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Two-tone turfs – late autumn: two shades of brown grass

A finished painted turf from the Czech manufacturer Model Scene. The grassy surface is ready to be laid down and glued, and it needs neither an electrostatic applicator nor any further work. The two-tone version means that the growth combines two close tones and therefore has no uniform surface — the lighter and darker areas look natural and break up the carpet impression that arises most often with single-color materials.

The coloring of late autumn

The late autumn tuning is the darkest and most muted in the seasonal sequence: brown and gray-brown tones of dead grass beaten down by rain predominate and the green component is practically absent. It corresponds to November — bare trees, muddy tracks, low dull light. For modeling it is a very rewarding period, because the vegetation does not draw attention away from vehicles and structures and the scene takes a great deal of work with mud, wet effects and pigments. The two tones moreover help suggest the places where the grass stayed drier and the places where water runs down.

How to lay the turf

Coat the cleaned base with a thin layer of PVA glue, press the turf down and leave it weighted until dry. Thin the edges out and hide the transition with soil, mud or fallen leaves. Place the darker areas in hollows and by water, the lighter ones on raised and sunlit spots. You will bring out the effect of beaten-down vegetation by pressing part of the growth with a flat tool toward the same side; a light brown wash from the roots upward then adds the sense of damp.

Who the turfs are for

• Builders of dioramas with a muddy late autumn atmosphere.
• Military vehicle modelers working with damp and mud effects.
• Railroad modelers for out-of-season scenery.
• Anyone who wants irregular growth rather than a carpet.

The turfs are supplied finished and painted. The glue, the base and any further scenery materials are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.