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When painting miniatures, I like to base them to look like they're standing in a grassy field. To do this, I normally use a combination of loose static grass and commercially available grass tufts.

The tufts often look much better than the static grass, but have a couple of issues:

  1. They're significantly more expensive.
  2. The glue used doesn't stick securely to the base, which means I have to glue it anyway
  3. Because of the glue disc, the tuft often doesn't sit flat on the base, especially when the base isn't flat

Given the above, it seems like making my own tufts in situ would solve all of these problems, so how can I make my own grass tufts?

I have plenty of static grass, but when I glue it directly to the bases it doesn't 'clump' in the same way as real tufts do.

walrus
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2 Answers2

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You can use a cheap paint brush.

Preparation

Use a flat, broad brush used for home decorations or an old brush you no longer use for crafting. Stiff bristles with a light color are preferable.

Seperate a small amount of bristles to one side. You can permanently bend them by applying some force or you can cover the remaining bristles with masking tape. Apply paint to the selected bristles and let it dry completely if desired.

Application

Put a drop of glue onto a flat surface (not your terrain). Grab your seperated bristles with your non-dominant hand and don't let go until they are glued to the terrain. Cut the bristles to the desired length with a pair of scisors. You should end up with a staight cut. Dab the cut edge of the bristles into your prepared glue and place it onto your terrain. Hold it a few seconds to allow the glue to set. As long as the glue is somewhat wet, you can change the shape of the tuft using a toothpick.

Elmy
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Stiff fibres such as you get in sisal twine or jute string can work well.

If you put a dab of glue on the end before you cut it is fairly easy to make individual tufts, just cut to length and unravel the twine. You can also bundle more strands together to make larger tufts.

The natural colour is fine for dry grass, if you want it more green it is probably better to dye it beforehand rather rather than try to paint the tufts themselves.

Chris Johns
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