How to: make realistic sheep

Workbench
Peter Marriott shows how 21st-century scenic technology can add realism to your layout’s livestock.

PHOTOGRAPHY: PETER MARRIOTT/ALAMY

We are all familiar with static grass as a way to bring realism to a miniature landscape. The theory is wonderfully simple: you give a small fibre an electrical charge and it stands on end. The result is upright grass, adding depth and detail… and all from the same principle as rubbing a balloon over your head makes your hair stand on end!
But what else can you apply this technique to? Snow? Yes, but that’s slightly old hat now. But what about sheep?
WWScenics has been bringing us innovative scenic products for the best part of ten years and what we have here, for me, really pushes the boundaries. Yes, it’s a pack of electrostatic sheep!
If your layout depicts the British countryside, you’re going to need some sheep. The humble Ovis aries has played a huge part in shaping the British Isles since it was first brought to these shores over 6,000 years ago.
There were, according to the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, 31.8m sheep in Britain in 2023. They were less commonly moved by rail than, say, cows, but the transport of fleeces was a staple railway commodity up to the 1950s/1960s.
Cows and pigs can be represented by plastic miniatures but, as the myriad springtime greetings cards will show, sheep are woolly and, thus, don’t look that realistic as a solid lump. That’s why I was keen to try out WWScenics’ new kit. It’s been designed to use WWScenics’ Pro Grass Box but will work with a puffer bottle or an electrostatic grass planting tool, such as a GrasMaster.
The resulting sheep definitely have a fine, woolly appearance, especially when you put them alongside a plastic sheep. Consequently, this gets a thumbs up from me.
I wonder how long it will be before we see fluffy ‘OO’ gauge cats and dogs!

Choosing your sheep

Did you know that there are 60 different breeds of sheep in the UK? And the National Sheep Association reckons that, if you include all the different crossbreeds, there are 90! It’s a list that goes from A (Aberblack) to Z (Zwartbles).
Sheep, therefore, are not the white clouds with legs that we see in our imaginations. In the same way that it pays to look at real grass before trying to mimic it with static grass, so you need to study some real sheep to gauge their colour and wooliness before trying to model them. Certain breeds are closely associated with geographical areas, so your choice can be linked to your layout’s locale.
Why not have a browse through nationalsheep.org.uk/for-the-public/culture/sheep-breeds/ to pick your favourite? Bear in mind while selecting that you’ll need to blend the supplied fibres to get a decent colour match.

What you will need
SHOPPING LIST
◆ WWScenics OO scale Sheep Flocking Kit (£14.99), Pro Grass Box (£52.49)
Availability: WWScenics
Web: www.wwscenics.com
TOOLS
◆ Scalpel with fresh blade
◆ Selection of small paintbrushes
◆ Sanding sticks
◆ Woodland Scenics Scenic Glue
STEP BY STEP

1 This is what you get in the basic WWScenics Sheep Flocking Kit: 20x resin sheep, a 5ml pot of black paint, a 10g bag of 0.5mm snow scatter, 10g bag of 1mm Beige Flock, a 10g bag of 1mm Black Flock plus a 5ml pot of glue.

2 The resin sheep may require some attention with a scalpel. Flash needed removing while the legs on some of mine were uneven. Luckily, these issues were easy to fix. Simply make the cuts and then tidy with sanding sticks.

3 I wanted classic Suffolk sheep with black faces and black legs. Therefore, I used the supplied black paint. While the panel says two hours to treat 20 sheep, I left mine overnight to dry so you’ll need to factor in this extra time.

4 When you’ve determined the breed of sheep you want to re-create, you’ll need to blend the fibres together for the fleece. I mixed a little of the supplied white and beige on top of the Pro Grass Box metal plate. Don’t turn it on yet.

5 Brush a little of the supplied white glue onto the sheep’s body and upper legs, being careful not to get glue onto the dried black paint. Then, before the glue dries, clip the Pro Grass Box crocodile clip to one of the legs.

6 Hold the sheep over the fibres and turn the applicator on. The sheep needs to be held a few centimetres above the metal plate. The fibres will fly upwards and stick to the wet glue. Put the sheep aside to dry for a few hours.

7 To use a puffer bottle, hold the sheep using a crocodile clip attached to a wooden stick. Hold the sheep a few centimetres from the bottle as you ‘puff’, moving it around to ensure coverage. Leave to dry for a few hours.

Choosing the right sheep
WWScenics offers two different Sheep Flocking Kits. I’ve tested the basic kit because I already have a Pro Grass Box in my tool kit. But WWScenics also offers a pack that includes the Pro Grass Box, for £59.99.

Peter’s TOP TIP
Always remember...
…that sheep are flock animals and like to be in large groups. Three or four sheep does not constitute a flock! So, when you’re planning your sheep scene, make sure you have enough for a decent sized flock, space for them to graze – and that you’ll need to make time to detail them all.