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Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut





I'm currently making my own rob style modular board out of extruded foam. I am at the stage of sculpting details with hotwire tools but I am looking to order things I need to continue my project to the next stage... which leads me on to static grass. I very much like the look of grass that has been applied with a statically charged applicator but I am wondering if the benefits of realistic looking grass are going to be negated by the crushing weight of tanks and even the boards stacked up while in storage is probably going to be a bigger issue. My question to anyone who has used a static grass applicator is this... Will the grass stand back up after being crushed by gaming and storage or am I better of saving my money and using regular flocking techniques.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/08/14 15:36:35


 
   
Made in us
Gargantuan Gargant





Binghamton, NY

The individual fibers of static grass are pretty resilient, in my experience - if they're well secured at their base, gently rubbing the area to undo the matting that holds them flat tends to pop them back up into a natural state. I haven't done any serious/long term tests to this effect, though, so consider the evidence I'm reporting anecdotal and weight it accordingly.

A few of your worries, though, I think are unfounded, at least in that they can easily be circumvented. First, the issue of storage. If anything would kink and mat the grass irreparably, it would be long term storage in a direct stack. It would be simple, though, to pop little spacers between the boards. Even a few millimeters (1/8") would be enough clearance to let the grass stand without appreciably increasing the necessary storage space. A few chunks of sprue would be sufficient, let alone a dedicated storage rack (a box with one open face and runners down the sides, allowing the boards to be slotted in above, but not touching, each other) or fancier spacers.

Second is cost. Static grass isn't appreciably more expensive than flock (possibly a bit more for equivalent coverage, if you want it applied densely). The costly element is usually the applicator, some of which run into the hundreds of dollars. Applicators, though, and surprisingly effective ones, can be made for pocket change without requiring much skill or know-how. I made one out of an electric fly swatter from Harbor Freight, a tea strainer (half of a large ball-style tea infuser, technically), and spare wires stripped from dead electronics - all for under $10, including batteries (D cells are expensive, but were included with the swatter/zapper). Took no more than an hour of fiddling, works surprisingly well, and if I had been more careful in the construction, would look nearly identical to some of the cheaper models that have come out in recent years.

The Dreadnote wrote:But the Emperor already has a shrine, in the form of your local Games Workshop. You honour him by sacrificing your money to the plastic effigies of his warriors. In time, your devotion will be rewarded with the gift of having even more effigies to worship.
 
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut





Hey thanks for the reply and info, spacers are def a good idea I think I will go for it and just take some of the precautions you suggested.

Thanks again
   
 
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