Ground color

is I think really essential for tying it all in, I agree.  Even after covered with static grass, ground foam, or whatever, and it may even be totally covered - it's still there and has an influence.  It gives you a base, and it also can show you how your lighting may affect things down the road too.  Maybe that 'brown' you saw as a sample in the kitchen is really a 'red' in the train room, for example. If nothing else it covers a plywood plain or a pink canyon with at least something to get you going/inspired.

I must confess, I have areas that are still plywood and pink, and yellow too, and this after 5+ years...priorities, priorities..

@milocomarty

Many thanks for introducing the not so common acronym "RAL". I don't believe I had ever encountered this term before. Being a native of western U.S., I am more accustomed to more descriptive, albeit relative, terms for colors, i.e. maple, redwood, Siena, ochre, et al.

For those not familiar with this acronym, "RAL" is a European standard primarily for furniture finish and is the acronym for "Reichs-Ausschuß für Lieferbedingungen".

Both are color space standards

European RAL is roughly analogous to US Pantone.

Sorry can't help it I'm

Sorry can't help it I'm European.....like you guys over the pond use a lotta materials and names not known here...

Conversion from RAL to Pantone  http://rgb.to/ral/page/1

Painting your dirt

I very often paint my basic groundcover. It's a great way to get it the exact colour you want. (be that Pantone or RAL, completely new term for me, by the way) One problem I have had with this is, if a bit of groundcover should happen to chip off you now have the basic colour of the material showing through your painted masterpiece. If the two are fairly similar... no big deal, but if they're, at all, different a broken chip becomes VERY obvious. Cover the ground with grass, bushes and trees and you solve the problem, but modeling bare dirt and rocks this way can cause issues.

I don't know how to solve this, other that "glue your stuff down well, and don't use white rocks to represent black soil".

After running into this problem on some commercial models I've built, I'm somewhat reticent to rely on it to much.

Just my 2 cents worth. Looking forward to what others have to say.

Chipping off

Rick, most of the time I soak the ground cover with a mixture of the latex wallpaint and a glue (thinned) . Using mostly dirt and ground covers on a chalk base its soaking the color in..

Also painted groundcover

Green stuff

Wonderful work

No matter what you call your colors, your grass looks great!   Keep posting those shots.

Added 3 layers

Added 3 layers of static grasses, from 2mm beige to 6.5mm.. 

Great Job Martin!! Just like

Great Job Martin!! Just like the way you're doing the groundcover.

See you at Ontraxs,

Jaap

That  grass looks 

That  grass looks  outstanding, with  depth and texture. And keeping the colour band of the grass,narrow and focused makes it look even better. You  using Noch  or Silflor Static  grass?

Regards Phil

ground cover scenic base?

I use Mod Rock (plaster bandage) to cover the basic ground form, but I do not use water alone, I add PVA usually 60/40 (water/PVA) and add a basic earth colour to the mix. That way if it gets chipped it does not stand out.

Fibers

Hi Phil, do use all kinda brands, Silflor / Mininatur , Noch, Heki, Polak and a new brand for fibers Modelscene. Lately I went back to less colors. You need a couple to mix your own colors. In this I like Modelscene, just carrying 5 colors but enough to make your own mixes..

Chips in scenery

I don't know how many of you use this technique, but it has been my standard for years. When doing my basic scenery, ie., using rock molds and laying down base coats, I put a bit of color, usually dry pigment Tempra paint into my plaster. If anything gets chipped, you never have white plaster staring at you! It has never affected the plaster and it helps in doing rock molds by adding just a bit of gray for rocks like granite,etc. Hope this helps.

Still working away on our new On30 layout, the Spring Creek Railway here in Montrose, Colorado. Stop in if in the area...allo are welcome!

I have been trying Martin's

I have been trying Martin's method with some success.  I don't think I have the patience he has.  It is so easy to dump too much static grass in one pass.  And I found it is a good idea to check the battery before using the applicator.

Most of my layout scenery was completed with ground foam when I decided to try static grass.  So now I have to remove trees, bushes, etc. and slowly go over the whole layout.

Kevin Miller

Winlock, WA

Layering of ground cover and ground

What I like is the contours of the ground and the layering of grasses and stuff. Even flat land is not flat.The having grass at a variety of lengths is normal yet often forgotten on model railroads.

People often forget to have enough cuts and fills in their hillsides, mountains, even gentle rolling countryside and flat land. Too often I see rock-work that just too conveniently follows the course of the track so no bridges, trestles, cuts or fills, much less tunnels are necessary and looking a bit like stadium seating. The there is the cliffs that end at perfectly flat ground with no talus slopes, or intermediate slopping of the ground. The end result is a what looks like a stage set rather than natural ground.

Railroads would love to build on our plywood centrals but roughing it up gives you an endless number of little scenes that makes your railroad look like the engineering department fought its way to create that reasonable grade to keep your Company's operating costs down. By the way don't forget proper drainage so the next rainstorm doesn't wash out portions of your road.

Kevin, That looks really good

Kevin,

That looks really good with the grass. The colour variation looks very good. If you have a look at some of gorden gravett's stuff, he advocates leaving ground foam down, before applying static grass. This can change the look of the scenery again and acchieves even greater levels of variation in texture.

Just a thought.

Owen

Kevin

your on the right way, do use groundfoam as first covers too..

Thank you, this is the first

Thank you, this is the first place I have tried this method and it is on top of previously finished ground foam scenery.

Kevin