Has anyone ever tried using real ground moss for groundcover and grass in a dio? I know the kind I am thinking of grows in many parts of the U.S. It's that green moss that grows where it's damp.

Anyways I had pretty good results from using it. It would dry out of course but you could actually use flat green paint (spray or airbrush) to bring the color back. Not sure how well it will hold up over the long haul. I have some in storage for the past 12 years. I will let you know when I pull it out soon!

Jim - I tried using moss for a diorama I created a long time ago. After about a month, it began smelling pretty bad in the room. I believe I probably planted the stuff - literally - and it began decaying.

Have steered away from the moss ever since

Gunnie

The easiest method would be to use the model railroading landscape grass. It comes in rolls like wrapping paper. You could airbrush it to get the proper shade you needed.

Yeah - I wish you were around when I pulled that boner! My Mom (it was that long ago) got pissed when I raided the backyard for "scale trees", "scale rocks & slate", and "scale mud and moss". I had always gone out and played with the toy soldiers and my trucks in the backyard - why not bring them in the house for bad weather conditions?!?

Thus - a scale modeler was born...

Gunnie

I must have just lucked out on the type and process then, as since I wrote that original post, I dug out my old kits and dio pieces out of storage. A few had moss that I actually had saved. It was a little more dried out then I remember it but after 12-14 years I couldn't see a huge difference.

On the "planting" note. I actually did try to plant the mosss in a layer of real dirt when I was creating my "super" dio. It always dried out and died ( I didn't exactly water it everyday). But I doubt even if you wanted to try to keep it alive you could. The kind of ground-cover moss I am talking about grows only in very precise areas. Sometimes damp but almost always in shade.

Maybe I will take a few pics and post them. I still thought it gave me a great reality effect.

Jim

If I remember this correctly, I "planted" the moss in a strata of dirt, watered it, and thought my self smart and creative and tried to seal the whole scene with a lacquer clear coat.

After a day or two, the "mud" still looked glossy in the places I wanted that special "wet look", but I could peel away the lacquer coat from the lump of dirt. I sprayed the moss too, thinking it would seal in a layer of wetness to keep it moist. I sealed in something alright...

The trees I made held up pretty good, however, during this adventure all summer.

Gunnie

I use diffrent shades of Peat Moss and make it thin, you can get this moss at a railroad modeling store it's cheap and all you gotta do it spray it with a mist once or twice a month and it won't decay or lose color.

Ive read somewere that to keep the moss fresh and green, without it turning to compost, that you give it a few drops of water every few weeks. I never tryed it but it might work.

I've used moss as grass in my "early modeling days".. What I found out was that moss is totally unpredictable; sometimes it dries and looks really good, sometimes it gets mushy and smells bad. I don't do moss anymore, there are lots of products that can simulate grass well withouth the risk of turning "bad".

Mario M.