Track Studies 5 – Grass

Time for some grass. The secret is layers – short grass first then longer grass later. I’ve stopped using grass right out of the box and now mix different colors, lengths and brands (Heki, Silflor, Noch and more) to create a range of grass types.

It’s good to have a selection of different colors, makes and lengths. The ability to take a scene and be able to match the grass exactly is the goal. I’m always adding to the collection. Silflor is my favorite as the grass has a nice texture and weight to it. The Silflor colors are flat but often I’ll add other brands such as Heki or Noch to the mix to make the grass pop. One can also spray the grass to vary the colors.

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Track Studies 2 – Raw materials

I wanted to model track vignettes – little scenes where I could explore the rapid changes that occur from tie to tie. Three ties may be split or moved over to an angle, others may have been splintered. Dust may have stained a few more and vegetation might have spread across another group. I wanted to model all these effects.

I built series of small testing platforms in order to work on short stretches of track. They were made of foam board and no other support. Once glue goes down on these boards they can warp but these pieces are so small (5.5 inches by 3 inches) that any warping was not noticeable.

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