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Precision Ice and Snow Review of The New Amazing Snow Effect


robvulcan

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Hi all I have been asked by the people at Precision Ice and Snow to review their new product for creating the ultimate in realistic Ice and Snow effects.

I must admit when I was first approached I was sceptical about how realistic this snow effect would be as it has long been a hard task for a modeller to create a believable snow effect.

But no more I must say I am truly shocked at how good and versatile this stuff is and how easy and fun it is to use.

The first photo is of some 1/35 scale bricks on a piece of plasticard kindly given to me to try out for the review. I sprayed this grey but more on that later..

I have only had a brief play with Precision Ice and Snow. These are my first attempts with a skaledale bridge and a Hornby MGR wagon.

I cant believe how good it looks it is very easy and fun to use.

So much so I have decided I am going to build a micro layout/diorama to just for the purpose of testing this snow out and creating a snowy railway scene.

The wood arrived today for the baseboards along with the C&L Finescale track. Here are some shots of my first efforts.

Notice how it aerodynamically settles on the bricks bringing out the detail just like real snow !

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The above shots are created by simply spraying on some hairspray and then shaking on the Precision Ice and Snow with the provided sieve.

Then removing and re-coating. These photos are after many applications It is so fine you can build it up in very fine layers so creating a frost is very possible. This can be washed off as it was applied with hairspray different types of hairspray give different effects.

The Precision Snow is a harmless fine powder that is the same white colour as snow. when I say fine It is "Extremely fine" It can also be scaled and has scale reflective qualities and glints at you like real snow or frost but in scale.

I shall have to do some more photos with the right light on it to capture. But I can assure you it glints in scale and when you hold your model up to the light and give it a good eyeball over, you will chuckle with satisfaction about how "right" it looks. It really makes things look cold even in the summer sun.

Here is one of the brick fields. Plastic square rod is cut to simulate bricks and placed as if in a debris pattern on plastic sheet Precision Ice and Snow kindly provided these for me to try. I sprayed mine with humbrol 67 tank grey from their excellent rattle cans just to give a dark base to contrast the snow.

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I then sprayed this one with 3M spray mount to give a more permanent hold. Then I sieved some snow effect on waited a few mins removed the excess and re-coated I did not try hard I could have been blindfolded I wanted to see what the product could do for me and I assure you it works for you.

you can be creative with it but it just looks real whatever you do.

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The 5 pence shows you how incredibly fine this power is. Plenty of Jokes are derived from its fine white qualities !

This is the before and after with the brick field painted Humbrol 67

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It can be as temporary or as permanent as you like.

You can just have it loose but really there are 2 main options to you as it builds in layers.

one temporary method is to use hairspray and spray the item in the direction you want the snow to form then you dust the snow effect on leave it a few seconds then blow it and brush it off. This will leave a fine layer of frost.

If your happy leave it at that but you can spray on more hairspray and then more snow and build it in layers

It also has the same transparent effect of snow and ice and the underneath will show through and decrease as it builds in layers though even after many coats you can still see the paint through the snow subtly and realistic.

using harispray will hold it very well but it is removable with water. This is an advantage as you can wash it off if your not happy. but best of all because it builds in fine layers you can gradually build up your work so you don't have to worry about over doing anything.

If you want a permanent effect and for the snow to build in an even more impressive way you really should use 3M Spray Mount Photo Adhesive.

It builds with a slightly different effect.

At the moment I have only experimented with 3M sprays Spray mount is best but you can use photo mount and others all will give different effects.

I have thought of experimenting with Johnsons Klear through the Airbrush to give more control though that really is not seeming to be needed.

The precision ice and snow acutally mimics the way snow forms aerodynamicaly too as can be seen on this car Precision Ice and Snow sent me for the review. this car has been sprayed at from the front and a mask on the windscreen to simulate were it has been wiped off. the car looks like it has been driven in snow and then parked and the windows frosted over.

This was achieved by spraying a mixture of 3M and hairspray in layers from the front and then sieved snow dropping towards the grill of the car.

as you can see it settled very impressively.

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It depends what direction you apply the snow how it forms so it is possible with some creativity and imagination to create the effects of snow in heavy wind.

It is also possible to mix this with silicon and create snow slush and ice sheets I have not tried this yet but I will do and the website has much information on this.

Here are some shots of my old Dragon Tiger 1 tank this one is a pre made item and I forget the scale now but it is only about the size of small mobile phone.

It sadly had a wheel missing so I decided I would snow this after having so much fun with the bricks bridge and wagon.

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I really do recommend this product as you can imagine it will revolutionise how we model snow or frost and give us many more options be it modelling railways, military Sci-fi War games and other genres. Temperature was something I have not thought much about modelling till now.

This will likely spawn new uses for dioramas, fantasy modelling or use in TV/Film studio miniatures.

I would love to create a diorama of a woodland hideout with some RAF figures and a snow scheme Harrier GR3 under a temporary hangar with this stuff.

Also I remember seeing a railway layout set in the 1930s featuring LNER steam in the snow I have not seen many layouts in the snow and always fancied doing my own.

With this it should be a doddle and give far more impressive results that just painting roofs white especially as Precision Ice and Snow is stable and will not yellow.

This is what has inspired my new micro layout that will be under construction soon I will do a work in progress here on Britmodeller and over on the other forum I frequent RMweb so you can see how I get on. Hopefully ill have the snow on by Christmas.

If you would like to find out more or order some of your own snow effect check out this web site and get yours from here :

http://precisioniceandsnow.com/Precisioniceandsnow/Home.html

Or look for Precision Ice and Snow on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Precision-Model-Ice-and-Snow/163042673867707?ref=stream

Many thanks for reading I hope you all enjoyed this review. Cheers Rob ;)

Edited by robvulcan
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Many thanks I'm glad you enjoyed it. It sure is good fun and very easy to use. It's funny that the closer you look the more realistic it becomes its really shockingly good stuff I love how its siting on top of the tank barrel.cheers Rob

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This stuff looks amazing, not sure how I can make use of it at the moment but definitely one on those things to file in the "future possibilities" folder.

Edited by Nigel Heath
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This stuff looks amazing, not sure how I can make use of it at the moment but definitely one on those things to file in the "future possibilities" folder.

Well you could get yourself a small plinth of wood paint it black or dark grey. and then put a model of your choice on the plinth and snow it. Even the simplest of things look amazing with this stuff.

Looks like good stuff.

Its sure is but I did wonder what the neighbours thought when I have a big bag of white powder in a clear bag on the table with it on my hands and nose.

good fun Indeed.

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Could also be good for hiding some of my build defects. :banghead:

HAHA yes thats a good idea actually. I have a few old dogs of kits hanging around I did when I was a kid. I have a smashed up lancaster. You have just given me the idea of making a lancaster wreckage site and covering it with snow over the charred remains that would be cool. (pun intended)

cheers Rob

Great review Rob, that stuff looks fantastic! Ho hum, something else on the 'must get some' list...!!

Glad you enjoyed it. its well worth getting yourself some. I really need to try and capture the tiny reflective glints it has just like real frost on a morning its only seen at certain angles the tank looks swell with it on.

Cheers Rob

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I've just had another thought too Rob - I've got a micro layout just waiting for the track to be ballasted before I can get to the scenics. I hate ballasting, so if I set it in January after a good snowfall, I wouldn't need to bother...!! :thumbsup:

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I've just had another thought too Rob - I've got a micro layout just waiting for the track to be ballasted before I can get to the scenics. I hate ballasting, so if I set it in January after a good snowfall, I wouldn't need to bother...!! :thumbsup:

Well its possible very possible if you use the excellent C&L Finescale track that has very think sleepers to reduce the amount of ballast needed. it also looks much better and has thin high rails with daylight under them and accurate spaced sleepers. This is me assuming your doing 00 gauge for some reason. If you used that track with some cork sheet to model the balast shoulder you probably would get away with it. Personally though I would still ballast it. as the snow effect is very fine and brings out the smallest of details.

It would accentuate the ballast no matter how fine.

If your doing n or z I guess it would be easier to get away with. I have decided I am going to make a snow man out of milliput and then add the snow effect that will be a laugh.

Cheers Rob

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It's Peco code 75 Rob. It is actually about 1/4 ballasted so I probably would have to finish it, because I can see from your pics how fine it looks & it'll probably look odd unless I do it all!

Looking forward to seeing the snowman - scratch built carrot for his nose...?!

I'll be looking out for your build thread when you get to the layout.

Keef

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cheers Keef. Well I guess it would be best to experiment. as you can see from the flat brick fields it does add its own texture. but the height of peco sleepers is a few mm. If you have ballasted already it may look odd. Ballasting I enjoy the effect of but it is time consuming.

I am wondering if I can get away with mixing C&L track with Peco code 75 Points but Think I will just stick with C&L on this layout. I will probably limit myself to 2 points maximum but I might just stick with the original plan of no points for now. We will see.

The snow man was an idea I had this morning I was wondering what to use for the nose. I was thinking about real coal for the eyes and buttons. Arms could be made from stretched sprue or some such other material. I will have a think and then post the build here as an additional part of the review.

making it in scale could be tricky. 4mm scale snowman would be Tiny. The size I envisioned was about 7mm scale.

I will have to have a look at a few photos on google and get some ideas. I would love to see what a thatch cottage would look like with this and the lights on shining out onto the snow.

I also want to creat some 4mm scale human and bird feet to make footprints for were the figures have walked through the snow. that would be a nice touch.

Tyre tracks off little cars like oxford dicast would be nice too. It would ad a dimension of life movement and time to a layout or diorama also.

cheers Rob

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It's Peco code 75 Rob. It is actually about 1/4 ballasted so I probably would have to finish it,.

Keef

Keef I tell you what when I get a little bit of time I will get a scrap piece of 00 track and N track and test it out without ballast and see what results it gives. Cheers Rob

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The snow man was an idea I had this morning I was wondering what to use for the nose. I was thinking about real coal for the eyes and buttons. Arms could be made from stretched sprue or some such other material. I will have a think and then post the build here as an additional part of the review.

making it in scale could be tricky. 4mm scale snowman would be Tiny. The size I envisioned was about 7mm scale.

I don't think there's any set sizes for snowmen Rob - I've seen some giants around here when we've had a good fall of snow - I've sometimes wondered if they needed a ladder to get the facial features on!! :D

I was thinking stretched sprue for your snowman's nose - when you stretch it slowly you get that nice tapered effect - just right for an OO gauge carrot!

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I don't think there's any set sizes for snowmen Rob - I've seen some giants around here when we've had a good fall of snow - I've sometimes wondered if they needed a ladder to get the facial features on!! :D

I was thinking stretched sprue for your snowman's nose - when you stretch it slowly you get that nice tapered effect - just right for an OO gauge carrot!

True enough keef ill do a few sizes they would make good cake decorations if nothing else.

It would be very cute and a good test of the snows finery to see an approximately 4mm scale 1/72 / 1/76 scale snowman

We will be modeling igloos next haha cheers Rob

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I'm thinking of a Lancaster on it's hardstand, with a light to medium dusting, possibly a guard sheltering under the wing. Look as a Black & white photo

That is a great idea. Big bombers would look great with a light frosting on, Especially on the little details like the aerials and guns.

I think it would also be great for airliner modellers trying to create a snowy terminal as we seen at Heathrow recently.

Cheers Rob

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  • 3 weeks later...

I am just in the process of making some very small test dioramas to practice with this stuff before doing the micro layout of which the first board was built today for me by local handy man "Zed the Handy Man" who is currently building in our garden a building for our hot tub. So it seemed fit to let him do it for me while I got on with other business.

It is his first layout board and hes done a great job.

The dios are just bits of insulation foam glued to wood. I thought as test of the fine qualities Precision Ice and Snow I would do a small landscape using some T gauge trees I have and have one of my 1/200 scale Vulcans flying over it maybe or a 1/144th tonka might be more appropriate.

Ok so here's a little update for this continued review to test this snow stuff out.

The baseboard that Zed has knocked up for me, very small layout this is going to be !

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Small diorama bases made out of insulation foam and some cut up pieces of shelf.

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And... The milliput snowman is on the way. This is the first time I have made a snow man this big and out of milliput.

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Looks like that scene from Jurassic Park with the sick triceratops lovely !

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I have put some holes in for the arms. not sure what I am going to put in there yet. I might use some bits of twig or coarse wire.

The location holes are so I can fit some real coal and something for the carrot not sure yet probably just a bit of sprue. Stretched sprue could be good for the arms thinking about it.

As for the hat and scarf I will have to think. for the scarf I could use foil as I have seen many of you use to create seat belts in cockpits.

Thats it for now I will update soon Cheers Rob wink3.gif

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This morning the foam had dried on the wood and I started to shape it. Man is this stuff messy !

I was hoping to find pink or blue foam that seems to be favoured but asking in a shop for pink foam gets you funny looks. I don't know if this is the same.

It is fairly solid more so than florists oasis but it is similar to that but does have a certain amount of spring back. This foam is kingspan from B&Q

I sawed off the excess filed up with the sandvick sand stick and shaped up with other tools and got this rough shape welcome to coconut world !

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After hoovering.

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next I mixed up some school PVA water and washing up liquid to help it flow in an old butter tub.

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Then I brushed the entire structure with this to get it moist and just to promote a bit of extra strength and also to help the layers of newspaper.

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While I was waiting for this to dry I decided to get some lumps of coal I picked up off southport beech last year and put them Into 2 freezer bags and hammered them up to get some coal for the snow mans eyes and buttons. It will also come in handy for fitting coal loads to my Locomotives and other scenic uses.

I sieved it into two pile so I have some fine and coarse coal. It looks beautiful.

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Now I need to find some thing for the snowman's arms and nose.

Cheers Rob ;)

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Certainly can't find anything better than real coal to represent coal Rob...!! I picked up a couple of lumps that had fallen outside the gate of the Swanage Railway coaling stage - so my loco's tenders will have real loco coal in them...!!

Looking forward to seeing how the snowman turns out!

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Hi Keef. Yep coal is lovely stuff. It breaks up nice and easy too.

I have just sprayed the snowman dark grey to give some depth when I add the Precision Ice and Snow. I am not sure what I will do with the snowman once its finished as I feel its much too big for 4mm, It would be Ideal for 7mm Model railway. I dare say my mrs will love it and want to keep it as she likes all things round. Good job I Drank lots of Guinness when I was younger haha.

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Hi all another update.

I have now sprayed the snowman with humbrol tank grey.

And I have found some real twigs for the arms

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The base if the first dio is covered with a layer of pva after I had dried it of thanks to some heat off the oven

(don't try this at home folks !)

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Hopefully on the morrow I can get some paint on it and then stat adding some grass flock and trees then I will finally be able to have fun dusting with the snow.

The snow man will need covering with a few coats of precision ice and snow first to create an even snow effect like its been made out of snow.

Then I will add snow to the dio base and then fix the snow man on. Them I can add the coal arms nose hat scarf etc and give another few dustings of snow from above to give the effect of fresh snowfall.

I wonder if I can make a tiny robin for on his hat ;)

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