coffee stirrers dipped in light brown washes and alcohol with India ink work. Use two for the backing and glue the boards on to make 10' sections. Older fences tend to have varying heights. Board can be split or broken by picking at it with #11 exacto Steve
I use balsa wood, from building hoses, barns, locomotive barn, to fences. I buy in 1/8" X 3" X 36", using a acto knife. I cut strips 1/8" wide, and 10 inches long. I make the posts a little wider/narrower so it looks like a tree fence post. I dip the cut pices in wood stain (fences only) and allow them to dry. Then all that is left is assemble the parts.
Google has them 6 bucks a 1000. A restaurant supply or maybe Sams club? I have not seen them in my LHS just popcicle sticks.
My wifes a teacher and can get me a ton of popcicle sticks from school. Will they work? I'm assuming they're a little thicker but has anyone used them?
They are wider, thicker, and shorter. Know anyone that works at a coffee shop? They may sell/give you some.
Not off the top of my head. They are cheap enough that its not a real issue, I just thought popcicle sticks could work as well.
As a person who spent 30 years in restaurant business. I can say, they are not that cheap. That is a mis-conception a lot of people have. Restaurants only run on (approx) a 6 percent profit. Those little jam container people take all the time cost 4 cents apiece. That adds up real fast, when people start taking them. As for the "Popsicle sticks" they run about 6 cents apiece.
I just used scribed styrene sheet cut to size for the fence I wanted and added posts and top and bottom rails to it. This is in N but I don't see any reason why it couldn't be done in HO. Popsicle sticks might work for O or G scale.
But it all adds up, 6 bucks here, six bucks there, etc,. etc. Yes it can put a restaurant out of business, I've seen it happen quite a few times.
I've used Northeastern stripwood. Look at the prototype and divide the measurements by 87 (for H0) Northeastern sells the stripwood already in prototype inches. For my stock yard fences I've used 1'' x 6'' and 2'' x 6''. Wolfgang