Static grass question

Is here a way to apply static grass, and have it stand up, without using a static grass applicator? :thinking:
:grin: :canada:

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As you mix your plaster mix for your ground work, add some crushed Viagra. That grassā€™ll spring right up when you apply it.

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No, the Viagra will only last about 4 hours, he needs to use Cialis, then he has 36 hours, I donā€™t know how I know this, but I do.

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Other than grabbing with fine tweezers and inserting one blade at a time ā€¦.

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Iā€™m embarrassed to admit I once tried quickly flipping the base upside down after applying each clump to blobs of PVA glue with tweezers. Did it work? So then I bought a GrasMaster - static electricity beats gravity every timeā€¦possibly the only time it does in this universe? :thinking:

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You could try rubbing a balloon on a wool sweater and hovering it above the applied grass. Not saying it will work, but it does generate static electricity and should work at least as well as the ED drug regime. :man_facepalming:

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Definitely the Cialis. Some might suggest 36 hours as an average. High quality raw materials can significantly extend the working time of the product. :grin:

ā€¦and a moderator steps into the room.

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On a more practical noteā€¦the name of the grass gives it away. For the best results you do need an applicator.

Iā€™m assuming you looked at the price of some of the commercial applicators and decided thereā€™s got to be an alternative. If youā€™re handy with a soldering iron ( a very, very basic sort of handy) there are lots of detailed instructional guides available online. Try a ā€œdiy static grass applicatorā€ search and youā€™ll find plenty of inexpensive options.

There is a technique that involves blowing gently through a straw at fibres being sprinkled onto wet paint but it looked as though a lot of practice would be needed to obtain consistent results.

Iā€™m hoping someone has better answer as buying small sheets of pre-made tufts of grass is a pretty pricey option for a base of any size.

Cheers,
Colin

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A friend of mine rubs a plastic ruler through his hair, then sort of wafts the ruler over the grass; it seems to work. Of course, being somewhat follically challenged these days, itā€™s no bloody use to me!

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A grass mat is another alternative.

Thereā€™s always this old chestnut right from the Diorama OG himself.

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I have to go with Cam @tango_down on this one. Depending on the base size, I either half it, quarter it, or if small enough, do the whole lot.

I spray base with picture frame adhesive then gently sprinkle on the grass over the given area, then just let it get some purchase and then gently blow over it and it lifts it upā€¦

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:rofl:

Thatā€™s too funny.

Go to your local dollar store, buy some cheap balloons.

Blow up the balloon, rub it on your head (if you donā€™t have any hair, rub it on someone elseā€™s head), the static created on the balloon from your head will lift up the grass.

Wonā€™t work as well as an applicator, but will work in a pinch.

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Iā€™d try the balloon method first. Applicators arenā€™t that hard to make. I made one for about $15 in parts. That was when Radio Shack still existed and you could source parts cheaply.

Cheers,
C.

Do mind your body parts, though. If youā€™ve ever played with one of these you know they can sting a bit:
image

It is a bug zapper, after all.

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Oh, yes. Hereā€™s an example of my very first attempt with the grass zapper. Itā€™s actually my first base ever, but thatā€™s a different matter. This is with 6mm Woodland Scenics grass

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Maybe worth clarifying Leoā€™s original question, while manfully fending off inevitable double-entendres. Length matters, if itā€™s very short it should stand up OK as per various suggestions above. But I needed a GrasMaster because I was going for extra-long & it kinda worked, looked great initially but then began to droop after a few days. I think I was using Woodland Scenics too (or maybe local equivalent) but I was really pushing the ability of the fibres to say um erect, as you can seeā€¦

DSCN1312

I didnā€™t mind too much because it looked fairly realistically trampled. It was only later a mate pointed out I might have got a lot of it to stand up again with more static, from a balloon or equivalent. Fine for photographic purposes but not if itā€™s going to a Show. So my point is that the solution depends to some extent on what kind of grass you want :tumbler_glass:

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I usually use 12 mm static grass mixed with shorter grasses for variations. The ionizer (or whatever itā€™s called) in bug zappers is usually too weak to make tall grasses to stand upā€¦I already tried making one. The Grass Master is around 150 USD which comes to around 200 CDN!
:grin: :canada:

I too tried to build a bug zapper grass applicator. I could not make it work. It got chucked into the bin thirty minutes later, I just didnā€™t have the umph to make the static grass do what STATIC grass is supposed to do. I caved, coughed up the bucks and bought the (rather pricey) Woodlands Scenic thing-a-ma-doodle.