Easton, Isle of Portland

[Tony Teague]

Are you able to say what size boots the model was wearing? - Purely for reference of course.

[Mick Bonwick]

1 hour ago, Tony Teague said:

Are you able to say what size boots the model was wearing? - Purely for reference of course.

 

Well, no, actually. I like to leave just a little to the imagination.

[Tony Teague]

Thanks, most helpful!

[KNP]

What if the boot was on the other foot?

[Mick Bonwick]

3 hours ago, KNP said:

What if the boot was on the other foot?

 

If he could walk he'd probably be limping.

[Mikkel]

Thanks for the comparison Mick. To me the sieved Chincilla and below looks good. It's tricky to find the right balance, but a combo of sieved Chinchilla and ash will be my next attempt. 

[Mick Bonwick]

My pleasure, Mikkel.

 

The wood ash still gives me a problem, in that it's OK when first laid, but can still be problematic afterwards. The slightest touch will remove more dust every time, even if I think I have glued it all down solid. I know that the answer would be not to touch it, but that's not always possible with my way of 'working'. I have tried to apply a layer of varnish over the top in an attempt to seal it, but that just served to cover up the fine texture that I had achieved. I'm still experimenting with that, occasionally.

 

The track surface on this piece of scenic testing was made from wood ash sprinkled onto PVA and the scene was constructed a couple of years ago. It is stored on end and still leaves a layer of dust behind when I move it around.

 

 

To further justify the inclusion of the photograph (!) the slope at the rear of the shot was a blanket of static grass laid onto neat PVA, but wood ash was sprinkled onto the area immediately afterwards. This gives the effect of grass growing up from the soil rather than sitting on top of it, and graduates the density of the grass as you move away from the track edge.

 

 

[nickwood]

A suggestion for sealing the ash. Once stuck down with pva perhaps a spray with Woodland Scenic’s Scenic Cement might do the trick. It also dries completely Matt unlike diluted pva.

 

I like your idea of graduating the density of the grass 

[Mick Bonwick]

I have, somewhere in the box pile, an assortment of so-called scenery sticky stuff. I will investigate, although I seem to recall that the scenic cement spray when last used completely gummed up the spray head.

 

Experiments continue, and last evening I applied a small area of 2mm fibres onto neat PVA, then sprinkled sieved wood ash over the top. This morning I vacuumed up the excess wood ash and applied some Russian Earth pigment over the top using an old brush.

 

 

Later this morning I laid down some more neat PVA and used a mixture of 2mm, 4mm and 6mm fibres over the top. This time I added sieved Chinchilla dust over the top and left it to dry.

 

[Mick Bonwick]

Something I hadn't tried before, although it had run through my mind (and straight out the other side), is the mixing of pigment with ground cover before applying it. Here's the difference made by adding Russian Earth and Burnt Umber pigments to the sieved Chinchilla sand mentioned earlier:

 

 

 

 

I think that this also shows how very finely ground this type of pigment is. It was mixed by adding the pigment to the tub, putting the lid in place and vigorously shaking the tub. In retrospect it might have been sensible to do the shaking outside the workshop!

 

 

[Stubby47]

That shaking gives a very even mix.

 

Would it work by having smaller tubs, with differing mixture combinations, so you could then take pinches from random tubs?

[DGO]

The pale green fibre with Chinchilla sand would be really good if you wanted to simulate sand dunes, it really looks just like the grass coming through the sand that one sees at the edge of a beach

 

[Mick Bonwick]

Once it had dried, I added some MIG Dark Mud pigment, with the intention of brushing it into the grass. What I should have done was to place the pigment in the pot lid first to remove the clumps!

 

 

I now have two problems. The first is to remove the clumps of pigment without overpowering the green of the 'grass' and the second is to get rid of the Dark Mud because it is far too dark.

 

Here is the result of brushing the pigment quite hard while using a Woodland Scenics vacuum cleaner ( https://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/item/FS640 ) to suck up the excess. If you ever use one of these make sure that you insert the correct size filter before vacuuming a fine dust. If you don't do that you will end up redistributing that dust everywhere rather than collecting it in the reservoir.

 

 

I now have a small area of long grass that is far too dark, next to a smaller area of grass that is too flat, so it is time for some remedial action.

 

It is all serving to keep me occupied while the rain stops me 'gardening'. Just one of many excuses.

[Stubby47]

5 minutes ago, Mick Bonwick said:

I now have a small area of long grass that is far too dark, next to a smaller area of grass that is too flat, so it is time for some remedial action.

 

Just park some Land Rovers over the top...

[Mick Bonwick]

All the way back on page 4 was a method of using polythene to assist the creation of scenic things using 'peelable' dried PVA. As well as the strips of material shown there, it can aso be used for sheets of grass that can be torn apart and placed in a scene at random.

 

When laying static grass I prepare the area for reclamation of as much grass as is possible by using sheets of paper. The fibres that land on the paper can simply be returned to the container for subsequent use, but excess fibres that remain on the grassed area pose a problem. A vacuum cleaner is probably the best way to recover them but that frequently means that they are mixed up with sand, dust, pigment and so on. This mixture is stored in a container that can be emptied into a static grass applicator and then tipped onto a prepared sheet of polythene.

 

 

The result is left to dry.

 

 

[sb67]

14 hours ago, Mick Bonwick said:

Once it had dried, I added some MIG Dark Mud pigment, with the intention of brushing it into the grass. What I should have done was to place the pigment in the pot lid first to remove the clumps!

 

 

I now have two problems. The first is to remove the clumps of pigment without overpowering the green of the 'grass' and the second is to get rid of the Dark Mud because it is far too dark.

 

Here is the result of brushing the pigment quite hard while using a Woodland Scenics vacuum cleaner ( https://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/item/FS640 ) to suck up the excess. If you ever use one of these make sure that you insert the correct size filter before vacuuming a fine dust. If you don't do that you will end up redistributing that dust everywhere rather than collecting it in the reservoir.

 

 

I now have a small area of long grass that is far too dark, next to a smaller area of grass that is too flat, so it is time for some remedial action.

 

It is all serving to keep me occupied while the rain stops me 'gardening'. Just one of many excuses.

 

It might not be the look you're after but with a few sheets of rust corrugated iron on the flat bits and a few bits of assorted junk placed elsewhere it would be a great bit of rough ground at the back of a yard or loco shed. 

[Mick Bonwick]

When the PVA is dry the patch can be simpy peeled away from the polythene.

 

 

To use a piece of the mat on your goundwork, just tear a piece off and stick it wherever appropriate.

 

 

 

 

[Mick Bonwick]

Using the same priciples as the patch above, a group of grass clumps can be made. Spot of PVA, apply a small amount of static grass and finish off with some ash/sand/pigment, leave to dry and remove one in readiness for placement.

 

 

 

Apply a spot of PVA where you want the clump to spend the rest of its life.

 

 

 

Press the clump into place.

 

 

Leave to dry.

 

 

Add ground finish to taste.

 

 

 

Find something else to do while you wait.

 

 

 

[Mick Bonwick]

I ought to be doing more ballasting, but now I've started on the greenery there's too much to distract me. Modelu leaning firemen can be leaning on things other than a cabside.

 

 

What do you think he's doing?

 

[Stubby47]

Throwing up?

[Mikkel]

Dreaming of a Ford Fiesta?

[ian]

Given the crossed legs I suspect that he is hoping last night's curry doesn't try to escape.

[MrWolf]

18 minutes ago, ian said:

Given the crossed legs I suspect that he is hoping last night's curry doesn't try to escape.

 

Tried starting the engine on the handle and realised that the curry has escaped?

[Mick Bonwick]

You last saw this hut on page 27. If you don't remember that then you need to go back and look again, just so you know I'm not telling fibs.

 

A hole has been cut in the yard surface and the hut plonked in it. I deliberately used too much PVA so that it would ooze out around the base and that excess has been used to place some static grass fibres manually to hid the join. The edges will be blended in once this has all dried.

 

[Mick Bonwick]

Further additions to the yard include recently discarded lengths of timber, much older nearly buried somethings and strange red-tinged grass clumps. The latter appeared as a result of picking up the wrong brush for applying pigment. I'm sure I'll find the prototype for the latter if I look hard enough.