forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => WW1 Aircraft Dioramas => Topic started by: Brad Cancian on September 08, 2012, 06:58:32 PM
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Hi everyone,
Just thought I would share with you a product I discovered today at the Queensland scale model expo - grass mats from a company called Polak. I am sure that some of you have seen these already. These are hand made, come in a huge range of different grass types (I was blown away by how many different mats there were), include little details like rocks, flowers, and look great. The come in small flexible mats which are cut-able. They also sell ranges of scale trees, bushes, grass tufts (yes, tufts), long reed grasses, rocks, you name it. Here's one I picked up - this sheet is a 250mm x 200mm.
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/bradcancian/base01.jpg)
Close up:
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/bradcancian/base02.jpg)
And with a 1:48 model:
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/bradcancian/base03.jpg)
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/bradcancian/base04.jpg)
The one I bought is a little "longer" in terms of the grass strands (looks like long grass in 1:48) but they come in many different heights.
For those in Australia, I found them at:
http://www.modellers-warehouse.com.au/Home%20pages/Rebuilt%20home%20pages%20v4x/
They are not super-cheap, but for the effort, time and cost to do this yourself, $20 isn't so bad :)
Anyways, just thought I would share.
BC
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That looks superb! Thanks for the heads up, Brad ;)
BVB
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It looks a lot like the MiniNatur range you can get in some model railway shops. (which is very expensive) I might do some price comparisons......
Thanks for posting this one Brad.
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Thanks Brad for letting us know about this, I've been looking for some realistic grass for a long time, this looks like it might be the one.
Des.
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Thanks for sharing this Brad, it looks very good!
Cheers
James
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Great minds think alike. I just ordered this very same mat from Jadar. I've never displayed my models on a base before, so I reckon it's about time I start. Although Jadar shows a close-up, they don't show what it looks like with a model. Thanks for posting this. Now I feel better about my purchase.
Cheers,
Bud
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Brad,
Wow that does look great. For more life like that the brand I normally use. Many thanks for sharing this with us my old friend.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
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They look absolutely real, thanks for sharing this information Brad!
Antonio
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I'm moving to Australia !!!!
mike
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I ordered a couple of these from the Australian retailer in Brad's links. I'm on the west coast of the USA and will report back when they arrive with the shipping time.
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This is good stuff. Need to find a UK stockist.
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Anyone know if there's a US supplier for these? I quick Google search I did earlier when Brad first posted it didn't reveal much to me. I know Bud got his from Jadar, and I've ordered from them in the past, but if they' re available in the US it would just be easier.
Thanks!
Warren
PS: I just checked Jadar and all they had in the Polak line was flocking.
There's a seller on ebay, who is in the US, that has a good selection of these grass mats.
I've not found anything in the UK yet though.
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Jadar has always been reasonable and the shipping cost will be minimal.
Steve
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I ordered two mats from the Modelers Warehouse in Queensland Australia a few months ago, they sent one mat saying that they were now out of stock and had no idea when new stocks were going to arrive, so they refunded me the price of the second mat.
Des.
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I do not know if these are the same but they look good. Someone posted this link before ,maybe in the diorama section:
RAGIII
http://www.model-scene.com/index_eng.html
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Glad to get the chance to pimp an outfit in The Netherlands who also make a wide assortment of first rate grass mats in 1/35 etal; http://www.realityinscale.com Received mine in good order...about a week. -M
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Glad to get the chance to pimp an outfit in The Netherlands who also make a wide assortment of first rate grass mats in 1/35 etal; http://www.realityinscale.com Received mine in good order...about a week. -M
Thanks for the Link as an alternative. It seems that my link and yours are the same product line.
RAGIII
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Hi Brad,
yes, these are really nice. I used one for my Roland Walfisch build but sliced a mat in half so I can use the other for another build (but smaller aircraft?). Expensive but I think actually good value for money considering their realistic appearance.
cheers,
GrahamB
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This is taken from model-scene's homepage and should be up-to-date:
Mini Highway
Internet shop
Grass mats and Trees
Location: 300 Mt. Joy Rd., Mt. Pleasant, PA 15666
Languages: English
Military Miniatures Warehouse
Internet shop
Scales 1:35 (grass mats, leaf sets, weeds & low rise plants)
Languages: English
Tankrats AFV Depot
Internet shop
Scales 1:35 (grass mats, leafs)
Languages: English
Maybe this helps?
Stefan
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Warren,
I just checked the first adress i provided, and they do have those (or to be more precise: at least some of them) grass mats on stock!?
Here is the link: http://www.milminwh.com/mod_scene_grass_mats.htm
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Does anyone know of a source for these in the US?
Tim Pivonka
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Does anyone know of a source for these in the US?
Tim Pivonka
Unlikely. This thread is very old now if you look at the discussion dates, and I think the Polak mats been gone for a long time now. I spoke at length to the distributor indicated in Brad's original link from this thread fairly recently, and he said these are no more and that Polak are "having troubles" and "no response from them." The Polak website is still up, but no way to get them anywhere unless you somehow get one from someone used/old. You'll have to go with some other base, it looks like.
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MIG Productions do some as well:
http://www.migjimenez.com/en/58-grass-mats
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I visited my Local Hobby Store the other day and was surprised to see a tufted grass mat! Needless to say I spent the $32.00 :o It is by a German company called BUSCH. They have a web site at: www.busch-model.com
Also just for giggles I searched tower Hobbies and found these products by Bachmann.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0093p?C=UPE&P=F
@ $17.00 and change. They look OK from the photos on the site. I will also take some shots of the Busch product today.
RAGIII
(http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z349/rickgeisler/Fokker%20DR1%20and%20SE5a/DSCF5934_zps8vj2k7d5.jpg)
(http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z349/rickgeisler/Fokker%20DR1%20and%20SE5a/DSCF5938_zpsx1yepwhj.jpg)