N scale mowed lawn

[Sunburn]

I'm trying to come up with some landscape ideas. Does anyone have a good technique to create realistic N scale mowed lawns? I am thinking about having such in and around some of my structures.

And does anyone have a technique for creating the "golf course' crosshatch swath effect? Or is it even realistic to try to model this considering the scale viewing altitude?

 

[MasonJar]

I don't know about N scale, but in HO, a well manicured lawn is best created with very fine ground foam in a somewhat "bright" green.

As for the cross-hatch appearance, I am not sure - could you do something with two slightly different colours of green? Would probably take a bit of time, and require masking areas in a cross-hatch or diamond pattern. Could be really neat when done...!

Andrew

 

[N Gauger]

I wonder if you could print something out (with the crosshatch pattern) and cut it to size and use it. How visible would it be to the casual observer? is this going to be a "main" view building on your layout??? If it's in the back or not that great a center of attention, printing something out might work

 

[ezdays]

If you can get the surface flat enough, fine ground foam works good. I'm wondering how a sheet of green felt would work. I've got some leftover from a poker table I built and I've been using it for staged shots of buildings and things. The only problem with that is the texture and color is too consistant to be realistic and would require more work than just gluing it down. To me it's all about texture and color and their variations in the real world.

 

[Sunburn]

Placement precludes printout

I wonder if you could print something out (with the crosshatch pattern) and cut it to size and use it. How visible would it be to the casual observer? is this going to be a "main" view building on your layout??? If it's in the back or not that great a center of attention, printing something out might work

I think my station will be more or less one of the centerpieces, hence the manicure. I have thought about the multi-tones of paint. Maybe a detail roller and some various matte and semi-gloss finishes, might give the right effect.

I'll start looking out the window more when my flight is on final. Maybe that will answer my question as to the level of detail.

 

[ezdays]

I think my station will be more or less one of the centerpieces, hence the manicure. I have thought about the multi-tones of paint. Maybe a detail roller and some various matte and semi-gloss finishes, might give the right effect.

I'll start looking out the window more when my flight is on final. Maybe that will answer my question as to the level of detail.

Well, as I said, texture is important, at least to me, even at N scale. I recently "paved" Main St. during our recent "layout party" by printing out a cobblestone street and boarded sidewalks. They looked OK in the pictures because no one could tell, but I could. :cry: I tore them out and replaced them with embossed brick and balsa wood sidewalks, all textured and aged. I'm pleased that I can see the texture and change of colors, but more so, now when someone comes and visits, they're not going to think, "gee, those things look way too flat to be realistic".

The same is going to be true for cut, manacured grass.

 

[2slim]

Guys,
I got some samples of papers from Paper Creek Models http://www.papercreek.com/main.html I was suprised at the resolution, they really fool the eye into thinking that there is texture there. Sunburn maybe you could figure out how to do your lawn this way.

2slim

 

[2-8-2]

We mow our lawns that way. The striping effect is from laying the grass different directions, and how the sunlight hit the sections. Ever seen arial photos of a football or baseball field? You would definitely see the effect from an N scale vantage point.

As far as materials, I can't think of anything offhand. But to get the desired look, you'd have to go with two shades of green, one slightly darker than the other. If it were me, I would try gluing down a thin layer of glitter or something similar, then just painting the stripes by hand.

 

[shaygetz]

You've got me pondering a possibility. By carefully masking the yard with scale 24" wide strips of masking tape, I'd airbrush an ever so slightly darker shade of green on my ground foam. I'd then come back with another layer of crosshatching over that with another slightly darker shade of green. The care would have to be taken in the shading of the green, just ever so slightly darker than the previous color. It'd be the perfect job for one of those cheapy Testor's airbrushes. Gotta spot I'm thinking of but that's a couple months down the road...:thumb:

 

[Harpo]

Just happen to have stopped at my local Home Depot yesterday...Rustoleum now has a few colors in a rough textured spray paint. Have been experimenting with this in a dark green to darken trees made with polyfiber and ground foam...so far the results look promising, but I can't really tell for sure until I develop the technique further. I wonder if this paint texture might work for the grass base, followed with a stripe or checkerboard masking and maybe a light dusting with a slightly different color over the exposed areas? Maybe even a yellow sprayed very lightly from a long distance away to give just a slightly different, lighter shade? Hmmm...I might have to try this meself...

Harpo

 

[Harpo]

Oops, forgot to mention..this textured paint seems to be a satin or dull finish as well...another plus....
Harpo