Scenicking a meadow in the springtime

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

Hello experienced modeler’s.

I am currently working on my first layout and need some advice on what color and type of material to use to scenic a meadow surrounding an old barn. The layout is set in rural Georgia in the springtime.

I have been looking at materials from Scenic Express and found a farm blend which looks pretty good.

Any ideas?

Thanks [^]

2

Get pictures. It’s the best thing you can do. Ideally, get pictures that show your spring meadow from a distance, since that’s what it will look like to an operator hovering over a model.

You may find that something like dyed fur may give you the density you need, with various colors of ground foam providing the texture. Occasional patches of color (corresponding to the amount you see in the real meadow) to indicate flowers.

3

I have dyed faux fur with a product called Dye-na-flow and have got these results:

I model in O scale but there are materials that could be used for smaller scales such as plush fleece felt. I cover faux fur dyeing at:

http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/fur_grass/

Hope that helps[:D]
Harold

4

There’s no such thing as a “meadow” in GA; an open, grassy lot is called a field! [:)]

I’d definitely try out Harold’s fake fur method for modeling grassy fields. I did something similar on my layout, and I like it a whole lot better than plain old ground foam. I went with green fake fur though, since most furs don’t like to be painted (the paint wicks to the tops of the blades, giving you the representation of grass dying from the bottom up! Not realistic at all)

5

thanks for the help

6

The Scenic Express material is good stuff. I’m modeling western North Carolina in the Springtime. I use a blend of their scrub grass and farm pasture blends quite a bit. 2 parts scrub grass to 1 part farm pasture gives a fairly light green mix which looks like new spring growth to me. You can also add in a little of their spring green and or light green to add a little more variety to the mix. What part of Georgia are you modeling?
Incidently Ray, we do have meadows up in the mountains in North Georgia, even some true alpine meadows.
Have Fun,
Tom Watkins

7

The meadow (Field, Holler, Pasture) should have some Bradford Pears in bloom around the edge.

8

Tom,
I have never heard anyone that was born and raised in the south use the word
“meadow”. Just like we don’t say “pop” when refering to “a cold drink”[:D]. Don’t
even get me started on “sweet tea”. Dave

9

Dave, I was born in Jacksonville, Fl. and grew up there. A lot of my family is from southwest Ga. Down there they are mostly called fields. I’ve lived up in the mountains in NE Georgia for the past 12 years. Up here, especially when talking about the ones that occur natually at higher elevations due to temperature and wind, the locals do call them meadows. It’s pretty much a given around here that iced tea is going to be sweet, so people just call it tea.
Have Fun,
Tom Watkins

10

OK, now that we’re arguing names I got to thinking. I have never heard anyone use the word “meadow” to describe anything. The flat area around a barn has always been a “field”. I’ve been at higher elevations at a break in the trees and heard it referred to as a “grassy area”. I never thought about this before, but I’ve never heard anyone describe a place as a “meadow”. Before you guys start with all the remarks about how stupid we are in Missouri, I have lived in Ohio, Illinois, Kansas, and Nebraska.