Friday, May 16, 2025

 More experiences with the WS "Static King"....

A year or so ago I finally got some decent static grass applied on my layout. Much was due to not only technique ( if you read the earlier post on "Static Grass", you can skip to the third paragraph ) but also to the applicator.  After trying a couple other brands and being frustrated with the results I saw Martin Welburg demonstrate the new Woodland Scenics "Static King" Seeing an in-person demonstration validated what I had seen and learned by viewing a couple Youtube videos.  

Most notable was that the other brands used a 9V battery for the charge. While this may power something like a smoke detector for a year, in an application like this you get about 5 minutes of ample power before the battery no longer provides enough "joules" to get the fibers to pierce the thin shell of glue and stand up.

With a constant plugged in power supply, I had ample power to do vast areas and so on.  However, it wasn't long before a somewhat flimsy ground started to cause problems... the joint to the banana plug would break every time I used it. A rigid section ahead of the banana plug increased the pressure on the joint - further contributing to the constant breakage. I must have soldered this up a dozen times.

Electrical things are not my strong suit, so I called Woodland Scenics. They don't sell replacement grounds or suggest how you might make a fix. I quickly refocused my efforts by asking the "community" for help. I soon learned this is a common complaint and also learned what a "banana" plug is. Armed with this knowledge, I went to Amazon. I came up with two solutions, the fancy one and the not so fancy but perfectly adequate solution.

Photo One shows the problem.

Photo Two shows the the fancy solution: High end (snug fitting plug). Add wire, alligator clip and probe of your choice.

Photo Three shows the inexpensive all-in-one-solution. For $7.99 plus tax, you get two ready to use grounds. Good connection, very flexible soft wire and strong clip.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073ZVJDCF?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

I added a 5.5" dissecting needle for the ground : 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YD65KJF?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Oh...I did just start using this and it works great!


Photo One

Photo Two
 

 
Photo Three
 

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 More experiences with the WS "Static King".... A year or so ago I finally got some decent static grass applied on my layout. Much...