Making your own foliage

Plus a Marx track-cleaning boxcar

I MODEL A SMALL New England town set in the 1950s on my O gauge layout and so want viewers to quickly feel like they’re in one. My locomotives and rolling stock have New England railroad liveries. Stores and factories have regional names. Autos and trucks are from the period.

There’s a village green with commercial manicured trees and shrubs, but what about the foliage and growth in industrial areas, where scraggly is realistic and manicured isn’t? I’ve found that dyeing various types of lichen and seed pods I find in the woods makes realistic bushes and trees.

Here’s my process. First, I determine the color for the trees and shrubs and buy dye at a fabric or crafts store. Then I roam around outside and find seed pods and lichens (1). I next leave them in a place free of moisture to dry. [A little time in a low oven can help, but you have to keep an eye on the items to make sure they don’t burn. Watch out for critters! – Editor]

From there I dye the vegetation. I keep in mind that the longer it soaks in the dye, the more color it takes on (2). The mottled appearance will look natural. I let everything dry for a day or so before planting.

Either as trees or shrubs, the natural vegetation looks realistic. I have the satisfaction of making them myself, and I sure can’t beat the price. – Ron Brown