EXPERT MODELLERS SHOW YOU HOW
HOW TO USE GRASS MATS
AS A BASE FOR REALISTIC SCENERY
Peter Marriott explains how the humble grass mat can be harnessed to provide the perfect foundation for lifelike scenic treatments.
Grass mats with flexible backing can be shaped over scenic contours, reducing the need to sculpt the correct profile with plaster or foam. Once trees, bushes and layers of grass scatter are applied, the results can be impressive.
PHOTOGRAPHY: PETER MARRIOTT
A number of Model Rail readers have asked me recently whether traditional grass mats are still worth using these days, with the huge array of alternative scenic materials now available.
My answer is a definite yes, as although many mats can look a little one-dimensional on their own, they can form the basis for realistic scenery when used as a base layer.
Grass mats have been around for decades, and vary in realism (and price!). Naturally, the more basic versions are cheaper and they’re available in various sizes and shapes.
Each offers the advantage of removing the need to paint the surface of the baseboard before adding scenery. They can be used to cover a multitude of sins too, such as gaps between landscape formers, speeding up the scenic process by removing the need to add a layer of smoothing plaster.