Grass Mat Cutouts - Dry Fields

The color of August stubble

The fibers of this mat aim at the point where the grass has finished flowering and the sun has drawn it out to yellow and straw. That is what a field-track verge looks like at the end of summer, or the edge of an airfield in southern Europe, or an uncut strip between railway tracks. According to the supplier each sheet measures 90x145 mm with a 10 mm fiber height, and there are two sheets in the package.

A mat is not laid down whole

The point of the cutout is that you snip off exactly as much as you need with scissors. The supplier reckons on roughly two hundred small tufts from one package, which is enough for an extensive scene and for dozens of bases. A straight line left by the scissors gives the origin away, so it pays to thin the edge out with tweezers and pull a few blades up into an irregular silhouette.

Attaching it

The back is not adhesive, so have glue ready. A drop of PVA rubbed into the surface with a toothpick works well; on broken terrain a gel cyanoacrylate is better, as it does not run down into the hollows. Press the tuft down and hold it for a moment until the fibers settle.

Where dry growth fits

• late summer and autumn in every scale from 1:87 to 1:35
• a parched battlefield where rich green would look false
• the edges of craters, ditches and rutted tracks
• figure bases where the scene is meant to be summery and dry

You get a color transition by alternating dry tufts with green ones, not by coloring the whole area. Press a few extra clumps right up against the edge of a road, because that is exactly where grass survives the longest.