ADD EXTRA TEXTURE AND SHADE TO GREENERY

I am just about to plant static grass on my layout but, following a walk in the countryside, I’ve realised that not all grass is the same shade of green. Any suggestions on how I can make sure my static grass looks realistic? I don’t want it to look like a carpet of vivid green, as it will look like an artificial lawn!

James S, Paulersbury

Peter says: The key to planting realistic static grass is threefold:

◆ Use static grass fibres of different lengths.

◆ Use static grass fibres with a subdued colour.

◆ After a ‘base’ coat of grass, allow the glue to dry before overplanting some areas with different coloured fibres, plus varying shades of scatter material.

In my experience, Woodland Scenics grass fibres have some of the best subdued colours, which can be intermixed to further vary the shades of the landscape. Bear in mind that most of the mainstream sources of grass fibres are produced for Continental or North American markets, so they may not represent the appearance of the UK’S landscape straight from the pack.

Indeed, some of Noch’s more recent grass fibre packs have been better suited to Uk-outline layouts, thanks to the introduction of the Muted Colours packs (refs. 08321‑4).

I usually start off by covering around 30% of the ground with fine sand, sprinkled over a coat of wet PVA glue. When dry, this is then painted to represent bare earth, aiming to replicate the shade of soil found in a particular location (reddish-brown for Herefordshire, for instance). Once the acrylic paint has fully dried, I treat most of the land area with a coat of white glue (PVA), and plant a layer of light green 2mm static grass fibres, using an electrostatic grass applicator.

The next step, once the glue has dried, is to dab on more glue on top of, say, 50% of the planted grass fibres. While the glue is wet, a layer of 4mm medium green fibres is applied via the electrostatic tool. This is followed the

next day with a sparse application of 7mm long dark green fibres, working over less than 15% of the total area. This will give me clumpy areas of grass and weed, which can be located strategically near water courses, marshy areas or around the edges of fields, depending on your needs.

The following day, I dip my fingertip in PVA and gently wipe the glue over the tips of the planted fibres. Fine scatter material, of different textures and shades of green, is then sprinkled over the wet glue.

Static grass fibres are available in many different shades of green and various lengths. They’re available from a huge range of manufacturers.

The scatter material – a mix of different shades of green – are applied lightly over the wet glue. This introduces further texture and suggests leafy vegetation.

A blob of white PVA glue, applied via a fingertip over previous layers of grass fibres, allows fine scatter materials to be applied.