Kinetic Sand!

I first heard about Kinetic Sand a while ago, and after seeing other hobbyists use it to great effect at shows and in photographs, I decided to take the plunge and try it out for myself. Until now, I've used buff coloured felt glued to a piece of cardstock for an arena floor, but the seam between the two sections really bothered me - not to mention the fact that it only vaguely resembles sand.



I've experimented with sand and other footings before but I don't have a phenomenal amount of storage space in my room, and finding room for a tray or something that could contain a lot of loose material has been difficult, but thankfully I no longer need to worry about that!



I bought a box of cheapish 'Motion Sand' off ebay, as I didn't want to fork out for something I might not use.

After loling muchly at the wonky translations of the safety instructions...

...I had a look inside.

If you squish the bag, it feels rather like marzipan, which I know is a really bizarre thing to be reminded of, but it just does, ok? XD

It feels like it's constantly trying to escape your fingers and it's really very tactile - you constantly want to keep touching it, it's so weird!

I took my time sprinkling it over the piece of card I laid out as a base, though it's been patted down flatter in this pic.

To make it look like a proper arena with a track of hoofprints round the edges, I resorted to drastic measures for accuracy...

I tried it with flattened sand and rough, looser sand, and I much prefer the latter. Flattening it down does make hoofprints more obvious, but it just doesn't look as much in scale and looks a bit concretey.

Call that a working trot? Get that leg on!

Once I was finished with it, it was easily scooped together into a heap, and only left behind a couple of stray grains here and there - certainly nothing that couldn't be brushed off with a hand.

Tracy had a go at making some sandcastles and they held their shape incredibly well, though the bucket handle made decanting them somewhat troublesome.

It even picked up the Julip logo on the bottom of the bucket!

It'll be perfect if I ever fancy doing a scene on a desert island...

...but I'll definitely avoid putting it anywhere near water, as I experimented with a tiny pinch of the stuff and it dissolves whatever polymer it is that makes it all magic and special, leaving it as boring old sand.

Sooo, my verdict?

8/10 - would most definitely recommend for setups!