How do you build the 'Grassinator'?

[CNE Runner]

Quite a while ago there was a thread on a very clever device to put down static grass on your layout. The chap made this device using an electric fly swatter and a metal kitchen sieve. I have included the Bachmann forum link here:

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,14886.0.html

I finally got all the materials needed for the project together (I think) and wanted to actually assemble the device (which is way, way cheaper than the Noch tool). Unfortunately both the post, and its related hyperlink, are inactive. The poster was a guest - so we can't email him directly. Does anyone know how to make one of these things?

Much obliged,
Ray

[richg]

I checked with a couple of my friends and below is what they told me.

http://www.google.com/search?q=build+the+Grassinator&hl=en

http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A2KIc2MsgmZNsfUANgubvZx4?p=build+the+Grassinator&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-701

Some of the links will be the same.
Store the links you like.

Rich

[CNE Runner]

Thanks for the reply RichG. The websites, you provided, did not give instructions on how the Grassinator was constructed. Virtually all the 'sites referred to the Ztrains article. When the Ztrains article is accessed, there aren't any instructions in evidence. Apparently the Grassinator is lost in cyberspace. I did learn that the device does not work all that well. Some of the posters suggested that the voltage recommended was too low. Thanks anyway.

Regards,
Ray

[richg]

Ok, take a look at the below site. The first link is dead, again. Harold does that a lot.
Some are looking into more about the grassinator.

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/search/node/grassinator

Join this free on line model railroad magazine and submit your email address and they will let you know when the next magazine is available for download. I started to download their magazine three years ago when they started up and they do not sell your email address or bug you.
More of the articles are coming with videos embedded in the article. This is the wave of the future.
Bachmann advertises there from what I have heard.

A fellow named Harold M.  hminky, put out an article at his site but Harold has a bad habit of disappearing for months at time and he comes back with a new scale/project. When I see something Harold has that looks good and he has many good ideas, I save the page for that project to my PC as a HTML and when his site is gone, I just click on the HTML in my PC and that project opens up as if it still existed for the project, just not his whole site. I did not save the article.

Rich

[richg]

You cam also search the below forum. The grassinator has been discussed there.

http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/

Don't forget You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYSAK1ezou4

Store the links in Favorites, all of you.

Rich

[richg]

Finding more info.

http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=63097

http://dandhmodelrailroad.yuku.com/topic/383

You just have to be patient and keep looking.

I oot those from the below search. I will let you look and maybe you might get a different way to search. Many are not aware, much of the time you can find want you want. It just takes time and patience.

Rich

[CNE Runner]

The Grassinator has caught my fancy - so I intend to follow up on its construction. RichG, thanks for the MRH website link (I have been a subscriber since its inception)...I never gave that source a thought. In the process of using the MRH link for the Grassinator (there wasn't anything on its actual construction) I came across an excellent series of blogs on layout construction. I definitely recommend one checks this out at:

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/3225

Even this longtime modeler learned some new techniques (especially the one wherein masking tape and cardboard are used to make low relief land forms...perfect for a mini layout's [usually] flat surface).

Narrowminded, I look forward to your thread on the Grassinator. With all the mixed reviews, I have to ask: "Have you ever constructed/used one?" How did it work? Is it something a novice/intermediate modeler could construct/use with a minimum of tools?

Thanks again for the information. Now I'm off to find some masking tape and cardboard...

Ray

[mabloodhound]

Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine (FREE) had an article on this last March.   Read it here http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/magazine/mrh-2010-MarApr/static_grass_applicators
Joe Fugate owner of MRH has built this originally and has a lot of info on his website forum on using it. http://siskiyou-railfan.net/e107_plugins/forum/forum.php


Sorry, didn't notice Rich had posted the same link.   Do go  to Joe's forum for more building/using info.

[richg]

Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine (FREE) had an article on this last March.   Read it here http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/magazine/mrh-2010-MarApr/static_grass_applicators
Joe Fugate owner of MRH has built this originally and has a lot of info on his website forum on using it. http://siskiyou-railfan.net/e107_plugins/forum/forum.php


Sorry, didn't notice Rich had posted the same link.   Do go  to Joe's forum for more building/using info.

Joe came out of the Kalmbach Trains.com site and is building a very nice eZine. Any reference to his MRH site there has been blipped in the past.

Don't forget to sign up with your email address all. They will notify you when th next issue is ready.

Rich

[CNE Runner]

Dave, I found the article on the 'new' Grassinator on the MRH link you supplied (yippee!). Thanks for the suggestion. Joe - I agree about the quality of Model Railroad Hobbyist e-zine and look forward to its monthly publication. [Mr. Bach-Man, you might want to suggest to management to begin advertising in MRH as this will probably be the way magazines are disseminated in the future.]

Joe's comment led me to begin thinking about the two other magazines I get: Railroad Model Craftsman and Model Railroader. My usual procedure is to read the current issue several times - then cut out articles of interest...filing them away for future reference (...and at my age one tends to forget what articles one has 'squirreled away'). I would much prefer to receive the same excellent magazines in an 'e format'. This would save on paper, transportation costs, and bulk. Referencing past articles would then be a simple matter of 'thumbing' through ones hard drive. Added to these savings would be the additional benefit of reduced subscription rates (one would hope). Bachmann Trains already does this with their on-line catalogs.

'Just a thought,
Ray

[richg]

You can also scan those articles into your PC and create a PDF or your own for these articles.
You can then create a library in your PC. I have a few hundred model railroad articles and files on various subjects. If you can get say an iPad, really helps as the tablet can be right next to you.
Sometimes I put the iPad on the counter with a recipe  I am making. Love the technology.

Rich

[CNE Runner]

Great idea RichG. I think I will begin the process of scanning my model railroad resource files and save them on a flash drive in PDF format. As it is I have to 'paw' through many articles in order to find the one for which I am looking. The iPad idea is also intriguing...your use as a convenient on countertop recipe guide may be a selling point with the Superintendent.

As you so aptly put it: "Love the technology."

Ray

[NarrowMinded]

I found this pdf file online.

NM

http://www.racooke.com/images/HOW%20TO/Static/Making%20a%20Static%20Grass%20Applicator.pdf

[CNE Runner]

Thanks for the instructions NM...I saved it on the hard drive. Look for a huge electrical discharge to the South (you'll know I was trying to build the darn thing).

Cheers,
Ray