Having made such a huge difference to the layout I thought it was about time I introduced my static grass devices. When I first saw static grass in action a couple of years ago I was really knocked out by it but not very happy about the price of the Noch applicator which was the only one available then. A little while later I got the larger of the two off Ebay for about £15. Having given it a a go I decided two things; 1)It was too big and 2) It was just an electric fly swat with a sieve attached! So £1.99 and a mini sieve stolen from my little girls cookery play set I had my ingredients.

You do have to be a bit careful messing with such things as they can give you a nasty jolt if you touch the wrong bits but provided you have the battery out when you disassemble you shouldn't come to too much harm (unless you are a fly!). All I did was unscrew the handle, disconnect the two wires going to the grid then remove the grid. I seem to remember I had to remove a small amount of plastic but was easily able to mount the small sieve onto the handle and attach one of the wires. I then extended the other wire and ran it outside the handle and threaded the bare end through the eye of a large needle. And there you have it, a really handy static grass applicator for a couple of quid!

I couldn't have done it without the grass though which on the whole I find too short for 7mm and rather too bright. I did manage to find some 6 and 10mm bags in muted colours from War World Scenics (awful name), again on Ebay that have done the trick for the rough, unkempt look I was after. Javis Autumn mix is good for the shorter bits but an extra couple of bags I got the other day are significantly lighter than the one I got two years ago.

Am now sorting out the big fiddle yard so I can marry it up to the final board which will be the real challenge - the buildings!