Sand & Gravel Fixer (AK118)

[Mike]

Sand & Gravel Fixer (AK118)

AK Interactive

This little bottle of clear liquid does exactly what it purports, and should be of use to all diorama makers. You simply scatter the sand into the form you want, ensuring that thickness of coat and layout is just to your requirement, and then dot on drops of the fluid either from a pipette (available cheaply from eBay in their hundreds), or with a large flat brush. Leave it to set up and you will have a perfectly solid sandy texture that is resistant even to rubbing with a finger (within reason). It can handle small pebbles as well as the fine grit of sand, and bonds thick layers of sand just as well as a scattering. I executed a test on a small scrap of styrene card, and as well as sticking individual grains, it also secured a layer of 2-3mm (see below). I put a larger stone (approx 7mm) in the mixture, but that was just too much for it, coming loose during handling.

The liquid is colourless, smells distinctly of thinners and is oily to the touch when wet. Once dry though it leaves no odour, and only a slight stain on anything it is dropped on. I managed to let a little of it pool at one side of my sand test, and that section has dried with a slight ridge, so beware of over-application. The bottle contains 100ml of fixative, so should last you a long time.

UPDATE: When deciding whether to throw or recycle the piece of styrene sheet used in the test, I attacked it with the edge of a safety razor blade, and the sand and fixative can be scraped off without damaging the sheet underneath. Some pressure is required, but it's good to know that you can recover from a disaster if you accidentally apply it in the wrong place.

Conclusion

A simple and effective tool to secure your sand and gravel effects. Avoid breathing the fumes, and take care not to apply too much, although it doesn't seem to attack styrene rod (I tested that too).

Recommended.

Review sample courtesy of

[Basosz]

Thanx for the review mike,

How does this compare to PVA thinned with some water?

[Mike]

I think it's superior, as it has very low surface tension and capillary action draws it into the sand/gravel mix. This allows you to position the stuff how you want it before actually applying the fixative. I'd give it a big

[Will Vale]

Interesting, I think the bottle might be a bit small for my railway scenery, but sometimes something small/quick/convenient is good.

How does it compare to Klear? I really like that for ballast/gravel because it wicks in without needing pre-wetting (sometimes a bit for very fine material) and dries very quickly.

Thanks,

Will