I need to simulate grass about 6 to 8 feet tall in 1/35 scale. I want a look similar to elephant grass and pale green to light straw in color. None of the HO stuff is large enough. Any ideas?

-Neil

Neil, there are PE sets from Royal Models that simulate Elephant Grass. They have also many other PE sets that simulate vegetation... Here is the URL:
http://www.royalmodel.com/default1.htm
I haven't tried it, cause I think PE aren't the best solution for vegetation, but if you are interested go for it... There is a topic that I started on this forum about drying natural plants, take a look at that, I did some good things with that technique. It's also cheap and easy...

Mario M.

PE vegetation can look great, but there's a nasty price tag if you use it for much than just a few details.
I'm sure I've seen elephant grass in some form of dried natual product, but I can't remember which manufacturer. They looked quite good, straw color, about an inch long.

If I would be faced with your problem, I'd try out a few alternatives : try "cutting" grass from a variety of paper (with ruler and knife) sorts and evaluate. Or go shopping for a broom or brushes. You might find one that has hairs that would look good on your diorama. That broom will be a lot cheaper than PE stuff, and may look a lot more convincing.

You can even mix some of those...

Well, as Jan said I'd try it too!
BTW, what for do you need to simulate elephant grass? Just curiosity, cos I'm an agricultural enginneer, and I use that grass to feed catle here in Brazil, so I'm curious to know where you gonna place your dio, is it in Vietnam?
Cheers!

The broomstraw approach seems promising. I may also browse the dried plant aisle at Michael's. I need about an 8x12 inch plot of the stuff, so PE is probably out of the question -- except for maybe a few highlights at critical spots.

Paulo, the exact nature of the diorama is a secret, since I want it to be a surprise! The best I can say without giving it away is "equatorial tall-grass savanna." Vietnam is not too far off the mark, since part of my mental vision of the scene is based on my recollections of Thailand. In my web research on elephant grass yesterday I noticed it is an important food crop for cattle.

-Neil

Neil,
if you DO want to spend money on PE to highlight the grass, I'd say use OTHER vegetation mixed within / at the edge of the grass. Most plants are harder to imitate than grasses...
I hope you'll post pics of that diorama on this site ?

Jan

Hey Jan....you changed your avatar too! Should we start calling you 'Beetle Bailey'?

lol. Tread.

Jan - I have in my hand here some of Hudson & Allen's Fall Grass. Part #DIO 9519. You can get it from R&J Enterprises. This is a nice fit for your search for Elephant Grass. It looks like a 2 x 2 inch carpet square more than anything else, but the length of the soft blades of 'grass' should suit your purposes nicely. Check for prices, when I bought mine it cost $7 dollars.

Gunnie

Sorry Jan & Neil for mixing up your names - must be getting old...

Gunnie

Try using hemp rope, or baling wire, or just a rope made of small strands and unwind it, then apply where needed

I read this post early this morning, before work. At work today I had to do a little bit of painting on an old hand-rail. La, la, la, and ten or so minuets later...hey! This brush looks very good for the simmulation of grasses! It's just a run-of -the-mill paint brush that could be had for just a couple of bucks. The bristles are a tan color and are about three inches long. Perfect length that can be trimmed to desired size. Use a sharp straight razor and I bet you can't get a better bang for the buck!

Hope this helps a bit.

Me thinks Horton the Elephant would approve of Ken's suggestion!

Gunnie

...and all the Who's in Whoville!

Oh, yeah, btw...the bristles are nice and thin too.

I just tried an experiment...I tied off a small cluster of the bristles near the bottom with some thread...with said sharp razor, I cut the cluster out below the tie and dipped it in some glue. When it's dry, I'll pull off or cut off the tie and see what happens. Looks great so far. They fanned out nicely...and with a little more cutting and snipping here and there, the blade will vary just like the real thing. A shot of color from the AB...you get the picture
:-)

For the fine citizens of Whoville - I'm gonna give this a try. $7 bucks for a little patch of grass is pretty bad :-)

Gunnie

Wow!
Neil I just can´t wait to see your dio
Well you have a bunch of ideas now, so movie up and good work
Cheers!

Wow!
Neil I just can´t wait to see your dio
Well you have a bunch of ideas now, so movie up and good work
Cheers!

Wow, if I must say so myself! It looks PDG to me. (pretty darn good) I haven'thit it with any color yet...but looks great as is...maybe a little dry-brushing to finish it up.
Too bad I have nothing to use it in - dio wise.

Boom!....right there's another excuse to build one Kenc'...hehe.

Tread.

I just remembered that I could show you the results of this very simple project as I described above. It was very hastily painted...so pay no mind, as it can easily be done nicer.

Hey Ken,

What did you use to take that picture with? Is it a Digi Camera? I like the sharpness of the picture

It's a Nikon Cool Pix 800...it was set at "medium" quality.
Jim would send me an e-punch if I used the "high" setting...lol

aaaaaah, i need one of those Thanx

Hi Ken;
I liked to see the road wheels of Sherman on the background...when you gonna let us see it completed? :-) Cheers!