Orobinec (rákosí) N

Cattail for N scale

A scenery vegetation material from the Czech manufacturer Model Scene. It is not a kit and not a finished tree — the package contains individual plants on a carrier sheet that are taken out one at a time and glued into the terrain. The version is intended for N scale, that is for very small layouts and scenes smaller than the usual scales of military dioramas. The plants are correspondingly fine, so it is advisable to work with sharp tweezers and to apply the glue in tiny drops.

The character of the plant

The cattail, known colloquially as reed or cigar, is a wetland plant with long narrow leaves and an unmistakable cylindrical brown club-shaped flower head at the top of the stem. It grows in shallow standing water, at the edges of ponds, in pools, in flooded ditches and on waterlogged meadows. The clubs ripen in autumn and break up over the winter into tufts of down. In a model scene the cattail unambiguously signals standing water and waterlogged terrain.

Use and application tips

Plant the plants one at a time into a drop of cyanoacrylate or PVA glue, most densely in the shallows and thinning out gradually toward the dry bank. In a small model size it applies doubly that the overall impression of the growth decides, not the individual plant — so work in continuous bands. If you are modeling the water surface from resin or gel, glue the plants into the substrate before pouring. In color the cattail sits with darker, richly green to brownish waterlogged terrain.

Who the material is for

• Railroad modelers building layouts in N scale
• Builders of small scenes with ponds, pools and wetlands
• Modelers who want a credible transition between water and bank
• Those who work with fine vegetation and sharp tweezers

This is a scenery accessory, not a model kit. The glue, the paints and the compound for modeling the water surface are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.