by Jason Hasert

Making a 1/64 Wheat Field

        One item that I have not come across on many displays is a wheat field.  A wheat field allows you to use a multitude of equipment from big combines to classic combines,  trucks, balers, planters and tillage equipment.   The best part is that a wheat field is easy to make in 1/64. 

           When I decided to add a wheat field to my display I took a trip to Lowes Hardware.  For $2 I purchased a 6ft section of tan indoor out door carpet.  I also purchased yellow spray paint from the paint section.  It was called harvest gold so it seemed like a good choice.   Once I got home I laid out the carpet and sprayed it with yellow paint.  The paint went on with just a wave of the can about 6 inches above the carpet.  In the picture above you see the difference after painting.  The paint in the sun took less than 15 minutes to dry.

          The painted carpet makes a perfect wheat field base.  The carpet fiber makes perfect stubble rows.  This 1/64 John Deere air drill team looks like its crossing a freshly cut field.

        Another thing you can do for your wheat display is to leave some of the carpet unpainted.  The tan area against the yellow makes a nice contrast. The split in paint and carpet can represent harvested and un-harvested sections of the field. These pictures help show how you can pose a combine and a soybean planter on your new wheat field.

       You can make a nice wheat field for less $10.  With the carpet and the paint my total bill was $6.47.  If you are just getting started with a display or want to keep it simple you have an inexpensive way to show of your 1/64 farm toys beyond the shelf.

       If you want to dress up your  new wheat field it can be done just as easily as the painting was done.  It will take a little more investment.  Visit your local model train store or hobby shop and you will find materials to meet almost every idea you have.   With some modeling foliage, trees, train grass and gravel, you can see the yellow carpet can be blended into a model farm. 

         Dress up your model farm and give it a little character all your own.  I choose to make my wheat field look like a Western Kentucky farm.  If you travel across Western Kentucky you will see flat open fields trimmed by woods and fence rows.  Many of the fields were part of a smaller farms from years gone by.  Small unpainted barns are often left standing alone over grown by trees and an old country gravel lane leading up to it.  A great way to make the farm display look more like the area I used an Ertl Western Barn and built a fence row between the old barn yard and the field.  I cut a gap in the brush for trucks and equipment to drive in and out off as you can see in the picture above.  To give the field more depth I lined the back of the field with trees creating the start of a woods.  To key to a nice looking display big or small is making it the way you want and have a good story.

      So far we have had a good base for a harvested wheat field.  You can add more realistic looking wheat to contrast the header from the stubble.  Most train stores will carry modelers grass.  The material is meant to be used to make tufts of grass on a hillside or on a vacant lot.  It comes bundled in a small bag.  You can simple pull it apart and lay it across your display to make standing wheat. It looks fairly realistic.  Below you can see a CaseIH 2366 opening up the field.

      The same field grass can also be used for windrows of straw.  You can roll the grass into rows. You might make a pile here and there in the rows to show where the combine has plugged up.  The grass has a good straw color and makes a baler look right at home.

       If you are not interested in having a baler or have a rotary combine you can use a yellow modeling dust to show chopped straw.  Here I sprinkled the dust behind a C&D Models detailed CaseIH 2188. to show the chopped straw. 

          The yellow dust also works well for grain.  It pours out to make piles of grain in the combine bin, grain cart and truck.

         Another display option for your wheat field is tillage.  The new 760 hp Big Bud 16V-747 and C&D models 72ft field cultivator are a nice set up for stubble tillage.

         I took dirt from my garden and broke it up to place on top of the wheat stubble.  I allowed a little of the carpet to show through so it looked some of the stubble has been left on top for residue.  I placed the dirt  to match the width of the field cultivator so it looks like the farmer has just started plowing.  The tractor and field cultivator stand out in size with the stubble and dirt contrast. 

           Once you have your display set up you can pick out your combine or combines.

           As I have said many times have fun with your display.  You can go big and modern with a mega combine like the New Holland CR 970 combine.  It can also be just as fun to roll back the clock to the early 1970's and use a model like the International 815 combine.  

           Hopefully this months article has helped give you some ideas and it may lead you create your own wheat field.  Next month "Down on the Model Farm" will look at using tractor literature to pose your 1/64 farm toys on a display.  In the October issue the series will pick up on the harvest again and look at the corn harvest and storing grain on the model farm.

Moore's Farm Toys fit onto 1/64 combines to ad a little extra harvest time when your grain cart  needs some extended time.  Visit www.mooresfarmtoys.com to view other great 1/64 combine detail parts.

TTT July 2003 Page 9

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