Static grass applicator

[Earl Bathurst]

Hi

I want to buy a static grass applicator from eithur the Noch or greenscene, but i am unsure which one is better? Can anyone help me with this question?

Thanks

[Andy Y]

There are quite a few topics around on the various products but my personal recommendation would be for the Greenscene Grasstech2; it's more powerful and lower priced than the Noch. The only advantage the Noch product has at the moment ahead of the other is the availability of the additional nozzle for applying the grass to smaller areas.

[Kris]

I would say don't buy either, make your own. Very cheap and simple.

[Road Stone]

Okay Kris, that sounds like a good idea. Can you point us in the right direction?

 

Cheers, Jerry

[Bluebell Model Railway]

Theres a couple on a well known auction site... i cant remember the name of it...But I brought one from there it was only £12.99 I think, i think they are homemade buy looking at it, i've trialed it on my partners layout with quite short fibers, and it works very well. i would recommend one of those as they seem pretty good, could do with fitting a bigger hopper to hold a larger amount of grass.

 

 

[Re6/6]

Check out this thread It's well discussed on there.

 

I'll make two points though. As Chris Nevard says, tea strainers do not have large enough mesh size to allow the long fibres to pass through. These long fibres are the most useful size, particularly in 4mm scale, unless you want to model only short grass.

 

Secondly I made extensive enquiries on the net about 'home made' ones using tea strainers and electric fly swatters before making a relatively costly purchase. Found this American scenic guy (sorry can't remember the site!) who built one and he said that it worked quite well but wouldn't work with long fibres and worked only to about 50% efficiency compared to the Noch Grasmaster, the only one available at the time.

 

I've seen some excellent work done with the 'Grasstec?' (Greenscenes?) in a demo by Andy Y a little while ago and it works very impressively.

 

Having bought my Noch Grasmaster I would never be without it ever again. The cone attachment is particularly useful and I use it a lot.

 

In the end you "pays your money...."

 

This kind of application is where the 'cone nozzle' comes into it's own.

[Lady_Ava_Hay]

I have intended to make my own and bought the tennis racket shaped fly swatter several years ago for 2.99 or some other low figure. I also have a video off YouTube of how to make it.

 

But then I think I could rent a Noch from my local dealer and then I saw the Grasstech demo.

 

Then I re-watched the video and saw that the tea strainer was within two inches of the layout to get it to work and the area being used was very small, unlike the Noch or the Grasstech.

 

Then I had ( have ) an infestation of small moth and the bug zapper is perfect for that.

 

So I doubt I will convert it.

 

The best laid plans....

[Kris]

Okay Kris, that sounds like a good idea. Can you point us in the right direction?

 

Cheers, Jerry

 

 

 

Have a look at this link. I made mine this way. Took about 1/2 hour. It is possible to pick the swatters up from pound shops so can be much cheaper than suggested in the document. (Whether they have the right bits in your location is a matter of luck though).

 

 

[JZ]

I made two for under a tenner using flyswats and sieve and a tea strainer. Not overly happy with the results, so I bought a Grasstech II. Yet to give it a real go, but bought on recommendation af several members.

[rouse2037]

I've bought and used the simple puffer bottle. Not great for big areas but worked for me. A couple of applications over the same patch gave a good result.

 

(Static grass? Good thing I have a static mower in the shed!)

 

Cheers

Roger

[robs on the job]

rob1420_0 who sells these on Ebay gets excellant feedback and for £12.99 you just cant go wrong I used 6mm grasses from International Models and it works perfectly ,best thing ive bought in a long time I just would never think of buying a Noch or Grasstech,the money saved could buy another loco

 

should say that I have no affiliation with this seller Im just a very happy customer

 

 

Mod3

 

I've removed the direct link, location - similar, name - similar but benefit of the doubt given.

[AndrewC]

I tried the hacked bug zapper + tea strainer device and wasn't impressed. Picked up a Grass Tech II at Ally Pally and it does what it says on the tin. I've put down about 3sqft of 6mm prairie grass that looks the part.

 

Excuse the crappy camera phone photo.

 

[7013]

Just purchased Grasstech2 looks really good and much cheaper than Noch but does exactly the same.

[SNCF stephen]

I purchased one of the home madetea strainer/fly swatter examples off ebay. It took a bit of getting used to but I am now starting to get somewhere with it. I think that if I had the money I would have purchased a proper device but until I do then this will have to suffice!