Can Do Wonders.

Well finally it has happened. Possibly the greatest thing to happen in the model railway arena since the invention of sliced bread has arrived.

I was trolling on the Walters web site the other day looking for building products for a model loco shed and I came across this new product. One wonders why this product took so long to develop. It will be the saviour of many modellers, not only as a great time saver but also for the people who are new to the hobby.

So what is this new product? It is ‘SCENERY IN A CAN’. I could hardly believe that it was possible to achieve such a product given the well over hundred years that model railways have been around. Why wasn’t it invented years ago?

I was lucky enough to have a friend who was recently returning from the US on a holiday. He is not into model railways but was quite keen to help in the purchase of one can for me to try out.

Currently the can is only available in one type that being ‘ Mountain Stream’.

Their web site has announced that if this venture is successful then other types will follow such as “Western Plains”, “Hillside Scenery” and “ Coastal Dunes” the latter I suppose would give a sandy texture that would be good for creating beach scenes such as one of Bombo beach I had in mind.

I was a bit sceptical in this product but after receiving this can from my friend, I took it down to the shed to try it out. With such a new product I took the time to read the instructions on the can not wanting to wreck a scene in the usual fashion of ‘if all else fails read the instructions’. It recommended shaking the can for a good three minutes to ensure all the contents were thoroughly distributed within the can. The usual ball bearing was in there and after shaking for around two and a half minutes you could hear the mixture thickening up and I knew it was nearly ready to spray.

I have a corner on the layout where this can of ‘Mountain Stream” would come in handy. So with some trepidation and my finger on the trigger, I pushed down on the cap and out came a stream of stream. Strange words but true. The instructions also stated that the angle of spray and distance from the point of application would vary the result coming from the nozzle. Understandably the further away you are the more time the product has to dry before reaching its intended target. I have enclosed a shot of a portion of the stream to let you decide if “SCENERY IN A CAN” is for you.

Its fairly expensive (around $40.00 a can) but with all new products this is expected to allow companies to recoup the money spent on R & D. Maybe you want to wait a while for the price to fall. Like most electronic products they get cheaper the longer they have been around.

It will possibly be a good idea to wait till perhaps Model Railroader gets hold of the product and reviews it. They seem to be able to praise or bag a product given the resources a big organisation such as they have for testing.

In closing I must say I was privileged to be able to be among the first in Australia to try this exciting new product. I haven’t got a lot more scenery to finish off but I’m looking forward to be able to speed up this work and get on with some building of structures.

Now wouldn’t it be great if they can get “STRUCTURES IN A CAN”.

For further particulars try Walters.com