Looking for cheap grass tufts? Here’s an easy DIY method to produce your own.
Static grass is a great material for adding lifelike texture to an expanse of a baseboard or miniature base. The fibres are available in a variety of colours and lengths – from 1mm to 12mm – to simulate different types and seasons of grass and look appropriate for different scales and can be used to create everything from lush lawns to meadows to crop fields and grassy tufts.
Tufts look especially good around water edges and in marsh areas and desert scenes, they can’t be beaten. They also improve grass mats, adding a variety of heights to a surface area that can otherwise look artificially flat.
But buying them is expensive. I previously used Army Painter Battlefields Jungle Tufts which are around £5 to £10 for approx. 40 tufts. Not cheap but they do look great.
Since discovering the tutorial below however, I’ve been making them myself and after watching the video you’ll soon be making your own wonderfully realistic grass tufts but for far less than pre-made equivalents.
The video is by GirlPainting which has many over videos on modelling, they’re aimed at tabletop miniature creators but are great for all modellers.
Enjoy the tutorial.
Oh, one last thing. The video suggests using static grass of 6mm in length. I’d recommend changing this depending on the scale you work in. Aim for 2 to 4mm for N scale and between 2 and 6mm for OO, aka 1:76th scale.
> A final, personal, note: I spend a huge amount of time testing, photographing, writing and researching techniques for these articles and pay for all the running costs of MRE out of my own pocket. If you found this article useful you can support me by making a donation on my fund-raising page. Thanks and happy modelling, Andy.
Andy is a lifelong modeler, writer, and founder of modelrailwayengineer.com. He has been building model railways, dioramas, and miniatures for over 20 years. His passion for model making and railways began when he was a child, building his first layout at the age of seven.
Andy’s particular passion is making scenery and structures in 4mm scale, which he sells commercially. He is particularly interested in modelling the railways of South West England during the late Victorian/early Edwardian era, although he also enjoys making sci-fi and fantasy figures and dioramas. His website has won several awards, and he is a member of MERG (Model Railway Electronics Group) and the 009 Society.
When not making models, Andy lives in Surrey with his wife and teenage son. Other interests include history, science fiction, photography, and programming. Read more about Andy.