Gravel parking lots

For starters, I found that HO ballast makes nice looking gravel for O gauge.  I used it to make gravel roads on my layout, with nice results.

This was done with with Scultamold with N-scale ballast, India Ink and some chalk dust added. Not truly gravel but the more ballast you add the more it will be like gravel. 

Fusion Fiber may be what you need, found at scenic express.

Fusion Fiber works very well for me. I don't think it's available at Scenic Express anymore, but you can get it here.

I found a small fill at Michael's Arts and Crafts, in the dried flower section. Come's in black, grey, brown. I used the grey for this area in a yard and added some brown to tone it down a bit. I may add some weathering to it too at some point. Makes a good boarder on a road too.

Here are shot shots of my N scale layout but the principals are the same. I purchased rock from Arizona Rock & Mineral. The have all different sizes and colors, including a fine powder form. I got a couple of different colors and mixed them together. Glued it down with diluted white glue mixture and a little pit of soap. Once the glue is in place you can make ruts. Here is Arizona's website.

https://store.rrscenery.com/

Another vote for HO ballast.

Pete

NORTON- seeing a Ted's hotdog stand, you must be from WNY.   Joey Ricard's site Trackside Scenery has great tips for gravel roads/lots. John A

John A posted:

NORTON- seeing a Ted's hotdog stand, you must be from WNY.   Joey Ricard's site Trackside Scenery has great tips for gravel roads/lots. John A

Lived here most of life and am old enough to remember their original location under the Peace Bridge.

Pete

Glue and HO gravel.................

Then there was Freddie's Doughnuts! Here is a gravel road on Fusion Fiber. I like it because it doesn't end up sheet of glass flat. I used a kitchen strainer to get fines from a pile of crushed stone I keep for the driveway. 

I also found that HO and N ballast worked for me. Used diluted white glue with a few drops of detergent in it as the others described. I'm not finished with it quite yet. It is still a work in progress  

I have four gravel parking areas, two of which are at depots, another is the area at a gas station/country store, and a fourth is surrounding an area of Marston Matting where the Army parks their vehicles.

All are made with HO scale Woodland Scenics gravel/ballast.

I'm also quite proud of the section of gravel road going to the main road from one of the depots...

I love this scene Lee.  Saving it for future reference.

wild mary posted:

I love this scene Lee.  Saving it for future reference.

Thanks.

I used a static grass mat made by a German company named Heki. I just cut and stretched a strip into what was properly spaced as the center of a rural road, then placed more along each side. I very easy to complete effect which I really liked how it turned out.

Such a shame it was right next to the only mainline HO scale turnout on a layout which otherwise uses Micro Engineering On30 track, but nobody makes a curved On30 turnout...

I use rolled roofing material for a ballast mat.  That way you use less ballast when you ballast the track.  I also used it for this gravel lot.  The stones are a bit large for a gravel lot, but it works.  Plus if your lot is 22" x 32, you would have a lot of left over roofing material.

I would like to make a gravel parking lot in o scale, what size HO ballast are you guys using for your gravel lots/roads, coarse or medium?

As a head start, and base dirt under gravel being a variable depending on regions in mind, a very coarse sandpaper with lesser amounts of chosen ballast to grey it out more (assuming you even want more "fresh" grey and not more "dirty dusty" browns/blacks.)

You could cover or mist with grey paint too.