TALL GRASS – AK BASING BITS

Tall grass - AK Basing Bits

Basing Bits is a range of small scenery material that AK interactive builds around a single idea: finishing a base or a small area should not take longer than painting the figure itself. This item deals with tall grass, that is, high growth which unlike a low turf creates a vertical and breaks up a flat base. The use is not limited to figures - it serves just as well on a display base under a vehicle or in the corner of a small vignette.

How to work with the material

Tall grass is striking above all through the contrast of heights. If you cover the whole area with one growth the result looks like a carpet; plant it instead in clumps of different sizes, leave bare ground between them and let one or two tufts overgrow the rest markedly. The material is fixed spot by spot - on a small area quickest with super glue, on a larger one with PVA glue thinned with water and a drop of detergent, which soaks in and disappears once dry. Before the glue sets, line the blades up with tweezers in one direction, as if the wind were bending them; randomly tousled growth looks artificial. Overgrown blades are better trimmed with sharp scissors once dry, not beforehand.

Painting and tying it together

Scenery material tends to be uniform in color, which shows on a finished scene. A light spray from a distance or dry-brushing in a muted shade helps - the grass then takes on the tone of the surrounding ground and stops looking like a foreign element stuck on. It is a good idea to darken the root area and to lighten the tips toward yellow; real grass never has the same color from top to bottom.

Who the material is for

• Gamers finishing figure bases for an army who care about speed
• Builders of small dioramas and vignettes
• Modelers looking for vertical growth rather than a low turf
• Beginners - the work needs no special tools or experience

The material is supplied unpainted for further work. Glue, paints and bases are not included in the package.