Desert plants

[nachoman]

Great thread and great results! When I get to scenery on my Oahu Railway (or rather, building some dioramas to test scenery!), I'll be doing this same sort of thing as there isn't too much out there for modeling tropical island scenery and I don't want to use natural materials either. Interestingly, portions of the Oahu Railway have a good deal in common with desert modeling...even cactus!

Walking the plastic flower aisle was a little weird, but a lot of fun. A actually found some weird ferny type thing that could work for palm tree fronds (unfortunately I do not need palm trees). They also had a few items for making dinosaur dioramas, and I seriously looked over those products. I've never been to Hawaii, but I anticipate you will face the same challenges. You need techniques that tell your viewers, THIS IS HAWAII, and not just another appalachian woodland. Architectural style can help with that, as you probably won't be able to make much use of the standard DPM or Walthers kits that most of us use.

[e-paw]

Great job Those are some very believable looking plants. My hats off to you sir...

[Charlie B]

Kevin, those rate a 3 thumbs up. Where did you find the plastic plants. I went to Hobby Lobby today and did find a few useful items including some plastic Cream Heather. some snippers and some green paint and I have a bunch of presentable trees for my layout, and it was on sle for $3.50.

[nachoman]

Charlie, I got the plastic plants from Hobby Lobby and Micheals. I had to spend many minutes wandering the aisles and paying close attention to the plant textures to find what I wanted. Each store carried a different product line, so the experience was a bit of a treasure hunt.

[ocalicreek]

Great looking plants, Kevin!

Our Michael's up here in WA (and our JoAnn's) both carry a nice range of artificial and natural dried & preserved plants. Most recently, wandering the store with my wife, I noticed the 'pot toppers' that have been mentioned here and elsewhere (even in MR!) and a new product that would pass for good forest floor in a wet, green place.

Since I model Appalachia I don't need a continuous thick green carpet in my forest, at least not all over, but a different look depending on elevation, rainshed, etc. So I'm still deciding what to go for. All that to say, you're dead-on about knowing your locale and how to say to the viewer, THIS IS _______. More layouts could benefit from a little scenic distinction, and yours is very distinctive indeed!

Galen

[Charlie B]

Charlie, I got the plastic plants from Hobby Lobby and Micheals. I had to spend many minutes wandering the aisles and paying close attention to the plant textures to find what I wanted. Each store carried a different product line, so the experience was a bit of a treasure hunt.

Darn it, I drove right by Micheals
Charlie

[nachoman]

Up next is the bizarre Ocotillo plant. They aren't really a cactus, tree, bush, vine, or shrub, and that is what makes them so interesting. Common in southern Arizona, California, and New Mexico, they grow as a collection of thorny sticks from a Central base. During dry periods in the early summer and winter, the branches appear dead and gray. After a few rains, the branches turn a fuzzy green as numerous small green leaves sprout from the thorny sticks. Near the top of each branch, tubular red flowers bloom every spring, attracting hummingbirds. Here is a photo I took of a few Ocotillo plants last weekend:

   

And the wikipedia page for this species:

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This is perhaps my favorite plant because of its uniqueness. Ranchers also used to cut the branches, and plant them in rows to form fences. The branches would root themselves, and become a "living fence".

[nachoman]

A found a piece of 14 gauge multiple-strand wire I bought at the auto parts store for an auto rewiring job. I stripped off about 14 scale feet of insulation, twisted the end and soldered it.

   

Then, I cut off the bundle of soldered wires, and cut the loose ends of the wires to staggered lengths. I then clamped the soldered end of the bundle and fanned out the branches, kinking and twisting them a little to give a more natural appearance.

   

I then painted the branches using dark gray craft paint and a brush. Making a bunch of these at one time and spraying the paint would probably be easier.

   

[nachoman]

After the paint dried, I painted the branches with Acrylic Matte Medium using a soft bristle brush. It may help if the Matte Medium is thinned a little. While the Matte Medium was still wet, I sprinkled on some fine, green ground foam to represent the leaves. I took a pinch of ground foam between my fingers of one hand, held the armature horizontal with my other hand, and sprinkled on ground foam by rubbing my fingers back and forth while rotating the armature in order to apply a fine, even layer.

   

I decided to give this plant blooms, so I painted the ends of the branches with Floquil Caboose red...

   

...and planted it on my layout.

   

If you want to model an Ocotillo without leaves, I would make the same wire armature, and try spraying with some kind of gray speckled spray paint, or maybe sprinkle on brown ground foam instead of green.

[Charlie B]

Kevin, this thread is a great tutorial, it needs placed in the accademy. I'm sending the link to a friend that models the southwest.
Charlie

[Ralph]

No kidding! Simple but creative techniques with readily available materials that create outstanding results!
Ralph

[rrinker]

Wow, that came out great. WHo'da thunk it started life as a piece of stranded copper wire.

--Randy

[doctorwayne]

Very impressive modelling, Kevin, and an imaginative use of materials - a quantum leap from the old standby pipe-cleaner saguaro cacti. Thanks, too, for the botany lesson - living in an area of deciduous forests, I was only vaguely aware of the variety present in the southwestern deserts.

Wayne

[MasonJar]

Kevin, this thread is a great tutorial, it needs placed in the accademy. I'm sending the link to a friend that models the southwest.
Charlie

Kevin,

If you let me know when you are finished adding to this great "how-to", I'll move it over to The Academy as per Charlie's suggestion.


Andrew

[Sumpter250]

If these plants grew in the Northeast, I'd have to model a bunch of them !!!
I just might have to do a small diorama.
Andrew, I concur heartily with moving this thread, once completed,to the academy. This is really innovative creativity, and the step-by-step explanation makes the thread a valuable source for Southwestern modelers.