Static Grass Tips and Techniques

[WIMorrison]

Problem with hairspray is that it doesn't hold the grass for very long - after a few months the grass will be gone

[TrevorP1]

Agree about the hairspray although I do keep a can as stop gap. Unfortunately as far as glue is concerned I’ve found you get what you pay for.

 

Having said that, I’ve heard that ‘Elmers School Glue’ is good. I haven’t used it yet but I’ll give it a go when I need to do another big job.

Also useful is artist’s matt medium but again it can be expensive. I use it for trees and bushes.

[swisspeat]

Extra hold unscented supermarket hairspray is the best available. Soft hold is the one to ignore.

 

it would be interesting to see if the expensive hairsprays work any better than the own brand ones for our purpose!

 

last time I looked hairspray is available from less than £2 a go.

[saxokid]

Back on with more static grass colour blending,using three colours in one from Noch static grass range..

[Giles]

This is 16mm scale, and in consequence, the length of fibres and density is far more than even my souped-up Grass-master will cope with. In consequence all the grass is laid by hand. 

The fibres (between 6 and 20mm long of different greens) and mixed thoroughly, and a small handful taken and rolled into a cylinder to align the fibres, the end pinched off and the pinching placed in the glue, ad infinitum....

 

 

[2ManySpams]

2 hours ago, Giles said:

This is 16mm scale, and in consequence, the length of fibres and density is far more than even my souped-up Grass-master will cope with. In consequence all the grass is laid by hand. 

The fibres (between 6 and 20mm long of different greens) and mixed thoroughly, and a small handful taken and rolled into a cylinder to align the fibres, the end pinched off and the pinching placed in the glue, ad infinitum....

 

 

 

But the result is some of the most realistic grass I've seen. Good colouring and lumpiness.

[Giles]

Thank you! 

This is the other end, which shows some individual clumps, done in exactly the same way of course. One of the key things is the shorter the growth, the darker it is, and the longer the growth the more prone it is to be lighter (depending on the time of year). But it does work aesthetically. 

 

 

[MrWolf]

That grass reminds me so much of the moorlands around here I almost know what it's like to walk across. 

I'll second @2ManySpams verdict!

[2ManySpams]

On 29/03/2024 at 10:56, Giles said:

Thank you! 

This is the other end, which shows some individual clumps, done in exactly the same way of course. One of the key things is the shorter the growth, the darker it is, and the longer the growth the more prone it is to be lighter (depending on the time of year). But it does work aesthetically. 

 

 

 

The lack of uniform height and colour, so often found in static grass applications, is great.