STEP BY STEP
STEP 1: PRELIMINARY WORK
First, I removed as many seeds from the meadowsweet stems as possible without damaging the fine tips. Dried meadowsweet can be flimsy, but can be strengthened by soaking in dilute PVA for a couple of hours. While damp, the stalks were gently straightened and shaped. When dry, it could withstand gentle handling but remained slightly brittle. Once the foliage has been added it can be handled with more confidence.
Individual lengths can be used to make generic trees, large woody shrubs, and small saplings. Ideally, trees need a little work to thicken their trunks (see Step 3) but they can be planted close to dense undergrowth to disguise the fine stems. Trees with a more complex structure require extra attention. I started by laying a number of stalks together and adjusted their position until they looked like the real thing. A few side branches were broken off where necessary. My example has stems held together temporarily with a plastic tube that originally protected the bristles of a paintbrush.
STEP 2: BONDING PLANT
STEMS TOGETHER
If you’ve ever made trees from wire or cable, you’ll be familiar with what follows. Lengths of fine florists’ wire were twisted around the base of the stalks to hold them together, leaving just enough slack to enable them to be moved around if required. Cotton thread or freezer bag ties will also work. Once you’re satisfied, a permanent bond can be made by applying neat PVA, universal adhesive, or cyanoacrylate glue, avoiding the plastic tube so that it could be removed for re-use.
STEP 3: IMPROVE SHAPE AND STRENGTH
A layer of decorating filler mixed with a little PVA and water-based paint is a good way of concealing the way the trunks have been made. Carefully applied filler will also improve the shape of single stem trees, while simultaneously strengthening them.
I chose a piece of real tree bark to use as a colour guide, then mixed Humbrol matt acrylics 29, 102, and 64 to match it. The paint was stirred into the wet plaster and spread slowly and carefully onto the stems, adding a few irregularities. It was left to dry thoroughly. Each part-made tree was lightly spray-painted with Humbrol acrylic 155 (Olive Drab) to blend the colours together.
STEP 4: DETAILING THE TRUNKS
The thickened trunks were dry-brushed with Tamiya XF4 (Yellow Green) and XF55 (Deck Tan). Some modellers may prefer to take the detailing process further. Very fine brown/green scatter can be sprinkled onto tacky PVA (to add texture), and green weathering powders will simulate moss or algae. Dark green scatter material glued onto fine strands of hessian (or similar) will simulate ivy.
STEP 5: PREPARING A FOLIAGE MESH
Fabric wadding was used to represent fine twigs. Offcuts of various grades can be purchased very cheaply from high street fabric stores. Humbrol acrylic 155 (Olive Drab) was sprayed onto my samples from an aerosol can, giving the wadding a little more ‘body’.
STEP 6: ATTACHING THE FOLIAGE MESH
Small amounts wadding were cut into random shapes and teased out thinly, then fixed carefully to the frame of each tree. Undiluted tacky PVA, impact adhesive, and cyanoacrylate all worked well. Once dry, the mesh was trimmed into realistic shapes.
STEP 7: CHOOSING LEAF SCATTER MATERIALS
I prefer the appearance of relatively small, thin, and roughly oval-shaped leaf scatters because they look remarkably like the real thing. I’ve never been able to make my own, so I chose products by Greenscene, Javis, and Noch. I discovered that some herbs – such as dried parsley and basil – are cheap and can also look authentic, provided that individual fragments are not over-scale. All these products can be used as supplied or mixed to give realistic colour blends. For example, a little basil mixed with pale or medium greens can produce a faded, late summer appearance.
STEP 8: APPLYING THE LEAVES
Rather than use spray glue, I dabbed neat, tacky PVA onto small sections of the foliage mesh with a brush, then sprinkled on leaves sparingly. Because the glue was targeted, I felt in control of the process. The leaves didn’t stick onto any wayward spray glue that had fallen randomly onto the trunk and branches, so there was no need for tidying up afterwards. I managed to create a realistic ‘lacy’ appearance as the leaves were gradually added – exactly the outcome I was hoping for!
I found it best to work on a small area at a time, adding thin layers of leaves. Entire trees took 5-15 minutes to complete (depending on size). Once dry, a quick spray with acrylic matt varnish or hairspray helped the trees to retain their overall shape.