Opinions on grass.

[ausf]

I have the new 1/48 HK B-17 on order. I want to go belly landed, damaged dio. Full Shep Paine homage.

When I got the Monogram version as a kid, I wanted to do that so bad, I actually spent hours with an old rusty hand saw cutting wood just to make saw dust. Imagine my reaction when I went with my mother to the butcher soon after and saw it everywhere on the floor.

While I waiting for the kit, I decided to test making grass to see it's it's worth it or should I just go in a different direction.

I took a piece a blue cardstock, goobered it up with Elmers and shook some flocking out, using one of those cheapie static mosquito zappers. I then sprayed it with the only leftover, pre-thinned green I had on hand, I think it's IJN interior, following after with a boatload of Future, blasted at the base with AB nozzle up against the paper. Reading up on it, mud and water were constant everywhere around the bases in England.

I didn't know what to expect, I'm king of surprised how good it may be when tweaked and done properly. Ignore the color and the stray pieces, nothing is groomed in anyway, this was literally about 20 minutes of a quick test of concept. Of course it would be applied over mud colored ground and there will be bare patches, drainage ditches, etc.

What I need help with is: Is it in scale? Should it be taller? Is it too coarse for 1/48?

 

[moon puppy]

got anything more fine?

 

[ausf]

got anything more fine?

I don't on hand, not sure if there is.

That's probably what's bothering me, it'd be perfect as mowed grass in like 1/16. I was thinking longer so it'd be more like wheat or something I guess instead of grass.

I see a search in my future...

 

[Skinny_Mike]

Personally I think your grass length looks fine. I doubt that WW2 airfields were groomed as well as golf courses.

I've started collecting a lot of scenery products. There are all kinds of options for static grass, including different lengths, colors and materials. There are also all the premade scenic mats. I have found Scenic Express to be one of the bigger retailers of such products.

Scenic Express Site

Try here, maybe get some smaller length stuff.

Hope this helps
Mike

 

[ausf]

Personally I think your grass length looks fine. I doubt that WW2 airfields were groomed as well as golf courses.

I've started collecting a lot of scenery products. There are all kinds of options for static grass, including different lengths, colors and materials. There are also all the premade scenic mats. I have found Scenic Express to be one of the bigger retailers of such products.

Scenic Express Site

Try here, maybe get some smaller length stuff.

Hope this helps
Mike

Thanks Mike.

I found that place earlier and spent a long time looking around. I do have the same length as their shortest on hand, but theirs might be finer. I put a bunch of stuff into the cart, but for some reason the base rate shipping of $11 bugged me for a few ounces of material. I'd be pretty cheesed to drop over $30 to find out it's the exact stuff I have here.

I found a different material, rayon and nylon flocking that is used on fabric for suede like texture as well as duck decoys that'll I'll try first.

 

[centaur567]

I think your grass looks great. As Mike said, airfields are not golf courses, just field grass. I still have my Shep Paine diorama pamphlets. B-17, B-29 and P-61. Gary S. XXXXV XX XX

 

[moon puppy]

Second look I think you're alright with this. I was looking via mobile earlier. Looks better on a widescreen.

 

[ausf]

Second look I think you're alright with this. I was looking via mobile earlier. Looks better on a widescreen.

I held a 1/35 and 1/48 figure to it and it'd be okay height-wise, but a bit thick, blade-wise.

I'm working on a work around: I glued so to clear styrene sheet. Then I can thin it out, make it splotchy and have bare spots, then let the watery dirt color show through from beneath. So the grass would appear to be the tops of marshy stuff. Then any drag marks of the 17 can also be filled in swampy.

And then I can have some splash marks, etc. A whole lotta stuff to add in.

 

[moon puppy]

I can't visualize that so I'll pull up the

 

[Barney]

I was stationed at RAF Mildenhall from '77 to '81. I also visited many open and closed RAF Bases (I was the equipment custodian for several small remote sites). Your grass looks fine. RAF Bases, especially in the '30s through WW2 were not the neatly manicured lawns we see in movies. Many of the smaller fields, especially Auxiliary Fields were just pastures that cows had to be chased from. I remember an old Brit who owned a hobby shop saying that the purpose of a diorama was to suspend our disbelief. Today we would probably say "Just Do It!"

 

[ausf]

Thanks all.