I am making a model of this section of Harvard Yard, near to Sever Gate. The four holes in the walkway are all that is left of the tent that was errected for the gala fundraiser that was thrown at the closing of the Fogg Art Museum for its renovation in 2008. It's a quiet reminder of what was a very big night.
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Either side of the path is a patchy lawn
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Can anyone please advice me on products and techniques, or point me to a step-by-step on how to model a lawn like this? This is my first time modelling lawn and all my attempts thus far are so laughable that I have not even taken photos.
Thank you so much for your help.
One of the most successful tools I have seen used for grass is the "static grass applicator". There's a number of companies that make and sell these, even home made ones. The good part is that when using it, the grass only sticks to the area where you have applied glue. And it stands up after application due to the 'static'.
If you cover your base with a mixture of browns to simulate the bare spots and after that dries, apply the 'grass' in spots, you should get good results. One thing is NOT to use all one color of grass mixture. The grass is available from Noch, Scenic Express and others in a variety of colors. Mix them to get a shade you like and then apply.
Here's a post that Dallas did on the subject: http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=39828 (http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=39828)
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If you follow the link that Dave provided, you'll see the results that I was able to get as a "newbie" with a static grass applicator -- could be improved, but definitely encouraging!
Here's a link to another RRL forum member who's a bit further along in that regard, and he has some good points about layering the static grasses, etc:
http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=33524&whichpage=12
Cheers,
Dallas
Haha, did anybody here realize the hilarious title of this thread? We might attract some new members... ;D
What does Scenic Express charge for a dime bag these days, anyway?
I've found that putting the brown/tan grass down first in patches without using the static gets more realistic results, and then tamping it down to make sure it lays flat. The deadish grass usually lays down and forms a layer underneath the newer live grass.
Narayan,
I immensly dislike trying to do large grass areas...it takes a lot of skill, time and hard work, to get them to look realistic.
Seeing this thread, ,my first thought was also static grass. I do like Bexley's idea about putting down the dead grass first. For dead, dried brownish grass, I really like the look and texture of the Diorama Materials #MD01 'El Grass' The nice thing about it is the color, the way it takes color/staining if wished, and the absolute matte finish (the sheen of most static and grss products drives me nuts) The poduct comes in short and prett even lengths, so I tent to pour out a little pile on a cutting surface, and with a single edged raor, draw it out into a line, and then chop the line to get va variety of lengths...repeat as desired.
Another option instead of static grass would be one of the grass mattes from Model Scene....they make a variety of color mixes, grass lengths and textures...some with open spaces and gaps, as seen in your photos. I hae seen stunning work done with these, but I personally have not fully mastered them, and they do have pitfalls, such as the backing thickness, and the sheen of the grss material, as well as the fact that the grass is all the same dia/size, top to bottom. The backing thickness can be solved by thinning down using scissors, and the sheen can be solved using an airbrush and some Tamiya colors or matte finish on them. The grass heights can be varried or changedd beyond what the mfr offers by using scissors, or an old electrig razor or nose-hair trimmer
I personally feel that both the static grass and the matt ooptions ban benefit from additional coloring or dusting with a matte and or "light dust" color, to help unify, tone down, and match the coloring feel, to that of the rest of the scene.
I would also recommend carefully looking at the grass.....is it more yellow/tan at the lower portion and greener at the top, this type of coloring effect may steer you toward experimenting with/buying a more tan or light colored product, then once it is down, using colors to darken the upper portions.
Though I look forward to seeing how you go about this, and the results you achieve, I do not envy you the task at hand.
Yes, Marc is right- always paint your grass! It helps keep it from looking too uniform, and dulls the shine a bit as well.
I knew why there was a reason why I had avoided grassy areas!
Thank you very much everyone for your advice. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.
Fortunately the grass strips are not so big 7/8" x 5" and 3/8" x 5" I will collect the necessary equipment and maker some posts when I get a result that is worth showing.
Page 15 of the link Dallas provided will give more info on the bare spots you are looking for. Martin has become somewhat of an expert on grass ;D ;D and his thread develops some great techniques.
Narayan,
Off-topic, but I ran across this image from Boston, and it made me think of you and your projects.
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I too dislike the sheen of many grass products-I sprayed Dullcote over the Silflor grass that I used.
Thank you all for your help with selecting the best grass...I ended up buying a grasmaster2 from Noch and a selection of nylon "grasses" and mixed my own special batches. In any case I did finish my little section of Harvard Yard. I used dirt from Harvard Yard as a base and also bits of foliage that I dried out in an oven. Here are the photos.
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Narayan
Looks good to me! Short cropped grass I think is harder to do.
The closeup looks 1:1 scale. -- Russ
Nice! I like the four indentations. They break up the large expanse of asphalt and add a bit of a focal point.
Yes! You've definitely captured the look of the original posted at the top of the thread. Nice work! -- Dallas