Grass.

you can get static grass for a realistic form, or you can get plain stuff from model stores[:0]

Hello,
Noch -a german model railroad company produces static grass which comes in a sprinkle type bottle. They also manufacture sheets of "grass" to put down on top of a train layout board. I bought a roll of this material and cut out sections and glued them to wooden bases to represent an airfield. It worked out rather well. You can purchase Noch products at most good hobby shops that carry model railroad supplies.

I've tried some of the 'sprinkle on' model railway grass, but I just can't seem to get it to look right. Maybe i'm just being too critical.

The 'sheets of grass' idea sounds interesting though, kind of model astroturf. I'll have a look for that.

I've used a lot of that sprinkle on static grass. Had great results. I think the company is K & M or something like that. Trick is, paint your surface first then sprinkle on picking up a small amount with your thumb and fingers and gently rub it back and forth to make it fall in small amounts. If it clumps too much I have used a half inch wide paint brush (dry and clean)to even it out I usually spray the white fixing glue on afterward but I guess you can do it before. I've used this on 4 dioramas where the grass is slight to a field full.

jdeltaarrow thanks for that, very helpful.

I suspect the stuff I've been sprinkling is not the same stuff you guys are talking about. The only 'grass' my local model shop has is like coloured sawdust. But I've checked some pictures on model railway websites after searching on the 'Noch' stuff that jack21771 mentioned and it looks totally different.

I suspect I need a product change!

Try getting some felt and lightly brushing it with a wire brush. You get the effect of a grassy area with clumps growing ramdomly. Got the idea from one of the railroad layout books that Kalmbach markets. Good reference with plenty of ideas for model settings.

Noch calls it "Static" grass because when applied correctly you can make it stand up with the use of static electricity. They (Noch) actually sell a static "Gun" or tool to accomplish this.

Actually, Phantom, don't knock the sawdust! Back in the early 70's I made a diorama using just that. I added green food color to one batch of fine sawdust and yellow to another batch, then, when dry, blended the two until I had the color I wanted. It was beautiful! Sprayed with clearcoat afterwards, it never bled.

Static grass is made of small pieces of polyester fibres. It comes in many different colors, but the most common are greens and browns. I've used this stuff on bases for both my armor and aircraft models.

I simply sprinkle it on over white glue-soaked dirt. (Real dirt!) I always put way more on than is needed. Then I blow over the surface of the base and this does two things. It will remove the excess material (make sure you blow into a container so you don't lose all of this excess stuff) and it will make what's left stand up.

When it's all dry, I then paint it a dark green. Then I drybrush successive coats of lighter greens, yellows and browns. Then I finish it off with some washes of Rustall Black as well as some homemade stuff. (The recipe is top-secret! )
Follow ups with some touch-up drybrushing may be neccessary, but that's about it.

In conclusion, I shall finish by ending.

Fade to Black...