I would like to make use of grass mats on the layout but which make looks good and are easy to apply for N gauge? .

Hi Brian, what type of mats do you mean - the ones that come in a roll and are simply stuck down to form a "uniform" covering, or the type that are torn off in clumps / pieces and put down within the scenery?

If you mean the former, I have always thought Woodland Scenics were the best in 4mm scale, but recently have seen a good offering from Gaugemaster. I assume that would be similar in N gauge, with those two being favourites.

The ones on a roll Jeff to cover large areas on layout.

Brian - there is a good supplier of war-gaming scenics who does matting also the much sought after Silflor tufts, be warned tho, it aint cheap :shock:

http://www.antenocitisworkshop.com/

Thanks Lawrence will look at that :thumbs

What about that old fallback, hanging basket liner?  It may be a bit course for N though. It depends what you are looking for.

I had thought about basket liner but thought it would as you say look corse and overscale ,have had a look on the gaugemaster site and their grassmats look promising .

I use GM mat - but very sparingly.
(On Much Wittering I've used it for a 'lawn' around a detached house).
It looks OK but the one big problem with it is that the fibres are not totally 'fixed' and strays tend to migrate all over the place.
Probably best used if one is modelling a golf course or other large expanse where a matt spray can be used to help hold the stuff in place.

I used that mat years ago and did not like the feel of it at all. It also faded in the sun light.

My Dad used it on his layout. He has since completely covered it with woodland scenics Turf (the stuff In a bottle).

Wayne

I have used the woodland scenics vynal mat where you warm it with a hair dryer and mould it to shape it worked quite well on my 00 layout so it might work for N gauge any thought,s on that?

I quite like the smaller Noch matts, but they are rather costly.

The Noch and Gaugemaster mats are the same, all Gaugemaster scenics are made for them by Noch.

The Woodlands ones would probably be best Diesel, as they are that bit finer.  The Gaugemaster / Noch would be a tad overscale for N really, unless you want all the grass to be four feet tall!

I'm with Wayne on this one, Brian.  Paint on diluted PVA with a broad brush and scatter Woodlands scenics fine turf.  The beauty of this is that you can blend in other fine grain stuff such as dirt and earth.  And cheap?  Certainly cheaper than the better quality mats.

mmmm i,m tending to have a rethink on using mats and going for scatter as you say Tim and would be cheaper .

[user=16]Diesel[/user] wrote:

mmmm i,m tending to have a rethink on using mats and going for scatter as you say Tim and would be cheaper .

It will look better too Brian, the mats still don't measure up to hand scattered flock mixes, some clump foliage in there and you will be on the road, well so to speak, obviously roads are………….. oh never mind :roll:

Well the weather has turned a bit pants so it's time to look indoors again. Starting soon to build a new layout onto a virgin MDF baseboard. Should I glue a grass mat down and should I have liner underneath that? Should I seal the MDF first? Or should I go for paint and scatter material? I know opinions may vary due to taste and experience. Area is 4ft x 8ft and a fold up and down fixed to wall type. I'll be designing it for lager scenery items to be removed to avoid damage.

Always good practice to seal the MDF Chris,it keeps out any liquids and seals in any dodgy MDF dust.Not sure what you mean by liner,is that to stop the weeds coming through the grass?.:hmm

if you wish to seal mdf board I would recommend using a type specifically made for the job water based types like pva may make the surface swell, ok if its just meadow etc but not good if you are going to lay track. Personally I think the grass mats look too bright and the colours are too even for my liking, for quick cover they are ok but I would go over it with extra scatter, either static grass or the ground foam types, to break up the evenness, you could spray the matt with strong hold unscented hairspray to stop fibres straying just don,t use swmbo`s :shock:.

Hope this helps, Pete.       

Thought about green baize like card tables, or billiard tables? The monotone green could be amended with a watercolour wash…

Doug [jus' finkin']