The 39 dollar applicator at Roger's is the fly swatter and strainer design. You can build it yourself for under $10 If there's a harbor freight near by.
I bought one for my club, because none of us have the time. It works well, but because you hold it horizontal, it's not as nimble as the fancy ones.
A bit late to the party - but I love static grass and think it's far superior in look and feel to the old standard. For the most part I'm very happy with it. Here's a sample: There are other areas with a higher percentage of grass, and without static grass I know I wouldn't have been at all happy with the looks.
This thread is exactly what I was looking for on static grass. I have made a few applications on my layout and I do like the appearance. In my case, I am adding static grass to old scenery. It looks pretty good where I put it, but the older areas then look abruptly different with no grass. I need to somehow blend the areas together. Also, I recommend practice. You can get better if you do. I did find a static grass applicator on ebay that was 40 US$ shipped.
Hong Kong Static Grass Applicator My static grass applicator was bought on ebay for 40 US$ including shipping. Uses two D cell batteries and works pretty well. Very nice cup for holding grass. Somewhat unsubstantial construction; however, I sure hope it lasts for a while.
Static Grass Size I just planted some static grass on the layout. Two sizes: 2mm and 12mm. I thought the 12mm would be too tall but it looks pretty good. Two mm and 12 mm on the left; 12mm on the right.
I gave myself the Noch applicator a few years ago. I am delighted with it, but am the first to admit that one needs to practice using it to refine their application techniques. I have W/S ground foam on much of my layout, so adding static grass involved doing it over the foam. I practiced and experimented with various colors and lengths of static grass and as well as with white glue and latex paint as the adhesive options. If and when I do my next layout, I will make more use of the static grass at the scenery phase for my n-scale layout. I will not use it for manicured lawns in residential areas, but great other places on the right of way.
Try ordering some velour fibers from superiorrestoration.com and then use your static flocker. Will work great for groomed N scale lawns.
I've always been curious about static grass, but I have a question that I haven't seen answered. How long does it last? If you rub a balloon on a wool sweater, it'll stick to the wall for a while, but it eventually falls down (the balloon, that is, not the wall). Does static grass need "refreshing", or does it stay upright for years?
Hahahaha...that's good! Phil, you glue it. It doesn't just stick there. You put down some glue that dries clear (matte medium or Elmers), stick a nail or heavy straight pin into the wet glue, connect the grounding lead from your static applicator to that, then press the switch and shake the applicator over the wet glue (which is connected to the applicator by the grounding wire). This causes the vast majority of fibers to stick into the glue in a vertical position or perpendicular to the charging screen in the applicator. Moosh the fibers around a bit with a fingertip if you don't want your "grass" to look like a butch haircut, then let the glue dry...VOILA! grass that stays upright forever 'cause it's glued in place. Cheerio! Bob Gilmore
Yeah, this is why I haven't been cool on buying those $100 static grass units. Hobby shops should rent these out or something. They'll make their money back many times over!
I'll have to dig up the link... but I paid $30 for mine. Paid for itself already just from the results. Edit: Here you go. http://grasstechusa.com/products/grasstech/index.html I bought the Grasstech 1 since I don't need all the bells and whistles. Works very well.
I bought the full Noch Grasmaster kit when Micro Mark had 'em on sale for $135. I use it all the time on my layout and I bring it along when working on my friends' layouts. It works GREAT!!...but then again, you get what you pay for. When I've got 6 Athearn Big Boys and 5 Athearn Challengers and two lashups of ABBA Kato F's and one lashup of re-worked brass Hallmark Geeps (GP9, GP9B, GP9) along with my brass UP cabooses and about 350 pieces of rolling stock all parked at Echo waiting for my super detailed COLA to come rolling through, spending 135 or so bucks on a tool I use to properly scenic the surroundings that compliment my weathered and superdetailed (and sound equipped) motive power and rolling stock doesn't seem at all like a lot of money. Just because I don't use it every day, or every week, doesn't mean anything at all to me. It's there when I need it, whether that be at 1:00PM when taking a little work break or at 2:30AM when I can't sleep. Cheerio! Bob Gilmore
Modutrak has been using static grass for almost a decade. Glued down properly, we've had no wear issues from all the years of transporting. It's way more resilient than we ever imagined.
Mine is holding up great. The only places it has flattened out is on one of the places I lean back against if I stand to long. Those places where built in the original design just for those 'resting spots' I may need. I expected the 'wheat circle' designs to be there over time...lol ;-)
The GrassTech applicator is just a bug zapper from Harbor Freight (as previously pointed out). You can make your own for about $10...or just buy the $35 from GrassTech if you don't want to do the work. Here's how: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrffkoNFKL4 Here's an article about how to build 3 different models of static grass applicators. I have the parts for two of them and one of these days will build one: http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/magazine/mrh-2010-MarApr/static_grass_applicators
This is not a scientific study of how long static grass hold, but it is my experience. Several months or more ago, I applied static grass in several areas on my layout. Recently, I started disassembling my layout in preparation for a move. I have vacuum areas with static grass and the grass is still there.
