Dulverton Station '62 - Let there be grass...

[David Todd]

Morning...........if you are going into print with it......have a chat with John @...........http://www.art-printers.com/index.html

 

a bespoke, for a very reasonable cost.............he has done my b/scene, 

Edited January 11, 2014 by David Todd

[Douglas G]

Morning...........if you are going into print with it......have a chat with John @...........http://www.art-printers.com/index.html

 

a bespoke, for a very reasonable cost.............he has done my b/scene, 

 

Thanks David.

 

I have seen Art Printers mentioned elsewhere on the forum for doing backgrounds, and will check them out when I have some better images ready for use.

 

One thing I don't want is any joins in the print out.

 

Cheers,

 

Douglas

[Popeye]

Sounds good Douglas, photos please of the results

 

Re the back scene, if your photo panorama software can't add the left end, you can do it yourself, it just takes a bit longer. Obviously this depends on how much of an overlap you have but you need much less than automatic software would have you believe

 

Andy

Edited January 11, 2014 by Popeye

[Douglas G]

Sounds good Douglas, photos please of the results

 

Re the back scene, if your photo panorama software can't add the left end, you can do it yourself, it just takes a bit longer. Obviously this depends on how much of an overlap you have but you need much less than automatic software would have you believe

 

Andy

 

Thanks Andy. What programme would you suggest I use to add the two images to the left?  Can I do it in something like GIMP? Hugin panorama software had a more advanced menu to allow you to define reference points in the photos to be joined up, but I couldn't work out how to use it.

 

As I said, these aren't the photos I intend to use, just a try out to give me an idea of what is involved and the final height of the backscene when the images are blown up to the length of the model. But I do like the hazy appearance in these images which gives a good impression of distance, and may try processing my final images to add a touch of blue to suggest scale distance.

 

I will have to arrange a weekend in Dulverton later in the year to get some high quality digital photos. I realise that I will have to stand more to the right/east on the hill above the station when taking the pictures, to remove the slope with the sheep appearing in the right of the panorama above.  There is more of the horizon to the right that would have to be included in the final background as it should be visible at the right-hand, eastern end of the model, as in this photo taken at the station site:

 

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/107003

 

Douglas

Edited January 12, 2014 by Douglas G

[Douglas G]

As well as the background, I have been experimenting with ways to produce grass.

 

Today I have tried dyeing various materials with Dylon olive green dye, as used by Barry Norman to dye felt carpet underlay (which is too coarse for 2mm scale).

 

I have tried dyeing a 500g roll of white cotton surgical lint, a piece of Treemendous teddy bear fur and some other samples of fur fabric and felt from a local fabric shop in our washing machine, with 500g of salt added as in the Dylon instructions.  I could see the lint take up the dye almost immediately, but at the end of the cycle none of the other materials had taken up the colour to any appreciable extent.

 

So if I am going to use teddy bear fur, it will need to be painted, I think. It must be because it is made from artificial fibres.  I found one natural teddy bear fibre for dyeing on line from a teddy bear supplies shop (mohair I think), but it was £60 a square metre!

 

Meantime, the surgical lint has come out very dark, something like billiard table baize. I am now running a second cycle with detergent as per the dye instructions to see if it gets lighter. If it remains too dark I may have to try bleaching it. Perhaps I should have tried dyeing it in a bucket instead, but there was no mention of this in the instructions.  I also hope I can get all the dye out of our washing machine, or I will be in big trouble with the missus...

 

Regarding the Treemendus teddy bear fabric, while searching around for teddy bear fabric, I spotted this supplier selling Copic pens and ink refills for colouring fabric:

 

http://www.christiebears.com/acatalog/Airbrushing_System.html

 

I wonder if a suitable colour for grass could be blended from these inks and if it would colour the teddy bear fabric.

 

Douglas

Edited January 12, 2014 by Douglas G

[Douglas G]

Well, as I suspected, my surgical lint has come out far too dark a green using the Dylon washing machine dye in olive green.  It looks like a Subbuteo pitch!  Unfortunately I dyed the whole roll as it is was the weight suggested on the dye packet, which was a mistake - I should have done half or a quarter.

 

Even dyed, the lint is too thin and the square weave of the backing is too obvious to glue the stuff down whole on its backing. I am trying the technique suggested in several books and articles of laying it fuzzy side down on a very thin layer of PVA, waiting until the glue is dry, and then peeling or cutting the backing off. I have stuck down a sample tonight on a green and brown painted background to see which works best.  If it does work, I will then probably try bleaching the lint and then possibly giving it a brief dyeing with yellow dye. But I wonder if the glue will hold the fibres, and I also wonder if they will appear dense enough to look like grass.  Time will tell...

 

Since buying the dye, a visit to Wilkinsons this weekend showed me Dylon also do cheaper dyes suitable for hand dyeing, which I wish I had bought instead of the machine wash version (the shop I went to originally only sold that).

 

At the same time a visit to a local art shop nearby found some other possible solutions for colouring the lint and the teddy bear fabric, which did not take up the Dylon dye at all.  The shop had in stock Dylon fabric paint at around £2-3 a small bottle, which seems to colour the teddy bear fabric quite well on a test corner. They also had Letraset Promarkers for around £1-50 which will also colour the teddy bear fabric very well, but you can only do a small area at a time. I wonder if they could be used to colour small areas of pre-coloured grass material to give a more natural variation.

 

There is another, similar make of marker called Copic for which you can buy the ink separately, and it can be airbrushed apparently:

 

http://store.copicmarker.com/collections/various-ink-yellow-green

 

I wonder if this might be a good way to colour the teddy bear fabric.

 

Even if one of the methods of colouring the fur works, I think the fibres will be shiny and will need to be misted with matt varnish at the end.

 

Another product they had in the art shop was acrylic ink, which may also work, but I didn't buy it this time around as the cost was mounting up!

 

A final possible product to represent grass I have ordered online is something they apparently use for model-making in the USA, plush felt:

 

http://www.k-craftteddies.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=10_12&sort=20a&page=1

 

It seems to be a US product that has to be imported. I have ordered a piece each of the smoky brown and the cashmere tan as colours likely to look like grass once coloured or dyed. I am hoping that being shorter than the teddy bear fur and apparently very dense, they can be used whole for 2mm grass without the weave of the backing showing through.

 

I am going to try test samples of all the different materials stuck on a green and a brown painted background and compare with static fibres. I hope to post pics of the results soon.

 

Douglas

Edited January 13, 2014 by Douglas G

[Popeye]

Thanks Andy. What programme would you suggest I use to add the two images to the left?  Can I do it in something like GIMP? Hugin panorama software had a more advanced menu to allow you to define reference points in the photos to be joined up, but I couldn't work out how to use it.

 

As I said, these aren't the photos I intend to use, just a try out to give me an idea of what is involved and the final height of the backscene when the images are blown up to the length of the model. But I do like the hazy appearance in these images which gives a good impression of distance, and may try processing my final images to add a touch of blue to suggest scale distance.

 

I will have to arrange a weekend in Dulverton later in the year to get some high quality digital photos. I realise that I will have to stand more to the right/east on the hill above the station when taking the pictures, to remove the slope with the sheep appearing in the right of the panorama above.  There is more of the horizon to the right that would have to be included in the final background as it should be visible at the right-hand, eastern end of the model, as in this photo taken at the station site:

 

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/107003

 

Douglas

Hi Douglas,

 

I've not used GIMP but any photo editing software which allows you to open your existing panorama, drag in your new photo and overlap it; you'll need to reduce the opacity of the new photo so you can align it, then using a largish soft edged brush carefully erase the top layer trying not to leave straight lines where you erased. It sounds difficult but with practice it's not as hard as it sounds

 

Andy

[Popeye]

Douglas

 

In relation to dyeing lint and teddy fur, have you thought about going organic and using a bucket of nettles (other plants may work as well) and water and then dyeing the material? Just a thought and its cheaper then buying dye

 

Andy

[Douglas G]

Douglas

 

In relation to dyeing lint and teddy fur, have you thought about going organic and using a bucket of nettles (other plants may work as well) and water and then dyeing the material? Just a thought and its cheaper then buying dye

 

Andy

 

An interesting idea, Andy.  I am sure it would work for the cotton lint, but I don't think it would dye artificial fibres as used in the teddy bear fabric, especially when the Dylon didn't work. There is also the issue of fading of the dye with time, which may be more likely with organic dyes, I think.

 

I suspect I am going to end up using static grass after trying all the alternatives. I think that the material of the fibres is self-coloured rather than dyed, so may be resistant to fading.

 

Douglas

[Douglas G]

I have now tried peeling off the dyed surgical lint from my test piece, and not got very good results, I'm afraid.

 

I used a piece of hardboard for the test and I did not anticipate that the glue would be so strong as to peel off a layer of the hardboard in places!

 

So I have had to try cutting carefully with a scalpel as I peel off the lint, and got this result:

 

 

Apart from the fibres being far too dark a green because I dyed them too much, the resulting "grass" has turned out very patchy, flat and thin. I think it may be that the lint I used (Fastaid absorbent lint) does not have such dense and thick fibres as other surgical lints that people have described using in the past. I have read that absorbent lint has gone out of favour for medical use because bits of fibre get into the wound.

 

So I don't think I will be pursuing this surgical lint option, especially as whatever surface I stick the fibres down to will have to be very strong if it is not to be lifted off when the lint backing is peeled off...

 

Plan B will be to try 1 and 2mm static fibres, plus Woodlands Scenics fine turf for the lawn areas.

 

Douglas

Edited January 14, 2014 by Douglas G

[queensquare]

Morning Douglas, I have only just caught up with your experiments. I use lint for almost all of my basic grass and have no problems, I'm not a fan of static grass in 2mm/N. Colour aside, there are two basic mistakes you have made in its use;

1. You need to seal the surface you are going to stick it down to otherwise you are likely to rip up the top of that surface- as you have found. I use match pots of exterior textured paint such as 'weathershield' with a bit of PVA added over my basic plaster bandage scenery.

2. You need to use the absolute minimum amount of glue - again PVA -  to stick the lint fluffy side down. I apply the glue in an almost scrubbing motion so that only a very thin layer is applied. The lint is then smoothed into the glue. You want just enough glue to soak up into the fibres but not the backing otherwise it will stick like the proverbial p**h to a blanket!

It is also possible to paint the lint after it has been applied using thinned water colours or acrylics. Apply the thinned paint and don't be put off by the soggy mess that results. Allow to dry thoroughly and then lift the fluff again with a suede brush.

Have a look at my Highbury or Tucking Mill thread to see the results.

 

Jerry 

[Ian Smith]

Morning Douglas, I have only just caught up with your experiments. I use lint for almost all of my basic grass and have no problems, I'm not a fan of static grass in 2mm/N. Colour aside, there are two basic mistakes you have made in its use;

1. You need to seal the surface you are going to stick it down to otherwise you are likely to rip up the top of that surface- as you have found. I use match pots of exterior textured paint such as 'weathershield' with a bit of PVA added over my basic plaster bandage scenery.

2. You need to use the absolute minimum amount of glue - again PVA -  to stick the lint fluffy side down. I apply the glue in an almost scrubbing motion so that only a very thin layer is applied. The lint is then smoothed into the glue. You want just enough glue to soak up into the fibres but not the backing otherwise it will stick like the proverbial p**h to a blanket!

It is also possible to paint the lint after it has been applied using thinned water colours or acrylics. Apply the thinned paint and don't be put off by the soggy mess that results. Allow to dry thoroughly and then lift the fluff again with a suede brush.

Have a look at my Highbury or Tucking Mill thread to see the results.

 

Jerry 

 

Jerry,

 

Just a quick question - where do you get surgical lint from these days?  I intended to use lint for my grassy areas (when I get that far), and do have a roll that I dyed over twenty years ago (which won't be sufficient for the whole layout), but haven't a clue where I can get it from these days (having seen various entries on RmWeb indicating that it's like the proverbial hens teeth).

 

Luckily I do have a hank of plumbers hemp that is also probably worth it's weight in gold these days :-)

 

Ian

[Douglas G]

Morning Douglas, I have only just caught up with your experiments. I use lint for almost all of my basic grass and have no problems, I'm not a fan of static grass in 2mm/N. Colour aside, there are two basic mistakes you have made in its use;

1. You need to seal the surface you are going to stick it down to otherwise you are likely to rip up the top of that surface- as you have found. I use match pots of exterior textured paint such as 'weathershield' with a bit of PVA added over my basic plaster bandage scenery.

2. You need to use the absolute minimum amount of glue - again PVA -  to stick the lint fluffy side down. I apply the glue in an almost scrubbing motion so that only a very thin layer is applied. The lint is then smoothed into the glue. You want just enough glue to soak up into the fibres but not the backing otherwise it will stick like the proverbial p**h to a blanket!

It is also possible to paint the lint after it has been applied using thinned water colours or acrylics. Apply the thinned paint and don't be put off by the soggy mess that results. Allow to dry thoroughly and then lift the fluff again with a suede brush.

Have a look at my Highbury or Tucking Mill thread to see the results.

 

Jerry 

 

Hi Jerry,

 

Many thanks for the advice.  Like Ian I was going to ask you what make of lint you use.  The results on your layouts are excellent and very realistic.

 

In terms of my experiment with the lint, I think if I had glued it to something other than hardboard, for example plywood, then all the lint would have stuck down OK.  I will have to give it another go with ply when I have the time.  It was a spare piece of old, poor quality hardboard that I used, so with hindsight it is not surprising that the glue pulled away some of the layers of wood fibres.

 

Regarding the amount of PVA, I had read that only a thin layer was needed like you say, and none had seeped into the lint fibres. So this wasn't an issue.

 

I think the main problem was that the Robinson Fastaid absorbent lint that I used did not have enough lint fibres.  I had to buy it mail order as I could not find it in any local pharmacists, and when it arrived I immediately thought it did not look very dense. I suspect that the makes of lint previously available, e.g. from Boots (as described in modelling articles and books from the past) had longer and thicker fibres, but this came to be seen as a disadvantage for wound healing, hence the less fuzzy varieties.  Boots seem to have stopped supplying it at all.

 

Searching online for "absorbent lint", apart from the Robinson Fastaid lint (available in different package weights from several suplliers), I could only find the following in the UK:

 

Rerelint:

 

http://www.reliancemedical.co.uk/Dress_relilint.html

 

Numark:

 

http://www.micglobal.co.uk/absorbent-lint-i1370.html

 

Fortuna:

 

http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/first-aid/fortuna-absorbent-cotton-lint-bp/

 

Superdrug also do small sheets of lint, but I have read that it is not suitable for model grass, having very few thin and short fibres.

 

I am reluctant to waste any more money on trying different makes of the lint, so if anyone has any recommendations, I would welcome them!

 

Regarding your comments about static grass, I think that some of the mixtures available have too big a variation in the colours of fibres. Looking at real grass from a scale distance, the blades actually look very uniform over small distances during the main growing season. The variation in colour is mainly over a scale of several feet, with whole patches of slightly different colours according to water and nutrient variations in the soil, as in these photos of my prototype location:

 

http://www.exmoorian.co.uk/dulverton-railway-station.htm

 

http://www.railwayramblers.org.uk/photo/56photo.htm

 

Another problem seems to be that the fibres can look a bit shiny, and several people on RMWeb have suggested a light spray with matt varnish to tone them down.

 

Douglas

Edited January 15, 2014 by Douglas G

[queensquare]

Evening Ian, Douglas,

 

The lint I used is a combination of Green Scenes and some old packets of surgical lint that I have had for years and dyed myself. I must admit  that, having a small supply in stock, I didn't realise that it had become so difficult to get hold of. I had a chat with John of Green Scenes at the St Albans show last weekend and he didn't have any and is having trouble finding any. I have enough in stock for the next couple of little projects I have in mind but am a bit worried that I may not be able to get any more as I haven't come across a method of representing grassland that matches it.

There must be thousands of packets of fluffy surgical lint out there in first aid kits sat in the back of dusty old cupboards - they need liberating before they are binned. I shall certainly be keeping an eye out for them!!

 

Jerry

[Douglas G]

Thanks for that Jerry.

 

I have now tried sticking my Fastaid lint to plywood using a very thin layer of PVA, and while all the fibres have stuck down successfully and stayed in place after the backing was peeled off, the resulting grass is very sparse and you can see the base more than the fibres.

 

Looking at the piece of backing that I peeled off, there are virtually no fibres left. It therefore seems to be an issue of this lint not having such dense fibres as in the lint that used to be available. It is possible that some of the lint was lost in the dyeing process in the washing machine, but it did look sparse before I started.

 

Douglas

[Douglas G]

As there seem to be issues with supply and suitability of the absorbent lint types currently available for making grass, I have decided in a spirit of research to buy small samples of as many different types as possible to see how well they work. I have found around 6 different ones - it is possible some are the same under different brand names.

 

Apart from Amazon and eBay, the best place I have found is Mistry's online pharmacy (sounds like a website for little blue pills!):

 

http://www.mistrys.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=lint

 

I think the Robinson brand they sell is the Fastaid that I have already tried (I am sure the listed prices for the smaller sizes must be wrong). Mistry's do have two other brands, Alvita and Clini, available as 500g packs, which would be suitable for large areas of model railways grass. I assume these large packs would have the lint in rolls, like the Robinson Fastaid 500g I have bought previously.

 

For comparative purposes, to answer the question of whether lint ain't what it used to be, I have also managed to buy on eBay an old but unused roll of Boots "Surgical lint", which I hope to receive later in the week.  I think this is the stuff that many modellers have described using in the past.  It will be interesting to see if it has a longer and denser nap than the currently available absorbent lints.

 

Watch this space...

 

Having seen in the flesh layouts such as Jerry/Queensquare's Tucking Mill and Stephen Harris's Ynysarwed Sidings that use surgical lint, I am convinced that lint may be the best way to represent grass in 2mm scale, if you can get the right type.

 

Douglas

Edited January 19, 2014 by Douglas G

[Southernboy]

Hello Douglas,

 

I've been following Dulverton for a while but don't think I have commented before.

 

The station buildings and hotel are really very impressive, and more generally I have enjoyed following your layout progress.

 

In particular I have been interested in your recent trials and tribulations with lint / grass. It's something I toyed with a year or three back, but was disappointed with my experiments (maybe for similar reasons to you) ... so put the whole thing on the back-burner.

 

Either way, I'll be interested to see how you get on with further experiments - good luck!

[justin1985]

I recently did some "restoration" work on the scenics on Copenhagen Fields, and while the majority of the original grass was dyed surgical lint (apparently Dylon olive, as suggested in Barry Norman's book) it was actually stuck down backing side down, and left as-is, rather than having been stuck down and the backing ripped off. After 20 odd years on the exhibition circuit this had essentially worn down to bare backing strip in many places. Tim seemed to be pretty certain that lint, in the form used by Barry Norman etc, no longer exists as a standard medical product. Even if you can still find some now, I suspect it will get increasingly difficult as time goes on.

 

While I agree with Jerry that static grass doesn't always look the best in 2mm, I'm pretty happy with the effect I achieved on Copenhagen Fields by laying static grass (a careful mix of Heki winter grass mix 3mm, some older (I think Noch) 2mm autumn green mix, and unidentified 1mm brighter olive green, which I varied as I went along) over the top of the remaining lint. The effect was very much like Gordon Gravett's recommended static grass over woodland scenics foam scatter approach, but, I would say, even more subtle. The layout has been packed away now, but everyone will get to judge at Preston in a month or two.

 

Either way, the important things are variation and texture. While lint is the closest to scale texture, I think on its own it is too uniform in texture and length to represent natural grass, even if it is relatively easy to vary the colour naturally. By the same token, Silfor mat, which had also been used on Copenhagen Fields on more recent extensions, is just too uniform as well. TomE's Ropley experiments with teddy bear fur seem to be the best grass I've yet seen in 2mm - even though the fibres are probably vastly over scale, because of the variation he has been able to work in by working down from a long fabric. 

[Douglas G]

Hi Justin,

 

Thanks for the information - I will try to get to see Copenhagen Fields again with the new grass covering.

 

The first few samples of absorbent lint arrived in the post today, and so far things are not looking good.  The ones I have received so far seem to have even sparser and shorter fibres than the Robinson Fastaid I have already tried. I doubt they are going to work well with the technique of sticking down the fibres and pulling off the backing. Tim may well be right that the old sort of lint just isn't available any more.

 

And when it comes to the technique you describe being used on Copenhagen Fields, leaving the lint whole with the backing side down, I can't see it working at all with these lints - the weave of the backing is just too obvious beneath the fibres.

 

I will report further and try dyeing and using the lints on a test sample once I have got them all plus the "vintage" Boots surgical lint I have bought for on eBay comparison.

 

Cheers,

Douglas

Edited January 20, 2014 by Douglas G

[carlwooduk]

Douglas

 

For Vale of Oxbury, I too experimented with Lint and was unhappy with my efforts so went down the safe fine scatter route from Woodlands/ Greenscene etc. I too will be experimenting to add fine static grass  later this year.

 

Reading your comments with input from others is very useful for any future project as we all strive to get each layout that bit better and learn from each others experiments.

 

I still have the lint in 2 x 500g packs  its branded "Frank Sammeroff Ltd" and described as Absorbent Lint, if you want a sample send me a PM and I will post on.

Regards

Carl

[Douglas G]

I still have the lint in 2 x 500g packs  its branded "Frank Sammeroff Ltd" and described as Absorbent Lint, if you want a sample send me a PM and I will post on.

Regards

Carl

 

Hi Carl,

 

I had always thought you must have used either lint or static fibres on Vale of Oxbury.  However, looking again at your excellent article in September's Model Rail, I can see now that it is fine scatter you used.  It looks really excellent and the colours you have used are suitably muted to represent the effect of grass seen from a distance.

 

Many thanks for the offer of a sample of the lint you used.  I think it must be the same as one of the products I got today, Europlast brand by Frank Sammeroff Ltd, Glasgow.  I bought it from a seller on eBay who is selling a remaindered batch of 15g packs (best before date June 2013!):

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-Boxes-of-15g-EUROPLAST-Absorbent-LINT-Dressing-Hypoallergenic-Latex-Free-60g-/190925923161

 

It seems this company went bankrupt in 2010 and was taken over by Reliance Medical who produce the product called Relilint I mentioned earlier.

 

In case anyone is thinking of buying some of this product from eBay for grass, the fibres on the Frank Sammeroff Europlast lint are extremely thin and so I wouldn't recommend them. Nevertheless I will give it a go dyeing it and then sticking down the fibres along with the other makes.

 

Douglas

Edited January 20, 2014 by Douglas G

[Douglas G]

As Which? magazine wouldn't do one, I have started a lint grass "supertest" thread in the Scenery, Structures & Transport forum:

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/81391-lint-grass-supertest/

 

Enjoy!

 

Douglas

Edited January 23, 2014 by Douglas G

[Popeye]

Hi Douglas,

 

I don't know if you read 'Adventures in code 55' on this forum, but the author is using static grass to great effect judging by the photos. I can't remember what make or length the fibres are without re-reading the thread. The link goes to the method the author is using, see post 169 for details although the whole thread is a good read    http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/22315-adventures-in-code-55/page-7

 

 

Regards

 

Andy

[Anglian]

I'm really impressed with your work and think Dulverton is one of those incredibly 'modellegenic'[sic] locations. The Hotel looks fabulous and reminds me in mass (and quality) to the Mill on Chipping Norton.

 

If you want to try using acrylic faux fur it has to be coloured using paint. It's synthetic and the only dyes that will work on it are totally unsuitable for having in the house and the process kind of industrial. However, I suggest you get a back issue of MRJ No 186 in which there is a fabulous article how how to get the best from bear fur. I think the author is a member here. In my view it is the best single descriptive piece I've read. I've done a lot of experimentation using fur and feel I've come up with a method which suits me and how I like to work. It's different to that described in the article but I'm happy with the outcome that has that late summer look with long burnt off dried grass. I still think I can improve it further but that's the fun of the hobby. I think it works incredibly well and I prefer it to anything else but in 4mm. I've not yet tried it see how I'd feel about using it for 2mm, given that 2mm is literally long grass and by the time your at 6mm your depicting crops I guess. I think you'd be cutting so much away that the web pattern of the backing coming through could be an issue for you.

 

I know Pete Waterman is keen on burning off the ends but I don't do that to get the result I want, which is quite delicate. I want those long 'stalks' for the pale dead stuff, mentioned above.

 

Something that I picked up from reading about Chipping Norton (2mmFS) that has always stuck with me is the realisation that everywhere outside in daytime (obviously!) is flooded with light and that some modellers get things too dark. Surfaces are often reflecting light and when seen at distance, as depicted by our small models, things appear even lighter. I know you've detailed having this problem. I think spending time looking at the real thing helps no end – it takes away the guess work, you kinda copy what's there just as you do with any other scale modelling. I have meadow near to my home and I literally watch it through the year. Grass changes a lot over the seasons, perhaps more than we really care to realise. It's as much of give away to the season as trees are.

 

Regarding track: I understand you don't want to go down the fine scale route but have you considered the new(ish) range FiNetrack that has an improved appearance over Peco. You can still use the Peco in the fiddle yard? From what I can see of the track layout all the turnouts are standard, unless there is a subtle curve to them that I'm not picking up?

Edited January 24, 2014 by Anglian

[Douglas G]

Hi Douglas,

 

I don't know if you read 'Adventures in code 55' on this forum, but the author is using static grass to great effect judging by the photos. I can't remember what make or length the fibres are without re-reading the thread. The link goes to the method the author is using, see post 169 for details although the whole thread is a good read    http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/22315-adventures-in-code-55/page-7

 

 

Regards

 

Andy

 

Hi Andy,

 

Many thanks for that.

 

I have been looking at "Adventures in Code 55" quite regularly, but don't remember seeing the bit about static grass, perhaps because I was not thinking about it at that stage.

 

I have got samples of various 1-2mm static fibres to try out and am waiting for some of the Polak fibres, which are supposed to be very matt. Some of the fibres I have got so far are looking very shiny.

 

Cheers,

 

Douglas

Edited January 24, 2014 by Douglas G