I bought some Pot Toppers at Michaels yesterday and they have that shiney acrylic look to them. Can I hit them with dull coat? Or should I do something else to dull them down a bit. It’s almost like they have a new manufacturer as these new one don’t seem so earthy ( for lack of a better expression) as the older ones. As always, thanks for the input.
Brent
Interesting to me that you’d find them at all. My local store doesn’t have a clue as to what they are…
I live an equal distance from two different Michaels and both stores have always had plenty on the racks in two or three different sizes. We’re just lucky I guess.[:)]
Brent
Took the grandchildren home Sunday, stopped at their Michaels (60mi from here). they had plenty of both the 4’ & 6" size. Bought two 6" and some floral tape, sort of low on funds as we had been to the fair all day. They don’t look particularly shiney, but had never seen them before so I’m not a good judge. Went right to the flower pots, as suggested by some member of the forums, and found them right where they said they’d be. Didn’t test the clerks, one of us might have gotten confused…
Thanks to those who have mentioned and shown photos of them, nice work. Also, thanks to whoever it was that said to look near the flower pots.
Have fun,
and they have that shiney acrylic look to them.
Several months ago MR had an article about making a pond with the pot toppers lining the waters edge. They used “dry” paint brushes to enhance the color of the toppers with some yellow and dark green. Also some earth was sprinkeled on the toppers.
Happy Railroading
Bob
Hello everyone! Sorry but I have to profess my ignorance - what is a pot topper and how are they used in model railroading? Second question - I can’t figure out how to search the forums for previous posts on a particular subject (or I would have done it for pot toppers if I knew how). What do you click on to initiate the search?
Dave
They are nominally sold to cover the top of a flower pot (pot toppers), and you are suppose to cut a hole for the (fake) plant to stick out of. There are 4" ones and 6" ones, and people claim the texture of the grass material is different between the two (which may be true – I only have 4" toppers). They look like this, and are useful to model small patches of weeds and tall grass. In fact, I’d guess that is their primary purpose nowadays, judging from Google results.
Should be a Search Our Community text box to the right, under the ads. Can search one forum or all Model Railroad forums.
Thanks chutton01 for the prompt response. Now I know where I have seen the term before!
Dave
Actually, now that this topic has been brought up, has anyone come up with a good idea for the dirt/mulch side of the topper? I was thinking forest floor or maybe a basis for a marsh, but in HO scale it seems very granulated/too big.
What I do with pot toppers or fake fur used to make tall grass is after it’s glued in place and has set up I work in some earth ground cover. Sprinkle it over the pot topper and work it in with your finger a bit. I have sued a variety of fixatives ranging from mat medium to Krylon flat clear. I only used the latter method once it looked ok but just not my fancy. I have also tinted or toned down the bright green whit a suitable green grass color using the air brush. Works really well, a lot of guys tend to over look what a great scenery tool the airbrush can be, it’s not just for weathering or painting models
does anyone know if these can be bought over here in in australia.
Here are a couple forum links about the pot toppers: http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/p/172581/1895376.aspx#1895376 (second post on page 4) and http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/p/141961/1580896.aspx#1580896
Don’ know if I can be of much help, but here goes. Do you have any large craft stores? If so, go to where they have flower pots. Pot toppers are thin (1/4" - 1/2" thick), round discs, green on one side, brown on the other. The green side almost looks like fake fur. In the store I went to they had two sizes, 4" and 6". They don’t look like much hanging there, but some of the photos of what modelers have done with them is impressive.
If you don’t have a large craft store try a floral shop or garden supply store.
Good luck,
I’ve had no luck trying to find them here in Queensland, but I’ll keep looking.
Mike
I had three tubes of various acrylic greens left after painting the backdrop. I dry brush them randomly on the pot toppers and let dry. Then, get a straw color or a color close to the high grass in the area you’re modeling. Dry brush that on and let dry. Then dull coat. I really like the way it come out. I found the toppers by themselves looked too uniform. So, now I glue down patches of the toppers and blend with ground foam…what a difference.
Have fun,
Mike
So great in fact, that I linked to it on my post of 21 Sep 2010, first page of this thread, in response to a question of what do they look like?
I get very grumbly when nobody bothers to read my posts…