So i bought the new sand for bases...and i think it looks terrible.... Ok so you how there used to be the small sand/pebbles with little rocks in it. They apparently no longer make it Does anyone know where to find any?!
I prefered the old sand too. I'm glad you posted this as just last week I was trying to explain to someone how the new sand is different and not as good. They thought I was being my usual slightly mad self. The new sand is like beach sand, it's the same consistency all the way through. The old sand had a varying sizes of stones it from sand texture to tiny peddles, but still 80 - 90% fine sand (not the beach kind), it worked great. I still have some old sand left over from many years ago, but I'm running pretty low now. Army painter and GF9 have also switched to the sandy material over the gravelly material. They only look slightly different to the old gravel stuff when painted, so it's not too bad. I guess when the time comes I'll mix in a bit of the chunky and chunkier stuff with a tub full of the fine stuff.
I literally just use beach sand and I find it works pretty well, but I can definitely see how a few small pebbles and rocks around the place would look good. Bulk sand suppliers often have different grades of material and sometimes mixed grades, could be worth looking at. And if you only want a handful chances are they won't even charge. Or other hobby and model shops may have other ranges of basing supplies as well.
I have never used these guys before but it might be what you are looking for. http://www.skullcrafts.com/store.htm Found it this you tube video. You get a lot of stuff for the price by the looks of things. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxkjmZ5v2VQ
Do you know how big the fine vs blended cork scatter is compared to sand Im afraid that the blended may be too big
I don't know if this is a little late to be saying but a good place is a pet shop ( I know it isn't a usual place really). The pet shop I help at stocks chinchilla dust and bird sand which I use as a base for it, and then they have bird grit which I find looks good as little stones on the models. It's alot cheaper than modeling places I find. (I got 3kg mix for about £2)