jurassicfish
New Member
I am thinking of including a salt marsh into my layout. Any suggestions?
salt marsh scernery
- Thread starter jurassicfish
- Start date
Not certain if your question means suggestions with regard to materials and techniques or the initial approach? You'll have the water then smooth cord grass then salt grass then dwarf glass wort then dry land with the usual suspect weeds?
Cheers
MT Hopper
Cheers
MT Hopper
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jurassicfish
New Member
salt marsh
Tips & techniques. How do you create the look> What materials do you use? Thanks.
Tips & techniques. How do you create the look> What materials do you use? Thanks.
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/39316423/Magnificent-Muddy-Marshes
Although it's meant for school children the above is a link to get you quickly introduced to the flora and fauna of a saltwater marsh.
Cheers
Will
Although it's meant for school children the above is a link to get you quickly introduced to the flora and fauna of a saltwater marsh.
Cheers
Will
www.edc.uri.edu/restoration/html/gallery/plants/smooth.htm
And the above link will give you the plants physiology especially height with regard to oxygen levels in the marsh plus an image. Also if you just google smooth cordgrass you'll find a multiplicity of images of the plant. Ditto for salt grass and dwarf glass wort. These are the most common species in saltwater marshes. If you go the drill a hole and plug in a clump of grass then be aware of the tendency for the water materials to wick up and into the grass clumps. Are you going to pour envirotex for your water or go with a painted bottom and then gloss acrylic Liquitex medium? The level of tide you are going to use will also affect how you show the plants and the fauna ( e.g. mussels etc.)
Cheers
Will
And the above link will give you the plants physiology especially height with regard to oxygen levels in the marsh plus an image. Also if you just google smooth cordgrass you'll find a multiplicity of images of the plant. Ditto for salt grass and dwarf glass wort. These are the most common species in saltwater marshes. If you go the drill a hole and plug in a clump of grass then be aware of the tendency for the water materials to wick up and into the grass clumps. Are you going to pour envirotex for your water or go with a painted bottom and then gloss acrylic Liquitex medium? The level of tide you are going to use will also affect how you show the plants and the fauna ( e.g. mussels etc.)
Cheers
Will
We are in the early stages of modeling a saltwater marsh in Sausalito (San Francisco Bay). The first thing was to use Google satellite to zoom in on the color. The mud/water at low tide appear to be a mucky blue/gray in color. The plan is to paint the bottom with acrylics, pour some tinted Envirotex light, followed with tinted gel medium. Keep us up to date. We are holding on the pour until the mockup colors work.
Quick question. How do you plan to avoid the wickup problem with the envirotex if you've planted the cordgrass salt grass?
I have a wild idea of how to but I'd like to "hear" your solution first.
Cheers
Will
John P
Active Member
If you go to the Springfield MA show (which you can't do until next winter, as it's held in late Jan or early Feb) you can see a lovely On3 modular system that's set in the swamps of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. It's called the Narragansett Bay Railway & Navigation Company. Featuring all the reeds and muddy creeks you could ever want!
Here's a video, by Tim Warris of Fasttracks fame:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NsLHgorfi8
They have a website, but it's advertising an event in 2007, so maybe you won't get much from it:
http://nbrnmodule.tripod.com/
Here's a video, by Tim Warris of Fasttracks fame:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NsLHgorfi8
They have a website, but it's advertising an event in 2007, so maybe you won't get much from it:
http://nbrnmodule.tripod.com/
Good question. Perhaps gel medium brushed against the grasses to create a "dam" before the envirotex pour. Previous envirotex creek pours didn't have grasses and wicking really wasn't bad. What are you thinking to eliminate the wicking idea?
Dave
Your approach should work. My weird idea was a piece of tubing such as the translucent type or some similar material, a finishing nail with a suitably sized head, and some acrylic caulking. Use a lubricant, vaseline or something suitable that envirotex doesn't adhere to, to lube the outside of the tubing. Drill a hole in the substrate. Insert tubing and shove, inject, whatever, caulking into the tubing then you could use the nail to remove the tubing from the caulk so you leave a plug standing proud of the surface BUT filling the hole. You could leave the tubing in place till envirotex sets up or remove the tubing leaving the plug in.At any rate after the envirotex sets up, pull the plug or melt it or whatever. Insert salt grass into hole using your favourite adhesive with perhaps some colour added to it 
.Told you it was a weird idea! The inspiration came from watching the component placement machine stuffing chips onto the pc boards.
Cheers from the Heart of the Continent
Will
.Told you it was a weird idea! The inspiration came from watching the component placement machine stuffing chips onto the pc boards.Cheers from the Heart of the Continent
Will
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jurassicfish
New Member
cordgrass
I live in Florida and understand the flora and fauna of a salt marsh. I am particularly interested how to model the grasses found in a salt marsh. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I live in Florida and understand the flora and fauna of a salt marsh. I am particularly interested how to model the grasses found in a salt marsh. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
An idea I got from another forum was intended to prevent "some" of the envirotex creep up the shoreline and pilings. The idea was to pre brush some envirotex at the appropriate levels and places. I believe it was Dave Frary who suggested it.
Cheers from the Heart of the Continent
Will
jurassicfish
New Member
salt marsh
I know what a salt marsh is supposed to look like. I just don't know how to get there.
I know what a salt marsh is supposed to look like. I just don't know how to get there.
Palaeoniscidae (freieslebeni)
Starting with a baseboard coloured in your favourite mud colour as per NWP Dave.
There are really two ways to go.
Method one is to find suitable length and coloured fake fur aka fun fur aka teddy bear fur at a yard goods store. Apply a coat of something like Liquitex gel medium or gloss varnish. Wait till it is nearly set up and then smack the fun fur down onto it and let it more fully set. Lift up, tear off the fun fur and a crop of grass remains. You will have to tease it back up into a more upright position. A moustache comb or a stiff bristle brush or a brush used for wood graining models can be used.
Method two is to prep the baseboard as before but use a Grassmaster type device to lay down the first layer. Let the materials all dry and then find a nice cheap( and therefore lots of lacquer in it) hairspray. lightly spray the first layer of grass and ALMOST immediately apply the second layer of grass to yield a longer length of grass.
I hope I haven't been showing the fox how to suck eggs but those are two methods used.
IF you can tolerate the spacing and want a more clumpy or bunched together appearance for the individual plants THEN the hair plug method is good. You take a bunch of the fibres you are going to use (say trimmed off the cheap fun fur or a dollar store wig or whatever, but not your daughters Barbie because she'll notice it's missing)
Roll the fibres between your fingers to form a bundle or roll. Have a spot of glue on a convenient place and dip one end of the roll into the glue and then "plant" your grass. You will end up with planted grass and ,if you don't remember to keep a bowl of water and soap nearby, very sticky fingers like some financial world CEOs. When holding the end glued bundle it's best to wait a few moments to let the glue partially set up and then plant.
Okay that's the best I can suggest for now. Hope it is of some little help.
Cheers from the Heart of the Continent
Will
Starting with a baseboard coloured in your favourite mud colour as per NWP Dave.
There are really two ways to go.
Method one is to find suitable length and coloured fake fur aka fun fur aka teddy bear fur at a yard goods store. Apply a coat of something like Liquitex gel medium or gloss varnish. Wait till it is nearly set up and then smack the fun fur down onto it and let it more fully set. Lift up, tear off the fun fur and a crop of grass remains. You will have to tease it back up into a more upright position. A moustache comb or a stiff bristle brush or a brush used for wood graining models can be used.
Method two is to prep the baseboard as before but use a Grassmaster type device to lay down the first layer. Let the materials all dry and then find a nice cheap( and therefore lots of lacquer in it) hairspray. lightly spray the first layer of grass and ALMOST immediately apply the second layer of grass to yield a longer length of grass.
I hope I haven't been showing the fox how to suck eggs but those are two methods used.
IF you can tolerate the spacing and want a more clumpy or bunched together appearance for the individual plants THEN the hair plug method is good. You take a bunch of the fibres you are going to use (say trimmed off the cheap fun fur or a dollar store wig or whatever, but not your daughters Barbie because she'll notice it's missing)
Roll the fibres between your fingers to form a bundle or roll. Have a spot of glue on a convenient place and dip one end of the roll into the glue and then "plant" your grass. You will end up with planted grass and ,if you don't remember to keep a bowl of water and soap nearby, very sticky fingers like some financial world CEOs. When holding the end glued bundle it's best to wait a few moments to let the glue partially set up and then plant.
Okay that's the best I can suggest for now. Hope it is of some little help.
Cheers from the Heart of the Continent
Will
jurassicfish
New Member
Thanks for the tip.
