What would you do with this area?

[garethashenden]

I'm looking for suggestions of how to do the scenery between three sidings on a club layout. We tried static grass and that didn't really work. Partly it didn't work because it didn't stand up, and partly it was too bright a green for our winter layout. The rest of the layout is starting to come together but this area stands out as looking bad. Any suggestions?

 

 

Please excuse the fuzziness of the first picture, I have since cleaned the lens.

[Catkins]

looking at your first pictures, I would suggest COVERING the grass with "dirty" ballast - turn the sidings into a ballast tip.

[muddys-blues]

What does the rest of the layout consist off theme wise ?

 

Happy modelling

Craig.

[garethashenden]

What does the rest of the layout consist off theme wise ?

 

Happy modelling

Craig.

Just to be difficult, everything.

 

The front, including these sidings is the end of a freight only branchline. The back is made of two small boards that lift out and can be replaced by others of the same size. Presently it is two china clay dries c.1970, by March it will be china clay dries c. 1907 (Only the stock changes really). In future there will be a colliery, a narrow gauge exchange, and whatever anyone else wants to build.

 

More on out blog. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1534-the-empire-project/

 

That is part of the problem really. Because the setting moves around the country we can't have anything too distinctive on the permanent sections. It has to be plausible for any part of the country in any part of the twentieth century.

[enginelane]

Just to be difficult, everything.

 

The front, including these sidings is the end of a freight only branchline. The back is made of two small boards that lift out and can be replaced by others of the same size. Presently it is two china clay dries c.1970, by March it will be china clay dries c. 1907 (Only the stock changes really). In future there will be a colliery, a narrow gauge exchange, and whatever anyone else wants to build.

 

More on out blog. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1534-the-empire-project/

 

That is part of the problem really. Because the setting moves around the country we can't have anything too distinctive on the permanent sections. It has to be plausible for any part of the country in any part of the twentieth century.

 

I would add some leaves / foliage to the rubberised hair on the foreground. Brambles etc still retain some leaf material even if it's dead,

 

Where you have removed the static grass I would go back in with a much more fawn / brown mix to re create dead grass and then using pampras grass stem aim to add stalks as if dead flowers

 

There is too much of a hard edge to the chane in foliage from the banking to thectrack bed, it might look better softened and I would use some woodlands scenics under bush, olive to create some clumps

[The White Rabbit]

Polyfibre (Woodland or GreenScene) is useful for smaller stemmed plants/bushes. If you spraypaint it, as well as getting a better base colour, it's easier to stick scatter to it. 

[muddys-blues]

I would add some leaves / foliage to the rubberised hair on the foreground. Brambles etc still retain some leaf material even if it's dead,

Where you have removed the static grass I would go back in with a much more fawn / brown mix to re create dead grass and then using pampras grass stem aim to add stalks as if dead flowers

There is too much of a hard edge to the chane in foliage from the banking to thectrack bed, it might look better softened and I would use some woodlands scenics under bush, olive to create some clumps

I would add some leaves / foliage to the rubberised hair on the foreground. Brambles etc still retain some leaf material even if it's dead,

Where you have removed the static grass I would go back in with a much more fawn / brown mix to re create dead grass and then using pampras grass stem aim to add stalks as if dead flowers

There is too much of a hard edge to the chane in foliage from the banking to thectrack bed, it might look better softened and I would use some woodlands scenics under bush, olive to create some

 

This sounds like an ideal option to me ^^^^

[The Stationmaster]

What you do will inevitably be influenced by the period you are modelling if you want it to fit in with everything else.  

 

Recent diesel era = overgrown; steam era = nice neat, well maintained, walkways; anywhere in-between means walkways in-between those two extremes.  And if it's an area where newly loaded wagons are stabled/shunted then there will always be spillage but where it might go depends on the type of wagons.

[Joseph_Pestell]

China clay is really mucky stuff! The sidings would probably be covered in white sludge.

[garethashenden]

I would add some leaves / foliage to the rubberised hair on the foreground. Brambles etc still retain some leaf material even if it's dead,

 

Where you have removed the static grass I would go back in with a much more fawn / brown mix to re create dead grass and then using pampras grass stem aim to add stalks as if dead flowers

 

There is too much of a hard edge to the change in foliage from the banking to the track bed, it might look better softened and I would use some woodlands scenics under bush, olive to create some clumps

Thanks for these suggestions. I was thinking along the same lines but it's good to have other people say the same thing. I'll have to put brown static grass on the Scaleforum list.

[SteamLover]

I agree - china clay wouldn't be the most aesthetically pleasing solution.  For me, more greenery is a must !