Cheap, easy, and good looking scenery

Demether brings us some really nice and easy tips and tricks to make modeling flock and conifers. Thanks !!!

You can get in touch with Demether on the Home Racing World forums, on the 1/43 board.

 

Modeling Flock

 

For good scenery, especially for natural scenery, modeling flock is essential for realism. But modeling flock can be really expensive! For a little diorama, it's ok, but for a 3m by 3m track layout it will cost a LOT of money! Here is a technique to make your own professional-quality modeling flock, for a budget of... nearly 0 Euros (or Dollars)

For that, you'll simply need some sawdust. You can usually find it for free in sawmills or in a carpenter workshop. When you've got that, take your blender-mixer, and mix it finely. After that, take an empty container (personally I use ice cream container), and 3 tubes of basic acrylic paint: primal blue, primal yellow, and black. With that you'll be able to make tons of modeling flock, with dozens of different colors-tones.

In the container, mix a bit of yellow and blue, if you want it darker, add a little bit of black. After that, add water to it: You have to recreate milk consistency, i.e. no translucency BUT very liquid. Depth of the liquid will be accorded to desired flock quantity, 0.5cm (little flock quantity) to 2cm for a lot of flock! After that, put some sawdust in that liquid, to absorb it. The sawdust become green with mud consistency, like in the picture below



Now, add gradually little quantities of saw dust, and mix it with the "green base". Do it again and again and again ... Gradually, and finally the mud consistency will change to a "almost dry" consistency, where each particle of sawdust will separate from the others. That is an important part of the job, if the flock is not dry enough, it will stick and form some useless clumps. A good tip I found, near the end of this part of the job, is that when you try mix the sawdust and it becomes difficult, it is because there is not enough liquid to tint the sawdust...it's just the time to stop!

After that, let it dry in a hot place without wind/draft (seriously, it's just modeling flock)



After drying, you have some almost free modeling flock. For the price of one 15 grams commercial flock bag, you can make a kilo of it, with PROFESSIONAL QUALITY! See two of the 5-6 colors of modeling flock I made:



After that, with a strainer, you can also "calibrate" different thickness, from dust to big bits. You could also mix different shapes, colors of flocks for realism. Look at what I've made this week end with that method:



This morning I've sorted it by thickness, and color, and I've done 2-3 pots of mixed colors. I'm ready to "flock"!

 

 

 

Conifers

 

 

Now you've got plenty of modeling flock, why not create some trees with it?

Commercial trees are VERY expensive ... so make your own!

This is a very effective and really cheap method, to make realistic looking conifers and trees ...

All you'll need are a cleaning brush head, a green spray can, and some modeling flock and copper wire.

1) Cut off brush hairs with a cutter:



2) Next, cut off 50cm (1-2 feet) copper wire bits:



3) Remove plastic around the copper with your cutter:



4) Next, fold (very tight) the copper wire in two parts:



5) Block the folded wire in a vise (folded side in)



6) Now place a little heap of brush hairs between the two bits of copper wire:



7) Mount the two copper wire bits in the chuck of a drill, and tighten the chuck strong:



8) Next, "screw" it slowly, while drawing it towards you, and MAGIC! A tree is appearing!



9) Repeat that with all your brush’s’ hairs.. .I was personally able to make 16 trees out of one brush

10) With cutting pliers, cut off the copper wire just near the first brush hairs. Next, with scissors, trim the trees! For that turn slowly the tree in your hand, while with the other, you cut off the hair and shape it!



Now it's time for the finishing work!

11) Prepare your material. You need a piece of polystyrene to plant your trees for drying, and some boxes for flock recovering.



12) Paint the tree in green:



13) Then, simply cover it with modeling flock:



14) That's almost finished! Let it dry for a day...





15) Here are the results:





After that, you can protect the tree with mat varnish spray, or with a cheap strong hair spray. To finish, cut the copper stem, and paint the tree trunk if you want. You can also texture the trunk with glue and sand, or with self-hardening putty.

 

So, go make a tree !!!

 

LastUpdate: 8/20/06                                                                                                Drop me a note