A Static Grass Applicator for less than a tenner .

[shropshire lad]

  Is he back yet ?    No ? 

    Good . So while the Head Honcho , The Big Cheese  and all round Top Cat ( better known as Mr. Fluffy on this side of the Pond ) is away taking pictures of N Scale layouts and critters with bells and whistles , there is just enough time left for us mice to rule the roost . My contribution is one of the above mentioned gadgets made for less than ten . Be that £ , $ or Euros .

  This , of course , is not my idea , but something that I came across on U Tube . whilst I had already heard of the possibility of making a grass applicator out of a bug zapper , I had not seen it done . After watching the U Tube videos I went out and bought the necessary equipment . Basically , a bug zapper and a metal tea strainer . Simple really .

  The photos probably explain better than words , but essentially the wire(s) that are attached to the mesh is attached to the tea strainer and the other wire is attached to the earth "pole" , in this case an aluminium nail . You will see from the photo that I haven't bothered to make it look pretty and tidy all the wires up , but it wouldn't take much to make it look better .

  I have tried it with several different static grasses and have come to the conclusion that the really short grasses are a waste of time by themselves as the effect they give can be achieved better by other ways . However , used in combination with the longer grass can look effective . I started by covering an area with glue and applying a certain amount of the short grass . I did not fill the whole area , but left enough gaps for the long grass to attach itself to the glue .

   This is definitely a case of trying it out for yourself and see what works best for you . I have just spent a few minutes playing around on a piece of foam just ascertaining for myself whether it works or not . It seems to . Whether it is better than the ones that cost big bucks I couldn't say , and I'm not likely to find out as I don't intend buying one , but for the money it actually costs who cares . For the amount of grass I'm likely to want to lay it will suit my purposes admirably .

  To test to see if it is actually working all you need to do is touch the nail on the tea strainer when you have it turned on . It should give a satisfying spark .

   I'm off to make the Missus's hair stand on end !

  Nick

[shropshire lad]

A couple of more shots

[lab-dad]

The close up looks pretty good!
How does it compare to the silfor (sp?) premade stuff?
How about trying "tufts"?

did it straighten or curl the missus hair?

-Mj

[Belg]

Im starting to wonder if he's still breathing after trying it

[marc_reusser]

Shocking!....pretty cool Nick!.......now I will definitely have to get on the electric grass bandwagon......

...anyone know where one can buy one of these bug-things in the US?......other than in the south, where I am sure they are probably sold at Walmart  or the Qiuk-E Mart, right next to the Nascar hats, Budweiser, Moon-Pies, Little-Debbies, and pork rinds.  

M

[RoughboyModelworks]

  ( better known as Mr. Fluffy on this side of the Pond )
  Nick

Mr. Fluffy....

Excellent results Nick... sure beats sticking the damn things in one at a time...

Marc: Harbor Freight would seem a good possibility, though you may not find as many Moon-Pies, Little Debbies and pork rinds...

Paul

[danpickard]

Just a thought,
Do you reckon that with one of them bug zapper thingy's, that looks like you still actually have to swipe at the bug anyway, that the impact square on the bugs head would be enough to initiate a fairly numbing death as it is, without the added thrill of putting a few volts through them?

Or is it more for the lazy exterminator that prefers to just sit and wait for the bug to fly into it

Dan
(ohh, grass looks great Nick)

[John McGuyer]

Those fly zappers sound like almost as much fun as hunting black widows with my propane torch.

John

[Ray Dunakin]

Very interesting!

I've never seen a hand-held, "tennis racket" type bug zapper before. I wonder if they are available in the US?


Edit: I just googled "handheld bug zapper" and found lots of them online.

[shropshire lad]

The close up looks pretty good!
How does it compare to the silfor (sp?) premade stuff?
How about trying "tufts"?

did it straighten or curl the missus hair?

-Mj

  Costwise there is no comparison , the static grass wins hands down . I think I would have to do some more trials to compare the finishes , but I suspect Silflor will be denser .
  I suppose if I put a dollop of glue onto a piece of glass I could have a go at making some tufts , but as I've just spent a small fortune on grass tufts made by Fredericus Rex / Green Line Scenery ( German company ) I'm not sure I actually need to yet . By the way those are the tufts to go for these days . Silflor is " so last week " !
I don't know if you can get them in the States , but if you can't , tough .   You lot can't always have what you want .

   I chickened out of zapping the Missus's hair as she gave me one of her looks !

   Nick

[shropshire lad]

Just a thought,
Do you reckon that with one of them bug zapper thingy's, that looks like you still actually have to swipe at the bug anyway, that the impact square on the bugs head would be enough to initiate a fairly numbing death as it is, without the added thrill of putting a few volts through them?

Or is it more for the lazy exterminator that prefers to just sit and wait for the bug to fly into it

Dan
(ohh, grass looks great Nick)

  Dan ,

   It takes a surprising amount of skill to actually zap a fly as they have this irritating habit of moving away just as you are about to get them . I have found that the best way is to come up from below and behind them . That way they die with a surprised look on their faces !

  On balance , they are probably of more use as grass applicators than fly killers  , but it is quite fun trying to get the buggers . For about 5 minutes , then it gets boring . After that  you'll resort to the old flypaper method .

  Nick

[RoughboyModelworks]

This bug zapper tutorial reminds me of a humorous episode many years ago (nothing to do with modeling but everything to do with bug zappers).

One summer in the early '80s while on vacation in Maine, I was enjoying an evening at a bar in Kennebunkport, Maine. They had a deck, equipped with a very large bug zapper, that jutted out over part of the inner harbor. Several of us were out boozing it up in the comfort of the deck on a warm evening. Inside the bar, they had a piano lounge. The woman playing the piano was, to put it kindly, terrible. The kind of performer who, if someone were to ask you what you thought of their execution, you would reply that you were in favour of it. While she was playing indoors, those of us outdoors were enjoying the sound and light spectacular provided by the zapper. As the zapper action grew increasingly frantic, so did our vocal appreciation and ultimately everyone in the bar, minus the piano player and bartender, was drawn out to the deck to enjoy the show. The piano player was left alone playing to an empty bar. The June bugs, or some large and juicy equivalent, drew the most applause of the evening.

Paul

[shropshire lad]

This bug zapper tutorial reminds me of a humorous episode many years ago (nothing to do with modeling but everything to do with bug zappers).

One summer in the early '80s while on vacation in Maine, I was enjoying an evening at a bar in Kennebunkport, Maine. They had a deck, equipped with a very large bug zapper, that jutted out over part of the inner harbor. Several of us were out boozing it up in the comfort of the deck on a warm evening. Inside the bar, they had a piano lounge. The woman playing the piano was, to put it kindly, terrible. The kind of performer who, if someone were to ask you what you thought of their execution, you would reply that you were in favour of it. While she was playing indoors, those of us outdoors were enjoying the sound and light spectacular provided by the zapper. As the zapper action grew increasingly frantic, so did our vocal appreciation and ultimately everyone in the bar, minus the piano player and bartender, was drawn out to the deck to enjoy the show. The piano player was left alone playing to an empty bar. The June bugs, or some large and juicy equivalent, drew the most applause of the evening.

Paul

  What did they taste like ?   Well , you did eat them after they were barbequed , didn't you ?

   They would have in Australia . I'm sure they would have been rated as " fair dinkums bush tucker" . Or words to that effect . I guess I've been watching to much Crocodile Dundee .


   Nick

[RoughboyModelworks]

Well it was a tapas bar afterall....

Paul

[MrBrownstone]

Hey Guy's,

I found some of those rackets... well 3 of them anyway

that means I have 2 available "paid $6.00 USD each" that plus shipping and its yours. (thats if you guys still were looking for one)

this model takes 2 D cell battries

Mike