Diorama Grass

I had some succes with sisal twine. I unraveled fibres and planted them with a dot of Elmer's. Leaving the resultant grass alone was good for dormant or dead grass. Mixing up some olive green watercolour and just touching the brush quickly to the fibre usually gave it the 'live' look. The colour would wick down the strand. Wait for the Elmer's to dry before colouring the strands.

Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.

Here ya go... this will produce perfect long grass, every time.

For a cheaper alternative try the Static Grass Applicator

I just found some great stuff for the shorter grass in the hobby shop. The diorama surface was supposed to simulate a sod runway area. This stuff is a sheet with a fuzzy grass already on it. Very easy to use. And, the grass is not all a uniform color, but shades of green and brown. It was in the model railroad section.

The twine technique is excellent for weeds and longer grass. Also I save old small paint brushes. Rather than throwing them out I use the bristle as weeds and taller grass.

when I apply grass to my dioramas I brush or spray dull coat or any type of adhesive to the surface where the grass goes. Once applied and before it drys sprinkle the grass over the adhesive once everything drys gently blow the excess off

Thanks, guys.Plenty of stuff to look into and try.TomOn Feb 24,

wrote:> >Anybody have suggestions as to technique for adding tall grass/weeds> >to a vignette/diorama?> > >I'm using standard railroad diorama grass, which seems to be a pain in>

is probably deerskin with 4 cm length hair from GoodWill> (read cheap). =A0That provides a lot of browned grass of just the right>

stiffness and shape, the shape being a taper to a point at the tip. I>

haven't figured how to dye fur hairs green yet. =A0Any suggestions?> >

Cutting Dollar Store nylon wig fibers (many suitable diorama colors>

available) doesn't quite do the job as simulated grass as the fibers>

are of equal diameter, they curl up into unrealistic shapes and they>

can't stand up realistically if more than a centimetre or so. =A0> > To anchor fur hairs onto the ground I used acrylic Sludge (follow up>

link below for details). =A0Brush a coat or Sludge onto the base. =A0Dip>

the bottom of a tuft of fur hairs to ensure a good bond between the>

hair and the base. =A0Then use screendoor mesh to spread out and to>

support the hairs while the Sludge gels. =A0Gelling should occur within>

Acrylic Sludge is a wonderful modelling product and I keep finding new> uses for it. =A0Its color is like the purplish lint from a clothes>

dryer. =A0As it dries it shrinks into a thin meniscus and practically>

disappears from sight. =A0I use Sludge to attach equipment for 1/35>

figures. =A0You can paint the figures and equipment separately. =A0When>

dry and ready just daub a glob of Sludge, yes a glob, =A0onto the>

equipment and press it onto the figure as is. =A0That is there is no>

need to scrape off the paint for the glue spot and there is no need to> touch up any excess dried glue. =A0The adhesion is better than any glue> bond and its practically invisible. =A0You have to try it to appreciate> its properties. =A0Sludge will also "glue" different materials. =A0I used> screen door mesh as screen covers for my 1/25 German tank rear deck> screens. =A0They went on beautifully, showed no signs of any "gluing"> and did not need touching up. =A0The best part is if you make a mistake> all you need to do is peel off the part and scrape off the Sludge> skin. =A0The original paint work will be unharmed.> > Sludge =A0

by-product of acrylic paint manufacturing. It is the combination of>

the precipitated solids amassed from our wash water, which has then>

been re-processed into thick and thin acrylic paint formats.

I'm still waiting for someone to make the obvious suggestion...plant Chia Pet grass on the diorama. Then the next obvious step...Bonsai trees. :-D

Pat

I had real good luck when I bought a decorative broom from a craft store (Michael's?). The broom was made in the old style, think witch's flying stick. Cost me a couple of bucks (after Halloween) and gave me enough strands for about a dozen dioramas and vignettes. I would tie off a group, maybe a =BD" to =BE" in diameter, with a string, cut them to the desired length and glue them using Elmer's White Glue. Wait until the glue has set before you cut the binding string. The broom that I bought was the color of dried grass, but there were others in various shades of green and brown as well.

I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with electrostatics.