St Ruth

I saw St Ruth at the Expo and was mighty impressed - that's some fiddle yard/sector plat you have there . I have always had a fondness for the old western hydraulics, especially the D800 Warships (though I have no idea why ) so your avatar brings a to my face...

 

I'll watch this with interest so keep it coming please (especially the pictures - warts & all )

Did you try a mix of colours and fibre lengths? I followed an article in Hornby mag last year by Chris Nevard and Mike Wild. In 2mm, its harder to get the right length as 2mm fibres can look like a 'flat top' and 4.5mm fibres can look like David Bellamys beard but I think a mix evens it out - it also gives a good base to work from and for me, is much better than scatter/foam...

@Steve - thanks - I'm a big fan of the D800s although I have no actual recollection of them before withdrawal. I just love their whole concept - 80 tons of loco to drag itself up the Devon banks instead of a lumping great 120 ton diesel electric of the same horsepower.... monocoque construction, anglicised germanic styling. On the other hand they are very challenging to get to 'look' right as a model. Personally I think that both Minitrix and Bachfar have tried and failed (I have both). I can forgive Trix more given that their effort was decades ago and because the crispness of their mouldings has only been matched by Bachfar quite recently.

 

@Pete - will give your suggestion a try on the next patch of grass but need to shop around to get hold of the raw materials first - an excuse to go shopping at the Warley show methinks.

 

Any suggestions regarding the best brands and colours? So far Noch 'Sommerwiesen-Gras' has been the least bad but it's still bad. A lot of stuff has stayed on the shop shelves because it is just way too dark or garish in colour.

Hello

 

I know this is another way of doing it but I used the weird darker coloured fibres and then 'drybrushed' them after the glue had dried. I tried to use progressively lighter colours towards the tops of the fibres. I have tried to recreate the effect you see when looking at grass where it always is darker right at the roots (especially on long grass).

 

I dont know if its useful or not really, it just was worth mentioning how I do the grass thing!

 

Missy

Missy - thanks - all ideas are useful. This is the first time anyone in the group has tried static grass, so we really don't know what works and what doesn't.

 

I wonder if your approach would translate to an airbrush - perhaps attacking from a higher angle with darker colours firstly and then a lower angle with the lighter ones later on.

I just found a better way to include the piccies in the posting, so hopefully now you can see them at a more reasonable size.

I know what you mean about the colour of the fibres - perhaps the airbrush afterwards is a good fall back.

 

I use these miniNatur fibres as per the article mentioned above - let me know if you want a copy

 

a mix of 004-23 autumn 4'5mm, 004-24 winter 4'5mm, 006-34 winter 6'5mm and 006-33 autumn 6'5mm.

 

I see I was not the only one to purchase a 'Greenscenes' static grass applicator at the 2FS show...I haven't used it yet but it looked great at Stansted on the X-Ray of my hand luggage

Thanks Pete - we'll keep an eye out for these.

 

You're a lot braver than me with what you're prepared to try taking through airport security.

I have had similiar problems with static fibres and can advocate Missy's method. It looks much more natural with the mixed density fibres. I have also taken to breaking it up with bits of ground foam to vary the texture and colours.

Thanks. Lots of good advice for next time we are grazing... could be a little while yet because we have plenty of buildings to make and plant before worrying about greenery on the other side of the road.