Photo-illustration of one of my techniques

Take a look at almost anywhere a wall or fence is in contact with the ground and you will find some sort of vegetation growth.  It may be grass, weeds, brambles or a mix of rough dirt with the above.

I show here how I have added some vegetation along the long stone wall which runs beside Ponsangwyn Yard on my layout.

First assemble the required material and tools.  I am using a selection of Woodland Scenics "Field Grass", "Fine Turf" and "Coarse Turf" products, plus a bag of Skale Scenics "Soil".  Missing from the shot is the adhesive - I am using undiluted PVA for this work.



This is the area before work commenced.



First I work the PVA around the base of the wall to which the vegetation will be applied.



I start with the largest or longest item as smaller low-growing material will be added around it later.  Here I have a pinch of two different colours of Field Grass mixed together to create a little variety.



Next this is trimmed with the scissors at both ends.  The concealed end between my fingers was first cut square then this end is cut at an angle to represent different growth of the grass.



I find it is quite easy to place this with fingers and ease it into its final position with the scalpel blade.  A probe could be used but the blade picks up more of the fibres and I find gives a better result.



Next I mix a selection of the scatters in my hand again to give a variety of colour and texture.  This is about â…“ each of coarse bright green, fine soil and the Skale soil; the coarse stuff hasn't shown up so well in the picture but is there.



Cupping my hands this is given a good shake to mix it up and is then carefully placed using fingertips. More is eased into the "roots" of the long grass using the scalpel blade again which gives the appearance of everything having been there for some time and not "just plonked".



A little PVA is also dabbed with a cocktail stick onto the top of the stone arch.



More green is placed onto this to show unmanaged growth on the upper surfaces.



Finally the scene is recorded on camera to check that it appears good in close up.  The foreground is a mix of Skale Scenics "grey ballast" and Woodland Scenics "Medium Brown" ballast fixed with a 50:50 diluted PVA spray.  

Pictures like this also show up the odd stray grass fibre sometimes not visible to the naked eye; these can be carefully removed with the tweezers once the PVA is dry.  Doing so while it is wet can lift the entire clump out and mean the whole job needs to be done again.

That looks really good, Rick, even in closeup. I hadn't seen that soil before.

 And impatient twit that I am, I've ruined numerous clumps because I tried to remove stray fibres before the glue had set.

Mike

[user=316]Gwiwer[/user] wrote:

Pictures like this also show up the odd stray grass fibre sometimes not visible to the naked eye; these can be carefully removed with the tweezers once the PVA is dry.  Doing so while it is wet can lift the entire clump out and mean the whole job needs to be done again.

Like the fibre laying at an angle on the pier

Excellent tutorial Rick. I really like the way that you get a thin covering of weeds on the gravel as well:thumbs

Like the fibre laying at an angle on the pier

That and the single very tall one in the middle clump have been dealt with under Rule 412.

That states that what cannot always be seen by the naked eye shall always embarrass the photographer.

They have both been dealt with.  Meanwhile thank you for your comments :cheers

[user=401]pnwood[/user] wrote:

Like the fibre laying at an angle on the pier

 

Don't say that, Woody.  Now he'll spend hours looking for it.  You know he irons his undies, don't you?  :Red Card

[user=316]Gwiwer[/user] wrote:

Like the fibre laying at an angle on the pier

That and the single very tall one in the middle clump have been dealt with under Rule 412.

That states that what cannot always be seen by the naked eye shall always embarrass the photographer.

They have both been dealt with.  Meanwhile thank you for your comments :cheers

I thought that the long one looked good, just needed some seeds on the end of it :shock:

That's a really useful tutorial Rick, many thanks for sharing it.  (It has been bookmarked for future reference ;-))

As they say Rick, a picture is worth a thousand words.  Thanks for an excellent tutorial.  That's given me lots of ideas for softening the walls on Eastwood. :thumbs

Brilliant stuff….

 

Another great tutorial, well done Rick.

Nice one Rick. thumbs

It's easy to say in a thread "I used some scatter material to soften the line at the base of the wall", but a few photos do a huge amount to help those who struggle with scenic work (not to mention giving some of the "experts" fresh ideas as well).

Such photo-tutorials are a valuable asset to the forum exclam: Thanks for taking the time. thumbs

I shall be sure to reference this when my mountains have been painted up!

Very nice work even though these thing exist in the real world it's not often they are modelled with such accuracy

Good one Rick Keep em coming.:thumbs

Excuse my ignorance but I'm relatively new to the forum.  I really liked the glimpse of the layout in the first photo - do have more pics of your layout if so where? 

Vegetation looks effective I have used a similar technique on Beeches TMD - mixed some static grass in with the coarser fibres.  Also mixed in bits of shrub (sea moss and flock), smaller plants to give the look of a range of plants mixed together - as on most bits of land near railways. 


 

[user=404]pwarburton[/user] wrote:

Excuse my ignorance but I'm relatively new to the forum.  I really liked the glimpse of the layout in the first photo - do have more pics of your layout if so where? 

If you click on the red "here' on Rick's signature I think you'll find what you are looking for;-)

Thank you.  I had seen other photos of this layout but this is just what I wanted - just had a good browse - great layout!!

Great tutorial Rick.Its amazing how few modellers think of putting greenery up on walls,ledges and even rooftops,where,via the gift of bird-poo,many seeds can be deposited to become bushes and even small trees!
 
:pathead

Cheers,John.B.:thumbs

Your tutorials are as popular as your layout Rick and this one is no exception. :thumbs

A very well documented presentation - many thanks. :cheers

Great tutorial, link bookmarked!