The Latest Opinions on Static Grass

scottmitchell74 Mar 23, 2014

  1. scottmitchell74

    scottmitchell74 TrainBoard Member

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    My static grass applicator came in the mail, and now I've been looking at static grass. I was wondering what the thoughts were around here about the different brands. I've seen some fantastic looking pics, and have been reading older threads, but I was curious about the latest developments and opinions on different brands of static grass. *This is for N Scale*
    Thanks!
     
  2. Metro Red Line

    Metro Red Line TrainBoard Member

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    What kind, and how much was it? I'm gonna be doing the static thing pretty soon.
     
  3. YoHo

    YoHo TrainBoard Supporter

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    I'd say that between heki, noxh and silflor they're all decent. Woodland Scenics is not as good and has less variety, but is easier to find.
     
  4. scottmitchell74

    scottmitchell74 TrainBoard Member

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    I got this one on Ebay - It was up for bid with free shipping and it ended up being $31.00. I can't spring for one of those $150-200 ones, so I'm going to try this one.

    http://i00.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v2/...tic-Grass-Applicator-SCENIC-MODELLING-NEW.jpg

    Yoho - thanks for your response.

    Curious to hear about other experiences people have had.
     
  5. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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    The one thing I do is NEVER EVER only use one grass color any time I apply the grass. This helps to take away some of the issues with the WS grasses. I mix up the different colors, sometimes well, other times leaving it clumpy, and then apply to my area. Makes for a much more natural look, since, unless it is a baseball field, you rarely see anything uniform.

    I like the longer (4mm / 6mm) Silfor grasses for California hillsides, more realistic colors, and variations in length is also good.
     
  6. oregon trunk

    oregon trunk TrainBoard Member

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    I have used Woodland scenics static grass and I have liked how it works when applied with the Noch static grass applicator. I would like to give the others a try but they are hard to find and we dont have a hobby shop within a hundred miles. With the woodland scenic grass I apply the first coat of mixtures of differnt types of grass, then with extra hold hair spray, I give it a good coating and apply a second coat which stack on the first to give me longer grass.
     
  7. Hytec

    Hytec TrainBoard Member

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    I need a second coat to soften the ugly color of the first coat, but hadn't thought of hair spray. Thanks
    Never know what you'll learn on the Train Board. :)
     
  8. rsn48

    rsn48 TrainBoard Member

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    I second the vote for using a blend and the longer stuff going in second.
     
  9. Metro Red Line

    Metro Red Line TrainBoard Member

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    What scale are you talking about? I'm actually going to do golden grass on rolling California hillsides for my layout.
     
  10. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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    N. I use the 4mm for the hills, with a bit of 6mm mixed in. Gives one nice tall grass, and the occasional longer.
     
  11. Metro Red Line

    Metro Red Line TrainBoard Member

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    Do you have pics of your hills anywhere?
     
  12. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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  13. MisterBeasley

    MisterBeasley TrainBoard Supporter

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    Here's some on my layout:

    [​IMG]

    I have 2 colors each of 2, 4 and 6 mm grasses. The 2 mm is from Woodland Scenics and the others are from Silflor. I mix them up, too, but I apply them in batches rather than as a uniform mix. I apply a 1:4 mix of white glue and water with a brush. Once the glue is set for 24 hours, I go over it with a plastic comb to straighten it and pick up loose pieces, and vacuum around the edges to pick up the strays.

    I also have one of the cheapo units. It works just fine.

    I model in HO, and if I had to choose one length of grass I would go with the 4mm. The 2mm stuff from WS comes out looking "fuzzy" rather than "grassy," to my eyes.

    I had to order my Silflor static grass, but my LHS was able to get it for me. I was at a train show over the weekend, a decent sized one, but no one had static grass at all.
     
  14. RBrodzinsky

    RBrodzinsky November 18, 2022 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter In Memoriam

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    Here is another view

    [​IMG]
     
  15. TrCO

    TrCO TrainBoard Member

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    Here's my contribution:

    [​IMG]

    My grasses are all Silflor as I found they had the best variety, and am very pleased with the results they have provided thus far. What you see here is a mix of three colors, and 2 and 4mm lengths, all applied at the same time.
     
  16. Alan

    Alan Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I am very impressed with the look of static grass in the photos above and others I have seen. Always meant to give it a try, but my next layout will be an industrial area, with little or no grassy parts!

    Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
     
  17. Hytec

    Hytec TrainBoard Member

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    Alan, I had the same feeling until I Googled photos of old B&M yards and surrounds. I was amazed at how random smatterings of weeds and scrub significantly enhanced the scene. (please understand that the yard is a WIP)

    [​IMG]
     
  18. Alan

    Alan Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Thanks Hank, will see how my forthcoming layout develops :)

    Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
     
  19. sandro schaer

    sandro schaer TrainBoard Member

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    i use blended woodland scenics grass in a pimped noch grassmaster ( i run it at 12volts)
     
  20. YoHo

    YoHo TrainBoard Supporter

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    For industrial areas, use the tufts which are basically premade static grass clumps. Perfect for simulating weeds.

    Sent from my RM-845_nam_vzw_100 using Tapatalk
     

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