Spurs

[Anonymous]

I have been planning a shelf railroad for some time now and was wondering how to make spurs look like they are only used once a month or so. I have seen in the prototype pictures that there is almost no ballast and grass is growing up past the rail head. I have also seen the 'sprinkle-on grass' and it looks like someone comes out with a lawn mower. Is there anything that looks more realistic? Thanks
~Brian~

[cwclark]

woodland scenics makes a tall grass but the stuff is really tedious to work with...take a clump of it and cut it with scissors to the length you want, awl a hole in the layout , add some elmers glue to the hole and plant the strands of grass in the hole with tweezers...it looks good when you are done but you'll need a whole lot of patience to plant enough of the tall grass for the the scene to look realistic ...Chuck

[egmurphy]

Other Woodland Scenics products would help also. When you speak of "sprinkle on grass" that probably equates to their "Fine Turf" product, which by itself yields a flat surface. But they also make coarser grinds of foam, including "Coarse Turf", and "Clump Foliage" in both "Underbrush" and "Bushes". Those three products are progressively coarser grinds of foam, and a judicious mix of those will also help create the 3-D effect you want. You can also their "Field Grass", as Chuck mentioned, although i would think that would be more to highlight certain sections rather than an overall effect.

First photo just has "Fine Turf", the second one has some "Coarse Turf" and "Underbrush" added. It's not the effect you are looking for on the rails, but just to give you an idea.







Regards

Ed

[rexhea]

That looks real good, ED.

REX

[egmurphy]

Thanks, Rex. Actually it "looked" good until RailImages (my photo hosting site) went down again for exceeding bandwidth usage. Hopefully they'll get the situation straightened out and working again before too long. It takes out my NdeM logo in my signature too. [:(]


Regards

Ed

[catweasel]

In England modellers have used the sound insulation from automobiles to represent long grass. I'm not sure if the same material is available in the USA, but something similar may be. It is like a half--inch thick felt, usually with one side treated with a black paint-like finish.

The method is to apply spots of PVA (Elmers?) to the ground where the grass is required then place the insulation, untreated side down, onto the glue and leave it 24 hours to dry. When dry, pull the insulation from the model. Tufts of insulation will remain attached where the glue has been applied. These can then be trimmed with scissors, razor, etc, to the desired length, and then painted or dyed to the required colour. I would recommend doing a test piece on a scrap of wood before trying it on you model to make sure you can obtain the desired result.

[Anonymous]

While we are on the topic of grasses and shrubs and what not, what could I use for realistic black berry vines? I have already tried using moss from an oak tree but it seemed out of scale. Thanks again.
~Brian~

[cwclark]

Have you tried to use woodland scenic's poly fiber?...it is good for tall grass and for vines..it can be stretched very thin and with a bit of ground foam glued to it, will make very nice vines...the ground foam itself can be used to make vines by painting glue in the shape of the vine branches onto a wall or outcrop with a small thin artist's brush..then sprinkle on the ground foam...the pieces that hit the glue will stick to the glue and the rest will fall away..once the glue has dried it makes a nice looking vine....chuck[:D]

[Anonymous]

A lower profile rail always looks good on spurs (one code lower than the main line). If you are using code #100 on the mainline, use #83 on the sidings and spur. Paint the lower portion of the rail a rust color (avoid covering the head of the rail). Some broken ties here and there and lichens (dark, forest green or fall) sprinkled over patchy areas of [brush applied] clear varnish yields a rustic look. Faller, Cambell Scale Models, Kibri, Life-Lke, Preiser, Woodland Scenery ["foilage material'] all have lichen material available in may colors. After the varnish has dried, just vacuum or brush away loose excess foilage material. Be careful, although "Mother Nature" is random, she is not always "best" for the appearance of your pike. There are often chemical stains between rails (sidings) and the ballast takes on a generally darker color with uneven (erroded) edges. Some less used sidings always seem to have a heavily weathered godndola, flat, hopper or tank car languishing about. Hope this is helpful. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I know the look your after. Woodland Scenics has a relatively new product called Static Grass Flock. It comes in various shades and in a shaker bottle. After spraying on either scenic cement or five parts water to one part Elmers glue to where you want the grass flock to be, follow up by shaking on the flock grass. When you shake on the grass it creates an electro static charge when it comes out of the bottle and tends to make the grass stand up when it hits the glue rather than laying flat. Be sure to apply the grass while the glue is still wet. Add clumps of field grass and I think you'll like the results. By the way, Woodlands Scenics has a tool to aid in applying the field grass. Would suggest you practice with the static grass first to get the hang of it before applying to your spur.
Good luck and have fun with it.

Jack