Killashandra - Irish Nn3

[VonRyan]

Everything is dry right now. Must be a drought.

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[davefoxx]

I am a proponent of Gloss gel, but I don't think it's going to work over that base.  It's too textured and the end result will not look like the creek in your photo.  It will just come out looking like wet mud.  You need a product that will add the appearance of depth, and something like Envirotex will really be a better choice.

DFF

[Chris333]

In the de-forested corner put up a fence and turn it into a sheep farm.

[VonRyan]

I am a proponent of Gloss gel, but I don't think it's going to work over that base.  It's too textured and the end result will not look like the creek in your photo.  It will just come out looking like wet mud.  You need a product that will add the appearance of depth, and something like Envirotex will really be a better choice.

DFF

My search of the Google says that envirotex creeps up riverbanks. I'm pretty sure that Wooand Scenics' "Realistic Water" does the same.

[VonRyan]

In the de-forested corner put up a fence and turn it into a sheep farm.

Been thinking the same thing. If I can find my thing of Presier sheep that is.

[davefoxx]

My search of the Google says that envirotex creeps up riverbanks. I'm pretty sure that Wooand Scenics' "Realistic Water" does the same.

Which is why you would apply the static grass after the Envirotex has cured.

Here's a very old picture from a former layout.  As you can see, I added ground texture after I poured the Envirotex to hide the creep.



DFF

[nuno81291]

+1 on envirotex. I don't think a product exists that dosnt have some amount of creep- gel, gloss medium or the two part stuff

[VonRyan]

The dirt road was finished a few days ago. Here's a picture after everything was dry. I ended up switching to traditional methods as trying to press powered limestone into white-glue on an uneven surface and create a smooth road was becoming unmanageable.

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The color is a bit different that what I wanted, but I think it looks pretty good with the surrounding scenery.


And here is a closeup shot of the curved road crossing:

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To make the grooves for the wheels I just used one of the Peco wagons with the Märklin wheelsets. And then checked the height with my 0-6-0, having placed a piece of masking tape over the gear openings just in case.
Fortunately for me everything is just perfect.


Right now I'm awaiting the all-important ion generator to build my own static-grass applicator. I was able to scrounge up everything else I will need, so its just a matter of assembling everything.

[VonRyan]

Ion generator arrived yesterday. So now I have all the electrical components ready to go, but I realized that I don't have any parts for the body... More scrounging required.

[VonRyan]

I just finished building this:

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I ended up using part of a broken Harbor Freight flashlight for the body rather than spend money on the specified stuff in the article. The container on top was a dollar-store find and thus is cheap and kinda flimsy, but it was cheap so it works for me.

I plan to give it a test-run before the night is out.

[VonRyan]

Tested the applicator, and the gras fibers weren't standing up. Turns out the 12v 100ma power supply that I bought wasn't putting but 1 volt. So I switched to a "9V, 350ma" power supply that I know puts out over 13v, and only maybe only 10% of the fibers stand up.

So I spent all that money on parts for nothing. Another goddamn paperweight.

[Philip H]

To paraphrase @peteski how do you know what each is putting out?  HOw were you applying the fibres?  What glue did you use? Static grass is more art then science, and 10% standing is not good art - but if your power source was putting 13v through a generator requiring 12V something else needs be addressed.

Calm down, take a deep breath, and soldier on.

[VonRyan]

To paraphrase @peteski how do you know what each is putting out?  HOw were you applying the fibres?  What glue did you use? Static grass is more art then science, and 10% standing is not good art - but if your power source was putting 13v through a generator requiring 12V something else needs be addressed.

Calm down, take a deep breath, and soldier on.

I metered both power supplies.

I'm using full-strength Elmer's white "school glue".

I'm applying the fibers normally.
I put them in the screen container, flip the switch, turn upside down and it's hardly anything like the one @160pennsy let me use to grass the rest of the layout.

I also just tested the whole thing with a Radio Shack "12V, 1500mA" power supply and still no dice.

I tried flipping the wires to see if the polarity was wrong, still no dice.

[wcfn100]

Did you put the nail in the ground and attach the clip?  And are you sure the screen is attached to the other clip?

Jason

[VonRyan]

Did you put the nail in the ground and attach the clip?  And are you sure the screen is attached to the other clip?

Jason

Yes on both counts. I could see a few of the fibers sticking on the outside surface of the lid, so I figured it must at least be getting power.

I just don't get why it's not working correctly.