Ok gang, my layout has a couple of spots that are crying out for green space. I want to try and add some interest to that space, and here’s how I would like to do it (I’m talking about the hay field, not the steam engine):
Has anyone tried making these big round bales? I was thinking of using a dowel of about 3/4" diameter, cutting off sections about 3/4" long, and trying to wrap them with WS field grass. Does that sound workable, or do you have some different ideas that might be better?
Well, I plugged away at this for a couple of hours this afternoon, and I ended up growing a field of hay. Of course the farmer hasn’t had time to pick up the bales from his last cutting yet, so they are still out in the field.
For a little added information to what looks like a good start.
Large round bales come in several sizes, 3’ diameter 4’ long are the “small” ones I make, 4’x4’ is a common size and in the midwest 6’x6’ are as large as I have ever heard of. 3/4" dowel would represent the largest ones, 1/2" would be more prototypical for smaller farms, espically in the NE. Since they are wrapped quite tightly and tied, the rounded sides do not need a lot of texture so the twine could be glued down fairly tightly. I think just gluing the sides you have to reduce the fuzz would make them quite prototypical. These bales are often left in the field, sometimes moved to the sides, so they will not be in the way for the next cut.
Unwrapped bales are stored on their side, just as they come out of the baler, to shed water, they can be stacked a couple of rows high. If you want a slightly different look, you could wrap your bales. To do that I would just sand the cut edges of the dowel to just slightly round the corners, 3 to 4 inches on the real thing. Give a thick coat of gloss white paint, to look like the white plastic used to wrap them. Some more recent ones are using a pale green wrap. Wrapped bales are stored on the flat ends and can be stacked two high.
One other thing, a just cut field of hay is much more straw colored, as only the stubble is left. It takes a couple of weeks and some rain to get them green again.
