Am looking at pulling the trigger and buying a static grass applicator. See a few brands out there and want to get your opinions on them if you own one or have used one.
What is a good brand? Easy to use? Any downsides? Things to consider?
Thanks in advance,
Mark
As far as I can see, the vastly overpriced one is the way to go. That would be the Noch. I’ve got one.
A thing for me to consider is how far “up” can the dispenser be. The higher it is, the easier to see what’s going on. When I researched the matter, the homemade flyswatter ones I saw on Youtube were way too close to the ground to suit me.
Ed
I am needing one too.
There are two options. 1) Buy one commercially made for a lot of money, ~$150-200, or 2) build one from parts you can buy over the net.
There are video’s on Youtube and guides etc. on how to build them and what parts you will need.
A lot of modelers here in the midwest use the “Grasshopper” static grass applicator made and sold by David Leider, MMR (the editor of the NMRA Midwest Region “Waybill”). David also gives clinics on static grass so I have seen his in action and it works just fine.
He charges $40 for his battery powered model- postpaid (check or money order)
David Leider MMR, 601 N Elmhurst Rd, Prospect Hts, Il 60070
His email is sooauthor@netzero.net
A friend of mine built the one I use using “stuff” and a yogurt container. His cost was $20 so that is what he charged me. it works just fine. The expensive ones work well too of course.
Dave Nelson
Grasstech makes a commercial one, for much cheaper than $100.00
I could get a couple of them and still be under a Benjamin…
Just sayin’. [:-^]
Build the flyswatter one, real easy to build and works great, total cost less than $5.
I remember a guy who built one out of old window screen and some stuff outa his broken up TV in the backyard. Cost less than $1 and could throw a spark six inches.
Not only did he do his whole layout at one go, the sparks made a whole lotta little lightning strike burns.
And after, he cooked some dogs on it.
THAT’S the way to go!
But ya gotta remember not to hold a can of beer while yer doin’ it. Bein’ glass, a bottle might work. I’ll suggest it to him.
Ed
I’ve never heard of it. For $35 listed price for the mini version, do you have experience with this thing? Sometimes you get what you pay for - I’m curious if this can keep up with the more expensive models.
I bought one of the Grass-Tech models online for under $30 a couple of years back. It works just fine. I’m very happy with it. I’ve put down quite a bit of grass with it and I’ve yet to have to replace the batteries.
I greatly prefer the Silflor static grass over the Woodland Scenics product, by the way.
I built my own, as shown in this thread:
It works great, but I’m going to build an interchangeable smaller applicator to use in confined areas, such as between structures or tracks.
Wayne
riogrande5761
Only used it once so far, but I am not going to be looking for a more expensive one, as it did a fine job.
Probably won’t be using it for a while though as I might have to tear down the current layout due to a possible move… But where I did use it, it worked great.
I’ve always been happier with the results from using the designs that look like a flashlight with a yogurt cup on the end than the results from the ones that look like a tea strainer with a thick handle. The flocking seems to stand up better.
Given that I have a couple hundred running feet of layout to cover, I was able to easily justify the cost of the Noch Gras Master.
For the grass material, I prefer Silflor over Woodland Scenics, chiefly for the better variety of lengths and colors. I rarely use a single length or color in any one place-- everything I apply is some kind of mix. I think that it just looks better that way.
If you go for the Noch go for the Noch 2. It has a higher voltage and is better suited for tall grass.
You will plug a pin in the layout and attach the clip to the pin. Put a few drops of water around the pin to get better contact. Makes it easier to work with tall grass.
Feed back is helpful. Sometimes you get what you pay for so a $30 static applicator competing against those costing 5 x as much, it does make you wonder if it works as well, and if it does, why are the expensive ones still selling?
One of the things I would want to use a static appicator is to make tufts of grass separately and glue them down, which may use longer/taller static grass. If the el cheapo model can do that just as well as the expensive models, then hey…
Hijaacking the thread ever so slightly. I am getting back into the hobby after 20+ years. I don’t remember static grass back then.
Has static grass completely replaced ground foam?
No, rather it compliments it. Most use both and each has a place on well scenic’d layouts.
I agree. Ground foam is still very much needed. It’s just that static grass now imparts a greater realism because of its shape, length, variety of colour, and the ability to stack it on end so that it looks like scrub grass. You still need small shrubs, flocking in trees, and coarse grass. If you want the stuff that looks dried and long at trackside near the end of July, that’s what the static grass is for, that and meadows, reeds marsh-side, etc.
I built one from internet plans for about 20 bucks in parts. I think the scooter sticks and other stick brands that have popped up - are exactly the same design. My grass gun is very powerful and will zap spiders at 30 FT .
Advice – not hard to build, but if you buy - avoid the Noch (too expensive) and the fly swatter designs (too wimpy – but can be made to work well) – get the grass stick design. MRH has a good article on this from the early days…
You won’t use this tool all that often , so If you can - split the cost among several local modelers and share it….
I agree with others about using Silflor and combining colors and lengths…
Static grass is one of the better things to happen in scenic products over the last decade or so…. I model West Coast, CA foothills and I use a lot of static grass…. I rarely use ground foam for grass anymore but it is still useful for foliage and bushes….
A few years ago when I saw what fellows like Joe Fugate and Mike Confalone were doing with scenery techniques I had to try out this static grass technique.
I considered the Noch machine for $200 or so, (and another $30. if you wanted a little plastic funnel/nozzle for it) but I thought I’d check out less expensive options first and if that didn’t work out, then dust off the wallet.
So for about six bucks I got a fly swatter and another buck for a little strainer.
In about twenty minutes I had the outfit on the right in the above photo. I made up a few test squares of 1" blue foam maybe 10 inches on a side where I tested different grasses. Seemed to work OK so off to the layout I went.
Above is one of my first trials with the bug-zapper grass applicator. Somebody said the expensive ones give you more voltage but the end result is that the grass is standing up so I’m not sure what another 10,000 volts will do for me?
Once you add a little ground foam and “tufts” things start looking more textured.
Overall, I’m pretty satisfied with my under $10. static applicator. I’d like to try one of the yougurt cup-style ones but, again, this seems to get the job done.
Every now and then I’ll get too close to the ground p
The grass tech one does the same thing, so I am sure the “more powerful”, and more expensive options, do the same thing.
I also say to go with the Silfor grass, more variety in length and colors makes for a more realistic appearance.