow sprinkled over.
3. Modelling Paste, Realistic Snow Flock sprinkled over.
4. Modelling Paste, Snow Microballoons sprinkled over. 

I mentioned on Base 05 that this one turned out looking very similar. The Modelling Paste still gives a bit of body and works well with other products over the top.

There was a slight difference in consistency/texture when compared to Terrain: Snow. This is a little more liquid/wetter and when dried has a softer look, but other than that they feel very similar to work with.

They also reminded me of something else, which I will look at after we finish with the final bases.

Base 09:

Winsor & Newton - Galeria: Structure Gel.

1. Pure Structure Gel.
2. Structure Gel, Soft Flake Snow sprinkled over.
3. Structure Gel, Realistic Snow Flock sprinkled over.
4. Structure Gel, Snow Microballoons sprinkled over. 

In the first few bases I used PVA with a product sprinkled over as a kind of baseline, but I wanted to see what differences using a different base "liquid/adhesive" to sprinkle over would bring to these tests.

You can see by the pure blob how this stuff is really nice for water effect. The different snow products look interesting. I want to say it looks like snow that has started to melt then been re-frozen, you know like when you get that proper crunchy noise underfoot?

I like how all 3 of those turned out.

Base 10:

Winsor & Newton - Artisan: Satin Varnish.

1. Pure Satin Varnish.
2. Satin Varnish, Soft Flake Snow sprinkled over.
3. Satin Varnish, Realistic Snow Flock sprinkled over.
4. Satin Varnish, Snow Microballoons sprinkled over. 

Again this was a test of using a different base liquid to sprinkle over. again I like these very much, it looks like a finer crunchy snow.

If I'd had another base to hand I would have like to test the Gloss Varnish too, but I think I can confidently assume it would look very similar to the above only wetter.

Bonus Test:

So I kept on talking about the similarities of bases 05 and 08 and that I used another product after all these test were done. Well we're here now so lets get into it.

The thing I realised after using those two products is that they have a similar finish to good old cheap All-Purpose Filler that I can pick up at the supermarket.

The consistency right out of the pots is different in each, but the general finish is quite similar. It's more like they are series of hardness.

I grabbed a piece of black plastic card and daubed and spread all three products side-by-side.

Fresh out of the pots:

After they have dried:

You can probably see that on either side the All-Purpose Filler and Terrain: Snow look very similar.

In order of hardness they would be:

• All-Purpose Filler - Thick, higher visible granular effect, no flexibility, harder overall finish.
• AK Interactive, Terrain: Snow - Medium thickness, visible granular effect, more flexible, medium hard finish.
• Winsor & Newton, Modelling Paste - Thinner/Wetter out of the pot, slight grain but smoothest, most flexible, softer overall finish.

I'm glad I did this one. It's nice to know there are cheaper options and it's another tool to think about on future projects too.

Final thoughts:

Overall I'm happy with how a lot of the tests turned out. There are definitely a lot of ways to make model snow (many more out there on the market too) . I just wanted to try out a bunch of products I already had on hand and see what sort of effects I could get out of them alone or in combination.

I've already got a couple of them eyeballed to finish off the Scenic Plinth for the Lord of Blights Masterclass.

I hope this may be useful to somebody in the future. I'll be back soon after I've put some of these to use.

Until next time,

Take care.

---

01/05/20
:Edit and an Update for Doug!:

So down in the comments Doug commented that he'd like to see comparisons with Baking Soda/Bicarb. I replied that I wanted to avoid it because of the stories I'd heard of it yellowing over time. But I'd knock up a quick test anyway for the sake of completion.

Well there was no "over time" for me... The stuff turned instantly green when mixing it and applying it!!!

This was a clean brush, clean palette, white paint only added to some and over three different adhesives/liquids. It discolored in the mixes on the palette, it discoloured with powder applied over the base.

I have no idea what's going on here, if there's something wrong with my Bicarb or what!?!

I desaturated the image to look at the textures. It may be that there is just something crazy going on with my batch of Bicarb and it may work out for you and any supply you may have:

So we'll cover all three rows from left to right.

Row 01:

1. Bicarbonate of Soda mixed with Satin Varnish and a touch of white paint.
2. Bicarbonate of Soda sprinkled over Satin Varnish
3. Bicarbonate of Soda mixed with Satin Varnish and a touch of white paint, with Bicarbonate sprinkled over.

Row 02:

1. Bicarbonate of Soda mixed with PVA and a touch of white paint.
2. Bicarbonate of Soda sprinkled over PVA
3. Bicarbonate of Soda mixed with PVA and a touch of white paint, with Bicarbonate sprinkled over.

Row 03:

1. Bicarbonate of Soda mixed with Structure Gel and a touch of white paint.
2. Bicarbonate of Soda sprinkled over Structure Gel
3. Bicarbonate of Soda mixed with Structure Gel and a touch of white paint, with Bicarbonate sprinkled over.

Now.. I have used Bicarbonate in the past. But it's never done this before. I just made the choice to stop using it to future proof myself from future discolouring. This is frankly a really odd thing to happen, but enough of that let's talk about the texture.

I think overall this mix tends toward the fluffy/soft end of snow application. even the application over liquid or the mix liquid/powder still look soft/fluffy but toward the wetter snows. Then the ones covered just look full on fluffy.

I did a quick search about bicarb snow discolouring but didn't find anything about it instantly turning green!

But there was some advice out there to not use Bicarb at all and instead use Unscented Talc.
Now I don't have any Talc to hand scented or not, so that might be something for you to try out sometime. As for the Bicarb, I think I'll still avoid it and advise you to too.

But many thanks to Doug for bringing up the Baking Soda/Bicarbonate thing. It was worth an experiment even just to see these wacky results I ended up with!

And once again,
Take care everybody

---

02/05/20
And you thought we were done didn't you?
Well here we go with:

Edit #2: The Revenge!!!

It's amazing what walking away from a problem and getting some sleep can do to recharge your mental faculties.

The last test I did with the Bicarbonate definitely went wrong. And I was convinced that there must have been something wrong with my stash of Bicarbonate to get the reaction I had... But I was wrong... I was looking at the problem and how it discoloured no matter what mix/adhesive I used, so the only constant in common was the Bicarbonate... But no... I had a theory... THE BASE!!!

The base was just grabbed out of a bag of spare bases I had pulled off of eBay purchases over the years. Whomever had owned it originally had painted over some green flock, GREEN FLOCK!!!

Mystery solved! So no matter what mix I was using, the various liquids were activating the dye/pigment in the flock beneath the paint and it was bleeding through.

So... I think I'm going to keep that experiment right where it is, it does a great job of highlighting a problem that was also shown in Base 06 of my first tests but in a more dramatic way.

The lesson is thus:

Be careful what you use your snow flock over, in any sort of mix or product. If you have flocks or washes on your base or terrain piece that aren't waterfast there is a danger of activating the pigment and discolouring your snow!

And since we have figured that out, I thought it only fair to redo said Bicarbonate tests.

My apologies in advance, I was so excited by my revelation that I did get some stray bits of sand in there rushing to do the tests again. Also I decided to drop the dot of white paint so we could look at the Bicorbanate in it's "pure" state, but nevertheless...

Ta-da?

Yeah... Not very exciting or thrilling, but we got there in the end.

Same rundown as the "Green Snow" (as it shall forever be known), three rows, left to right.

Bicarbonate of Soda:

Row 01:

1. Bicarbonate mixed with Satin Varnish.
2. Bicarbonate sprinkled over Satin Varnish
3. Bicarbonate mixed with Satin Varnish, with Bicarbonate sprinkled over.

Row 02:

1. Bicarbonate mixed with PVA.
2. Bicarbonate sprinkled over PVA
3. Bicarbonate mixed with PVA, with Bicarbonate sprinkled over.

Row 03:

1. Bicarbonate mixed with Structure Gel.
2. Bicarbonate sprinkled over Structure Gel.
3. Bicarbonate mixed with Structure Gel, with Bicarbonate sprinkled over.

I have used Bicarbonate and PVA in the past. As with any of the products throughout you can mix more or less in the ratio to get different finishes of snow, but it does lean more to the softer/fluffy side.

My only qualm about using Bicarbonate is the potential for discolouring. And in the comments of this very post we have two different sides of the scale regarding that issue:

Doug provided a link to a picture of some 15mm Teutons that were done years ago and the snow is as white as ever.

Slovak has experienced the yellowing issue, but has used Acrylic White Gesso with the mix to combat the discolouring.

Thank you both for your insights.

I guess the Gesso is doing the same job that many hobbyists would do by adding a drop or two of white paint to the initial mix. So if you do decide to go down the route of Bicarbonate Snow, that may be a something you can implement in your own work.

I will still be staying away from it as a snow product, too risky for my tastes. But it was an interesting test and I'm glad to put it here among the others for the sake of completion.

I have said goodbye and take care several times now in this post...

Heck, why not..? One more for the road!

Take care everybody ;)