Silflor Tufts advice

[Plynkes]

I notice the tufts craze seems to be taking hold among some of our membership. I've got some now myself which I will be using within a day or two. I just thought I'd pick the brains of anybody who's used them, rather than starting from scratch, experimenting and making mistakes, and then having to scrap some of the precious tufts.

Basically I want to know what glue works best with these things? The little bit of paper that comes with them says use tesa-Alleskleber, which I have never heard of, and I don't have any idea what type of glue that is.

So what have other folks found works best. Is ordinary PVA glue up to the task, or do you use something else?


Actually, I just noticed that these are actually miniNatur tufts, not Silflor. But they seem to be an identical product, the packaging is even the same apart from the name. I don't know what that's all about, but I'm sure it isn't important.

Thanks.

[Lowtardog]

I have used PVA and so far it seems ok

[Hammers]

Tesa is the brand name, isn't it? We've got it here in Sweden at least; masking tape and the like. Is it tape with adhesive on both sides?

[Plynkes]

The drawing shows a tube of glue, like the sort polystyrene cement and superglue come in.

[Orctrader]

I notice the tufts craze seems to be taking hold among some of our membership.

What is the advantage over static grass?  Is it just to save time?

I have seen some good examples of its use.  Then again, I've seen some pretty bad examples too.

[Argonor]

The drawing shows a tube of glue, like the sort polystyrene cement and superglue come in.

I think Tesa is a German brand. 'Alleskleber' would mean something like 'general purpose glue'. Probably the clear smelly stuff you can buy in any supermarket..?

[Plynkes]

What is the advantage over static grass?  Is it just to save time?

For me it's not a question of comparing it with static grass. I've bought them not to replace static grass in my modelling armoury but to do a different job. I'll continue to use static grass for many bases, but I wanted something that looked more wild, for longer grass. An easy way of getting an African Savannah look for some of my figures, which you don't really get with the ordinary static grass I normally use.

[Hammers]

What is the advantage over static grass?  Is it just to save time?

For me it's not a question of comparing it with static grass. I've bought them not to replace static grass in my modelling armoury but to do a different job. I'll continue to use static grass for many bases, but I wanted something that looked more wild, for longer grass. An easy way of getting an African Savannah look for some of my figures, which you don't really get with the ordinary static grass I normally use.

I haven't used Silflor but some other tall grass model railway product for the very same purpose and effect. What I don't get is if there is some revolutionary concept with Silflor? Are they self-adhesive? Wider range of colours? Variably tall?

On a side note, and maybe you already know this: you can get a bit of raise out of normal static grass by blowing across the flocked surface before the glue sets.

[Argonor]

They DO come in various lengths. I like them simply because I think they look great.

I actually think there's another trick to the static grass; in a Heki-catalogue I got from a local hobby store, there's a description that you should moisten the static grass, then apply it with a special device that is somehow magnetic/electrical charged... should male the fibres stand up.. . hence the 'static'.

I never really understood the procedure, and maybe I describe it wrongly - but railroad modellers allegedly use this method to create standing grass..

[Captain Blood]

Well, I too have just started using them (see my Fondling's Horse posted a few days ago...)
I rather like the effect of larger clumps with some static grass around.

I got a Silfor sample pack from Antenociti.
I confess to being a tad disappointed in that a significant proportion of each sheet of tufts is squashed, and a further significant proportion are such little or odd shaped pieces that they are not really that usable - they are certainly not all nice neat individual tufts which (foolishly / optimistically) is what I was expecting.

To answer the question, the Silfor tufts come with a kind of self adhesive base, but it's not adequate for wargames purposes, so yes you have to use glue.

I tried PVA, but when I then shook the static grass off, half the tufts fell off too - so in the end I just used a drop of superglue which worked a treat, and which is what I'd recommend as the most surefire solution.

[Plynkes]

Hammers, I can get static grass to stand up, but it still looks totally different to what I've seen of the tufts. I just liked the look and thought "that's what I want."

If there is a revolutionary concept here, it is simply that they are tufts, rather than individual lengths of grass that you have to somehow get to stand up in a clump together. Something like that may have been around for years for those in the know, but it is new to me.

[Svennn]

Good old superglue as The Capt. says - quick and strong.

I also have to agree with his comments about squashed and tiny tufts. I was unfortunate enough to buy mine from the previous UK outlet who cut the sheets up and just put them in ziplock bags. I well remember opening the package and thinking it was the worst £25 I had ever spent on hobby stuff.

The longer ones would be very good for savanna bases/terrain but quite a few of the ordinary ones are even too big for a standard base i find.

[Lowtardog]

What is the advantage over static grass?  Is it just to save time?

For me it's not a question of comparing it with static grass. I've bought them not to replace static grass in my modelling armoury but to do a different job. I'll continue to use static grass for many bases, but I wanted something that looked more wild, for longer grass. An easy way of getting an African Savannah look for some of my figures, which you don't really get with the ordinary static grass I normally use.

Exactly why I have been using the Silfur/Noche tufts, though I would say they save a lot of time and mix in nicely for that short/tufty varied grass look thingy

[Super_Gibbon]

I love the tufts. My packs said "mininatur" too. I ordered them from Scenic express here in the US and it was silfor stuff on the website so I have no idea what thats all about. I've just been using normal old PVA glue. The figures on which I've used them haven't been handled alot but it seems durable enough for me.  I did a little review of them in the workbench a couple of months ago:

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=4009.0

And some more tufts in action from another post:



I've had good luck with them. They are pricey, my only complaint.

[Hammers]

I don't know what quantity you get on a Stiflor sheet but Joefix Studios of Belgium has a product prized about 10 euros here (and in other places).