1) Prepare your ground cover. This usually includes painting the plaster a base color and applying dirt and/or some other material such as Woodland Scenics foam for ground cover.

2) Cut the hair from the wig into pieces the desired height of the grass. For example if the grass were to be a scale 2’ high in O scale, cut it into ½” pieces.

3) Grab a small handful of the cut grass, and roll it between your palms, to form a cigar shaped bundle. The motion is like you were trying to warm your hands. When you roll the bundle (3-4"long) it aligns all the hairs in one direction. The ends of the bundle get rather rounded.

4) Pull the bundle in half, (in the middle), so you have a relatively flat end surface. Breaking it in half (creating 2 bundles 1 1/2 - 2" long) creates somewhat of a flat edge to use for application.

5) Spray 3M Super 77 glue over the area (small areas at a time), and let it set up, until tacky.

6) Lightly dab the flat end of the grass bundle over the sprayed area. When you develop “the touch”, the grass will remain standing. You can rearrange it slightly by using a thin object like the end a paintbrush.

You will find after a number of dabs applying the grass, the end is getting ragged, and not as much grass is being applied. It is then time to start on a fresh bundle. Throw what is left back in the pile to be re-used.

7) Air brush with the desired colors. This is really just a light spray over the top of the grass, leaving the lower part only partially sprayed. The variation is what gives some depth to the grass, and avoids consistency, the bane of scenery. In cases where you do not want to over-spray and might hit something behind the grass, protect those areas with a card or the like.

What does spray over onto the ground beneath the grass seems to help blend the scene together. Light over-spray as opposed to heavy overcoats gives variety to the color throughout the scene, which is one reason it is so effective to view.

Don't try to cover the entire weed structure, root to top. Spraying across the top leaves a color variation in the same strands of hair. This gives a strong 3D appearence.

Bill thins the paint down to ½ half paint, and ½ half paint thinner. Colors run the gamut, from dry yellowish grass to lush green. It depends on area you want to model. It is the variation in color that helps fool the eye and makes it look so real. So in the same area, try some variations in color as well.

There are other wigs you could use besides the above example. The blonde or light brunette wigs give color differenceswhen painted. Be careful, if you use a darker wig, it takes too much paint to cover and get the effect.

There are some dyes or methods with which synthetic hair could be colored but Bill prefers the effect of spraying.

8) To create the brush and flowers, spray some areas of the longer grass with Super77. Then take a small pinch of Selkirk Scenery or other leaf materials between your fingers and dab it over the sticky areas. Different colors give the effect of leaves and flowers. If you look closely you can see the purple and white spots giving the wild flower effect in the photographs.

Selkirk Scenery also has materials for adding branches to the trees.

Photographs do not do the scenery justice. This technique really holds up to close scrutiny. Bill is assembling a step-by-step photo essay on creating this effect. He is now a source for the Selkirk Scenery products that finish this off perfectly. He is also a source for the wigs for those who can't find them locally. He has put a web page together to display the products here.

Some hints and tips to remember:

• The first time you have a go at using this technique, create a test board, textured as you normally would to the point of adding the grass. Mistakes are best made on a throwaway piece of scenery.
• Getting the right amount and tackiness of Super 77 glue takes experimenting.
• Dabbing the grass requires a light touch, as does the grip on the roll of grass you're dabbing.
• The closer together you dab, the better the finished grass looks.
  Don't play with it too much after planting - you'll just make it worse.
• Let it dry 24 hours before trimming any too-long pieces. A bright light aimed at a shallow angle works well for lighting up stray strands that are way too tall, making it easy to clip them off.
• When the glue is good and dry, running the shop vac above it will pull grass into an upright and more uniform position, and remove those pieces that ended up sideways, clipped off, etc.
• Bill added just a pinch (and I mean a small amount) of red to the paint to adjust for the fluorescents lights in his basement. Made the green warmer. Test on scrap first, he sprayed RED for about two minutes the first time he put two drops in, and thought it was mixed well. Again! Test spray something else first, not on the grass you just spent hours planting.