GERN TurfMaster Grass Blaster...
#1
...for 3% better results when applying static grass.
Here's the new GERN TurfMaster Grass Blaster, with the idea coming from this Thread on the Model Railroader site: Static grass applicator

My thanks to Joe Fugate, from the MR Forum, for the wiring diagram for this nifty little gadget.

You can go to the post in the link for more info, including a demonstrative video of the applicator in action. Below is a brief outline of how I built mine.

Here are the materials needed:

   

Clockwise, from upper left - a piece of 1 1/2" plastic pipe, about 8" long (I used a piece of thin-wall PVC that I had on hand, but was unable to get end caps to fit - the ones shown were modified), a 16 ounce plastic container, with lid, similar to the one shown, a piece of aluminum window screen, two suitable caps for the pipe, plus some screws and nuts to fasten the container to one of the pipe caps.

You'll also need the electrical stuff shown below:

   

Clockwise, from upper left - A 12 volt DC power source - (mine is a 12 volt wall wart leftover from my old computer), a negative ion generator (available from Electronic Goldmine , for about $13.00 plus shipping), a piece of flexible wire with an alligator clip on one end (mine is from an old continuity tester, although the alligator clip was a bit shy, and is barely visible at right), a small screw and nut with a crimp-on lug connector, a simple on/off switch, and a piece of stranded #14 or #16 wire, plus some crimp-on connectors.


Tools needed are a drill, with suitable bits, a wire stripper/crimping tool, screwdriver, wrenches, soldering iron, scissors or tin snips, utility knife, and a hot glue gun.

Drill suitable holes and fasten the 16 oz. container to one of the pipe caps, using the screws and nuts.
With the knife, carefully remove the centre of the lid, then use your scissors or tin snips to cut the piece of screen to fit inside of the rim of the lid.

I applied some hot glue along the edge of the installed screen, then pressed the glue and screen into place with the tip of a screwdriver.

   

Fasten the crimp-on lug connector to one end of the #14/16 wire, spread the strands of the screening slightly, then use the small screw and nut to fasten the connector to the inside of the screen, near the edge. Drill a hole for a tight fit on this wire through the bottom of the 16 oz. container and the attached pipe cap, then thread a couple of inches of wire through. Wind the balance of the excess wire around the inside perimeter of the container, then snap the lid in place.

   

   

   


Cut the 5-pronged ion circuit board (visible in the second photo of this Thread, at the upper right) from the end of the red wire, then use a crimp-on connector to join this wire to the one that you threaded through the cap in the previous step. Insert the paired red and black wires of the ion generator, then the ion generator itself into the pipe (use the tin snips to trim the mounting bracket as required), pushing the ion generator right out the opposite end of the pipe. Push the crimp-connected wires into the pipe also, then install the pipe cap with the container attached.

   

   

Using a drill bit sized to give a fairly tight fit, drill a hole through the side of the pipe, about 2" from the open end, then insert the free end of the wire that has the alligator clip at the other end.

   


Opposite this hole, drill a similarly snug hole and insert the pair of wires from your DC power source.


   

Connect the "+" wire from the DC power source to one pole of the switch, and the red wire from the ion generator to the other pole. Drill a suitably-sized hole on the top of the pipe cap, and mount the switch.
Using a crimp connector, connect the "-" lead from the power source, and the free end of the alligator clip wire to the black lead of the ion generator.

Carefully slide the ion generator and the wires into the pipe, then press the end into place. Here's the finished applicator.

   

To use this tool, remove the lid from the 16 oz. container, dump in some static "grass" material (available from Woodland Scenics and Noch, and perhaps others), then replace the lid. Drill a hole into the area where you want to install some static grass and insert a 2" -2 1/2" nail - if your terrain is foam, simply push the nail into place. Apply glue or matte medium to the area (I used full strength white glue, applied with a brush, for my first attempt, but later also added grass to an area that I was scenicing using diluted glue in conjunction with ground foam. The grass seems to stand up well in either situation, although I haven't tried the thinned glue with no ground foam present, so I can't say if the grass will remain standing with only the thinned glue to support it), then attach the alligator clip to the nail, and turn on the Blaster. Move over the area slowly, tapping or shaking the applicator as you go. I quickly discovered that it's difficult to apply the grass precisely where you want it, although for a field or other broad area, this works well. I may replace the 16 oz. container with something narrower, such as a vacuum cleaner crevice tool, for more precise distribution of the "grass". I think that the screen might still need to be kept fairly large, though, as it's one half of the static attraction set-up that makes the grass stand on end. My little patch of scenery is still drying, so only a couple of pictures, but the grass is still standing.

   

   

   


...and a more recent effort, combining static grass and ground foam in consecutive applications...


   


Obviously, surrounding areas and nearby structures will need to be cleaned-up once the area has dried, in a day or two, but overall, I'm pleased with the results. Supposedly, once the initial application is dry, you can spray the area with dilute glue, and repeat the grass application, for even longer tall grass.

Wayne
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#2
Thanks, Wayne for bringing another of your many fine threads to this board. Surfing to Zealot takes time. One stop shopping for the win! I hope to some day get to the point where I actually need one of these...

Re: the Joe Fugate comment in the first post, I bought his DVD series - he's full of good ideas and demonstrates them well (including a how to on this topic).

Matt
Matt Goodman
Columbus, Ohio
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#3
Thanks Wayne for recreating this thread here!

Andrew
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#4
Gotta bump this as a "Thank You" to DocWayne for recreating the thread and as a "thumbs up" for the GERN GrassBlaster tutorial.
Three Foot Rule In Effect At All Times
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#5
I think someone needs to make a wire armature and add "pine needles" using this technique.
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#6
Or possibly some willow trees?

For the pines, I did notice that the nail I was using as a probe was attracting the grass fibers and they poked out in all directions.
Three Foot Rule In Effect At All Times
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#7
Now, I feel like an idiot, Nope I didn't see this post and went searching for the thread, (which did NOT come up in the search). so I put up a request for some things to move to the academy. (I still think it makes sense to have an index for these great ideas.)
Charlie
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#8
I just clicked on the link in the first post, and got a message that the article was moved elsewhere or removed. Knowing how Kalmbach views the web they may have moved it behind a log-in limiting it to only those who are subscribers to their magazines. If anyone else has a problem finding the article that Dr Wayne has linked to, an alternative is to go the Joe Fugate's Model Railroad Hobbyist site and look at the back issues of the magazine for the March-April 2010 issue. It has a long article on how to build 3 different types of static grass applicators. In addition if you go to the MRH forum from the link in the article for feedback there is a long thread there discussing the same topic, as well as a how to for making 4th type of static grass applicator using the body of a plastic flash light.
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#9
Just a note to say that I've restored the photos to this thread. Goldth

Wayne
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#10
Once again I have to thank you for taking the time to do this.
Charlie
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#11
Thanks for mentioning it, Charlie. Mine aren't too difficult to restore if I can find where I've stored the photos (and if I'm aware of threads with lost photos), but the ones I really regret losing are those of Gary's threads, particularly the layout build and the backdrop painting session with biL. That latter one was, in my opinion, one of the best examples of the interaction between two great modellers that I've seen anywhere on-line....like eavesdropping on an exceptional teacher talking to a gifted student.

Wayne
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#12
doctorwayne Wrote:Thanks for mentioning it, Charlie. Mine aren't too difficult to restore if I can find where I've stored the photos (and if I'm aware of threads with lost photos), but the ones I really regret losing are those of Gary's threads, particularly the layout build and the backdrop painting session with biL. That latter one was, in my opinion, one of the best examples of the interaction between two great modellers that I've seen anywhere on-line....like eavesdropping on an exceptional teacher talking to a gifted student.

Wayne
Is that the 'Whoohoo time to build...' thread you're referring too?

I may have some of the pics somewhere as I remember lifting some of the thread to put a little offline guide together for when I do my own backdrops. I'll have a dig around.

Koos
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#13
I was going to restore the ones on my layout thread but even though Don got me moved to a repair link I could not gain access to edit them.
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#14
I've finally managed, I think, to restore the photos in this thread back to their original order, even though interest in it has likely passed. Misngth

Wayne
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#15
Looks awesome! I wonder how long the standing grass lasts before it starts to fall down?
Mike

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