A new project. @ 72 sq. ft. of coverage. On past layouts, we have used a variety of different materials, among which were indoor-outdoor carpeting, felt, paper-backed sheets, sprays etc. All had "pros" and "cons". Based on your experience, what have you found is the best material for a flat surface grass mat (Taking into consideration the "looks" as well as "maintenance" ie. cleaning & dusting)? As always, many thanks.
If you are really concerned about appearance, I wouldn't use a grass mat at all. There is nothing in nature that is a green and uniform in appearance as grass mats. If you are concerned about realism, I would go several layers of ground covering of varied shades and coarseness. I base earth layer should go down first. Whether I'm applying it to plywood or plaster, I will paint the surface with a earth colored latex paint, and while it is still wet, sprinkle on earth colored ground cover. Once this dries you can add as many layers as you choose to get the right text you are trying for. Use a spray bottle to soak this with wet water (water with a drop or two of dishwashing liquid). Then drizzle on white glue or matte medium dilluted with water and let it soak in. When it dries, you'll have a realistic looking ground surface.
jecorbett: You know, we just might try it. Thanks.
I would avoid grass mats like the plague. My last layout was initially covered with grass mats, and I'd never mess with them again.
Kevin
http://chatanuga.org/RailPage.html
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This is a quick way to get a green grass look.
Green paint.
Dead flat varnish and a couple turf colors. Paint the varnish on and sprinkle with ground foam while wet. Work a couple square feet at a time.
When dry you have this. This is a good starting point. from there just keep adding - trees, dirt, etc.
Kevin: pbjwilson: Thanks for your posts.
On my first track (what im working on right now) i used the ready-grass from woodland scenics, and the quality of it is pretty good, but if you dont use the right glue ( i used spray adhesive ) it makes some quite large air bubbles around the track. I think they come in rolls of 4'8' feet, atleast the one i got was. as in the looks, it is pretty nice, and for maintenence, it would not be much of a problem. no grass rubs off, so it works just fine. I don't have a picture right now, but i can post one later if you would like. My final conclusion is that for the large area you are modeling, the ready-grass would be costly(20-30$ for 4'8') and since the air bubbles, if you didnt put it down right, it may cause you to cut out large areas and put more ready-grass on top, or regular grass. and I do agree with jecorbett
Sorry if my post is confusing, But i hope it helps =) Good Luck!!
I agree with some earlier posts - grass mats look horrible, if you want to build a realistically looking layout. If you plan to go for a toy layout, grass mats could be an alternative.
The grass on grass mats is usually affixed with a water soluble glue. If you want to take away the grass in some areas, say to incorporate roads or roadbed for your track, just brush this area with water, let it soak in for a little while and scrape it off. That´s what I did when building my first layout, but I am not telling you how many years back that was!
For a tinplate layout, I always preferred the green indoor-outdoor stuff with a deeper nap. I just covered the entire surface, and tacked the edges on the underside of the layout. Track was laid on top of the carpet for a nice vintage tinplate look.
Advantages of the carpet over commercial grass sheets and sprays were 1) the quieting of both the trains and accessories; 2) didn't tear or create bare spots when drilling holes for wires; 3) easy to clean with a vacuum cleaner; 4) easy to obtain in a big enough piece to go over the edges of 4x8.
Now if you are looking for a more realistic, hi-rail look, that's a very different story.
my thoughts, your choices
Fred W
Pictures are always worth a thousand words.
This is about the flattest area I've got on my layout. I use several layers of fine and medium ground foam fixed in place with a mixture of diluted white glue and rubbing alcohol. I'm working in N Scale, so I want a texture that's pretty tight.
I have some grass mat that's leftover from some projects my dad was working on. He would use it to put a narrow lawn around the 1" =1'0" doll houses he would build. I like the texture of the grass mat, but the color is usually way too bilious to be realistic. But taken in small doses, it could work. One instance I thought it might work would be to represent a growth of meadow grass along a river bank... such as in the foreground below.
It could also be used in small patches to represent meadows on hill sides, as long as the color is toned down and it's blended into some underbrush around its edges. In N Scale, it could also work as a winter wheat field.
Lee
Route of the Alpha Jets www.wmrywesternlines.net
Bob The Train: Sir Madog: Lee: Fred W. AND ALL......Appreciate and value your advice and pictures.