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Effectiveness

Do the "potato masher" style units work any better than the "tea strainer" style units?

Is there an advantage to either?  (only thing I can think of offhand is the flock can't spill out of the "potato masher" style while spreading.)  It looks like the handle on both holds two batteries.

Any thoughts from people that have used either or both?

Thanks, Joe!

Thank you for explaining the difference.

Thinking of building

I'm thinking of building another applicator using the container method instead of the mesh strainer method.  I think that with the rounded shape of the mesh strainer models I have built, don't get the results I'm after.  So I 'm hoping the flat nature of using a container type will yield better results. It seems that the mesh strainer ones tend to scatter the grass more than actually "planting" it.   

That would be my sense too ...

That is my sense, too. The flat screen models do a much more consistent job of applying the grass exactly where you want it to go and they make it stand up better too from side-to-side.

"Yogurt cup" v. "tea strainer" designs

That has been my experience, too. I haven't found the tea strainer models as easy to control, and the ones I tried just didn't seem to have as much "zap."

I'm a little disappointed that Peco's spring and summer grasses appear to have considerable amounts of red and orange in them. I've never been satisfied with the German blends I've purchased that were mixed like that. I prefer to vary the color with other shades of green or yellow/brown.

Thank you Joe....And Dave.

Joe,

Thanks for clarifying this posting.

Dave,

I agree with Joe - I've seen both types used, store bought and homemade. While the rounded bowl type may fit into smaller spaces better (double-deck layouts) due to height, the flat screen design puts more static charge surface at the grass layer. The rounded design puts the static charge at its strongest at the bottom of the bowl, at a small "point" - the flat spreads it across the whole screen area and tends to pull the grass up better.

It's also best to get as close as possible, or as needed to get the fibers to stand up correctly. 

Bryan 

Having only used my home

Having only used my home built model (a flat screen like the peco) the one thing I would do differently is to make my screen ago smaller for better control.  Mine is about 2" dia in a 3" diameter container and it is like rain on the grass whereas I think I would like something say 1" screen in a 1 1/2" container more like painting. For better control.

-Doug M

Compare to Grasmaster?

    The Peco instructions above say glue the grass to the layout with "basing glue" then turn on the device and stand up the grass. Does this hold grass in the hopper like a Grasmaster or is it a different breed? ....DaveB

DaveB:

DaveB,

The grass is put in the white cup portion of the applicator (see pic above). 

You can use white glue or matte medium in place of their "basing glue" and many use cheap hairspray for the additional layers instead of the "layering glue"

Bryan

The glue

The glue Peco sells works a bit differently than white glue (and probably matte medium). See Kathy Millatt's video about this new stuff at

http://www.kathymillatt.co.uk/blog/2017/02/02/how-to-make-static-grass-look-amazing/

The Basing Glue does not "skin up" as fast as the other glues. The Layering spray may well be similar to hair spray.  The whole process looks promising.

Rob Morrison

Peco glue

Hi Kathy,

I just got a reply from one US dealer in Peco Scene items.  He does not stock the glue nor the layering spray. The glue can freeze in transit and the spray cannot be shipped US Postal because it is an aerosol.

So I guess we will not see it in the US unless some other way of shipping can be found.

Thanks,

Rob Morriosn

The way I read it

a layer of grass is set in the basing glue, then you pass the handheld unit back and forth over it to get it to "hey presto" ... stand up. Am I missing the point here?

Basing Glue

 Close, kind of, Rich.  I haven't used it personally, but I have watched Kathy Millat's videos, which in turn led me to the manufacturer's site: http://www.war-world.co.uk (re-branded by Peco). Both demonstrate the process, which is:

• The basing glue is applied to the surface that you will be putting the static grass on
• Then shake the grass out through a static grass applicator into the basing glue.

The layering spray is kind of cool; the demos show it being sprayed onto existing static grass (either immediately after the above steps, or at some later date - you don't have to wait for the basing glue to dry), then apply more grass. The idea is to make the base layer of grass taller or to vary the color.  For instance, the base layer may be green, with the second layer golden - which gives the grass a more realistic look / more visual depty.

Check out http://www.war-world.co.uk and look for the video tutorials, or look up Kathy Millat's YouTube channel that has been previously linked in this thread.  I'm impressed with how engaged and passionate the war-world owners are and also with the number of products they have for a such a young company.

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Yes it works

Hi all,

The grass in the following photos was done with a Peco machine. It went down quick and was very effective.

I used a mix of colours and fibre lengths to achieve a knee-length or taller "wild grass" look for 1/43 O scale.

The grass in this photo was shot using a mix of 3 different colours in 2mm, 4mm and 6 mm fibre lengths loaded in the delivery cup. Each load was a slightly different mix (ie no I didn't measure the amount of each colour and length I added each time). This was shot into a wet-white glue solution that that was painted onto the base surface texture with a 1' brush. The area where the figures are took about 10 minutes to do from the time I started painting on the glue.  Remember that these are 1/43 O scale figures, this would be almost hip-high scrub in HO scale

For taller grass with 10mm to 12mm lengths check out the following photos:

Here's the base layer of vegetation on textured sandstone paint

Initially it was shot with short length fibres < 8 mm.

But I wanted taller grass - After the glue dried. the area was vacuumed (and the fibres were caught and recycled), then a second coat of diluted whte glue was applied, and the area was "rezapped" with longer fibres. And here's the finished result

 and

Yes, as the glue goes on for the second coat some of the fibres look as if they are "balling up" or lay flat, but a lot of them are straightened up by the next layer coming down from the "grasslayer'. Any of the shorter fibres that do not starighten up add to the depth of cover and give a more tangled appearance rather than a more "freshly-mown" look.

And yes, I was a first time user to achieve the above results. It's not that hard,