Using grass for grass

billk

Active Member
Last weekend while mowing my I had an idea which may or may not be original - modelling grass using, well, grass. I collected up a bunch of the clippings and used some window screening as a sieve. After passing the clipping through the screen 3-4 times I was left with very fine particles, almost powdery. Gluing it onto a surface using diluted white glue left a very (to me anyway) realistic appearance.
Advantages:
Its cheap (free)
It has a naturally varied coloration
It provides me with motivation to mow.
Disadvantages:
Will it keep its color? (But real grass turns brown too, with the seasons)
Will it get moldy or attract insects?
It's not available year-round, at least where I live.
 
My wife uses a green foam block in the bottom of her vase when arranging flowers, here its called "Oasis",found a piece of this that had been thrown out and had been lying in the sun and was full of dust. It had started to break down and crumbled into dust when I handled it,leaving me with a greeny-brown grass like powder. I use a fine kitchen strainer to sprinkle onto a base of diluted white glue, Its realistic like you cant believe and its cheap. Grass fields are not only green !!!
 

billk

Active Member
Andy - Thanks for your reply - a prairie fire (in any scale) wasn't what I had in mind! Seriously, though, and probably a new topic, how much thought do any of us put in about the flammability of the various materials that we use on our layouts? There's wood, plastics, solvents, foam, etc. Is this a matter of concern -- or should it be?

Jimmybeersa - Thanks to you as well. Question - did the exposure to the sun change the coloration, or could one just get a hunk of that stuff and grind, or sand, it into a powder?
Bill K

[This message has been edited by billk (edited 06-24-2001).]
 
Billk My wife says it comes in a creamy colour as well as green, it breaks down every easy but exposure to ulta violet makes it bio degradeable,she gets it fron the Florist and it comes in 8" square blocks , I allways have some lying on the roof of my shed to give to my pals with layouts. it does discolour to different shades
 

Matthyro

Will always be re-membered
I have followed Jimmybeersa tip already and put the chunks of this florists foam into an old meat grinder and it produces a powder not unlike the ground foam we buy and yes it's cheap and I got quite a bit from dead flower arrangements. (and from some not so dead)
I now just grind it up without putting it into the sun.
 

George

Member
Hi Billk!

Am I assuming correctly that you dried your grass before you "strained" it?

It will turn brown, but it won't turn green again with the seasons. Too much together and it will turn to slimy mush if it's not dried before use.

Depending on where you live, try moss. The only problem is that you have to be able to get enough, it requires low light, so pin spotting a scene is out, and you have to mist it to keep it alive. The misting can warp nearby plastic buildings and accessories, rust metal etc.

I always thought it would be interesting to make a small forest scene using moss and Bansai trees, especially for larger scales.

George.
 

Bill Clark

New Member
Hey! Doesn't the green foam stuff give you a lot of grief with static? I tried scraping it into a powder and it about drove me nuts!

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Bill Clark
Edson, Alberta
 
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