I know it's a stupid question, but I've spent 2 happy hours gazing down on the railroad section and didn't find any. I did, however, find bags of green powderlike stuff used for grass in railroad scenery.
Is this the thing I'm looking for? Is static grass really mixed into "mud" to be applied on models? What is the reason for that?
Thanks for your time. Should you have any suggestions about making groundwork, I'd be appreciated.

Phwoar, where do we start Andras?!!
Sounds like you have static grass. The idea is for it to be laid and then through a static charge it could be stood on end for a more realistic appearance once in place. It can be used in mud mixture to simulate thrown mud from say a churned up grassy field...
I mean if you think logically, a tank crossing a grassy field will throw up dirt and clods at least, and in these will be substantial churned up amounts of the surface grass, so it stands to reason to be caught in the running gear and guards and tracks etc .
BUT, the best stuff I have seen commercially for dioramas is from Heki or Silflor (do a search) They both have grass mats which take the hassle out of sprinkling individual grass fibres around... Lay down with PVA/wood glue on your base/landscape (once it's finished and painted if necessary) to use either type.
They have all the seasonal changes in shades covered also. You can even get grass mats that have tussocks randomly inserted to give the feel of an untended field; very realistic stuff and the way to go if munney is no object... Other cheapo options are old largish paint brush bristles, which can be cut up and used as reeds or longer grasses. Hemp (plumber's tow) can be used for thicker clumps of grasses. Also coconut husk from hanging baskets can be used as underbrush for hedgerows etc. It's doing my head in thinking of any more, although there are plenty
I hope this is for a Sherman diorama
Brad

WOAH! i didn't know the "static" in static grass actually referred to static electricty. all this time i thought it was called "static grass" because it was...errr..."not moving"... which leads me to my questions, how exactly do you apply the static charge?!? (with a freshly used plastic comb perhaps?) and how do you keep the grass standing after imparting the charge? is there a feature on applying static grass anywhere?

The static charge is apllied to the grass as you sprinkle it on, take a 'pinch' of the gras and rub it between your fingers while letting it drop onto the required area of your dio (as you might add herbs to a meal!) and the rubbbing motion will apply the charge and make most (but never all) of the grass stand on end. You should be applying it over an area of thinned PVA glue which will stick it down to the dio in the end. Take note however, that you'll have to put loads on and only half will stick, you can collect this afterwards though and apply another layer or use it again.

Have fun, hope this helps,

James

How do you get the static in static grass - ahhh that's a loooong running debate.
The methods are various and extreem
Some try to rub a silk tie over a 2liter soda bottle
Some try a balloon
Some try to use a plastic shaker jar
Some try to spend a lot of money on electric devices.

This is how I get my grass to stand up:

1. Lay down the glue, then sprinkle the grass on. Then turn the whole base upside-down and let it dry overnight.

or

2. Lay the glue, sprinkle grass, then suspend a sheet of aluminium or gladwrap foil very closely over the grass. It should recieve a static charge and stand up. This method seems to work better on a hot day for some reason.

Chas

Kevin Gardner did a great series of reviews of different types a static grass a while back:

Busch Grain fields and reeds
Heki Wild Grass
Late Summer High Pasture Grass Matts
Noch Wildgras
Heki decovlies-Wiesengras

HTH

Rudi

Thank you all for the replies. It seems like I just found another can of worms
I'll digest the information here, and no doubt, I'll have some questions later.
But at least now I know what the "static" stands for. I, too, thought it was "stationary", and couldn't make much sense of it, as most of the diorama parts ARE stationary Also, that "static gun thingy" I saw two days ago in the LHS makes sense now. It looked like a hairdryer, and was said to be used to apply grass. Somehow it didn't raise the flags.

thank you to everybody. this info is really new to me and saved me from making a mess with the static grass i bought at a local arts supply store.