Grass, groundcover, ??

Have you tried using a roll of paper like material in green, like Life-Like grass?

I hate using glue to put down grass material too messy and time consuming.

 

Lee Fritz

I've been using sawdust and food coloring with

good results... Hard to get cheaper than that....

 

 

I've used all three - zip-texturing with sawdust and food coloring, sheets of LifeLike-brand grass, as well as the beautiful, expensive and time-consuming Woodland Scenics weeds. 

 

These days my preferences run to green textured indoor-outdoor carpeting. Looks suitably toy-like and easier on the knees (as I crawl atop the layout) than the LifeLike paper). I use all sorts of found objects instead too - plastic trees from toy kits, colored cut-out cardstock (for 'flat' tree lines), and the old standbyes - dried lichen and other dried and cleaned 'real' weeds and brush. 

I've just recently returned to the hobby (this time in "O" Scale) and I started a layout.  I'm really liking the Static Grass for ground cover.  I picked-up a "Cheap-O battery powered applicator  on "The Bay" and It is Way Cool.  I apply my "Static Grass" over pink foam that has been painted with Flat Brown Latex Paint, (the cheapest you can find).  I lay a liberal coat of adhesive down (White Glue Mixed With Water) and follow the directions supplied with the applicator and presto, really cool standing grass.  Do a Google search or a YouTube search.  Both are your friend.

 

Chief Bob (Retired)

Just like any other aspect of this hobby, don't get cheap on scenery materials to save a few bucks. They are several layouts on this forum who have outstanding, realistic scenery, and for the most part, used products from Scenic Express and Woodland Scenics just to name a couple.

$1000 on an engine.... thousands on track & switches, rolling stock, control systems... spend some money on good quality scenery products. It does make a difference. Or follow Joey Ricard's method and make everything from scratch with common materials. I personally don't have the artistic eye that Joey is so great at, so a few hundred dollars on ground cover is nothing. Wait til you get to the trees.

A mix\blend of types and products will give you the look that want. Eric's trains has some nice videos that show what the different products look like.

Watch his tutorial Building mountains Part 4 from 9:30 and then the beginning of part 5.

Then, in his latest layout video, he shows some recent additions of tall grass by a German maker.

 

It's all about getting the colors and texture for look of the area that you are modeling and then specifically, the location( mountain edge, roadside, farm field, around a house, under trees).

 

A mix of manufacturer's and types will work. Brennan's Better Ballast is another provider. Some have even used soil from the actual area to get the color correct for base or barren areas.

 

I can understand your dilemma. Not having hobby shops close by to get eyes\hands on a product is a pain. I believe looking at various modeling scenery videos will at least let you see the texture achieved by the various techniques and products used.

One of the interesting, (rather expensive), devices is a Static-Flocker.  Does a great job of making that grass stand. 

Scenic Express Noch Gras Master 2.0  Click on the underlined phrase to link. There is an associated video with this link.

  From a previous thread. 

Astroturf. Quick and easy role it out slam a few staples in from my harbor freight electric stapler and be running trains asap!

One other option you may want to consider is textured spray paint.  See my reply to this thread on "Ballast Mats" on the Scenery and Structures forum.

 

Larry

My recommendation is to take a little bit of ALL the above advice and then roll your own. IMO, the biggest mistake that folks make is to pick only one ground cover approach and apply it uniformly. They end up with a very artificial looking and monotonous landscape. You can get great results from almost literally ANY material--starting with a handful of dirt from your front yard. Nothing in nature is uniform, so the secret is to mix it up.

 

Although I am a big proponent of homemade scenery and improvised materials, I DO also purchase a variety of commercial flocks, in different sizes, colors and textures. But, i use them mostly as accents, to add color and depth to surfaces produced mostly with everyday materials. I am less enthusiastic about pre-packaged stone and ballast, since these items are so easy to duplicate from scratch.  Some would say "why bother?".  Putting money-saving aside, my answer would be "because the results will be your own, and not found on any other layout anywhere."   It doesn't really take artistic talent, merely the willingness to tear up experiments until you learn to produce the effects you like.

There are realistic foliage mats from Scenic Express. Click on Scenic Express at the top of the page to see the accurate photos. The fiber grass mats or foliage mats that they sell are more realistic in their plushness than the old flocked grass mats.

 

Andrew

Mike CT: Neat scene. Well done.

All:  Valuable perspectives.

Thank you,

IMO A couple of better general covers we have used: 

Click on the underlined to link.  Available from Scenic Express.

 

Green Adirondack Blend

Dark Adirondack Blend 

 

 

Order a copy of the Scenic Express catalog.  A Valuable resource, 340+ page catalog.

 

Mike CT

Do you have a link?  I'm very interested in acquiring something like this.

Just search on Ebay or Google "Static Grass Applicator"

 

There are many YouTube videos showing their use and colors/lengths of static grass  

Here is just one of many.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Static...;hash=item58b381fbed

 

Good Luck!

 

Chief Bob (Retired)

grass mats dont do it for realism for me. So it depends on the look you seek, toy train or more realistic.