Fine-scale Leaves, Plants, Vegetation and Scenic /Scenery supplies

[Guy Milh(imeter)]

The guy uses Polàk products for his ground works.
Very very nice stuff, unfortunately the website says the company is for sale, ...

http://www.polakmodel.com/en/text/main/Sales-1.html

Guy

[shropshire lad]

The guy uses Polàk products for his ground works.
Very very nice stuff, unfortunately the website says the company is for sale, ...

http://www.polakmodel.com/en/text/main/Sales-1.html

Guy

  Which may not be a bad thing as any new owner might make their products easier to get hold of .

[Guy Milh(imeter)]

here is another diorama from the same guy + SBS on groundwork !!

http://www.migproductionsforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=8012&start=60

found his blog:

http://rollingstonemodel.blogspot.be/

but unfortunatly he stopped modelling: he's heart goes to R&R now (plays gitaar, (not that I understand Polish, on line translator machine did the work).
Strange, ... many modellers also play music 

[mspaw]

Gordon-

Is this sbs still available anywhere? I was just out collecting some leaves this afternoon, in prep for something coming up.

Thanks so much.

-Michael

This link will give you details of the different methods that I have used for preserving natural/real plants.

http://www.thegardener.btinternet.co.uk/preserving.html

FWIW, my views:

Air Drying, works well with most vegetation but you need to plan ahead as it takes time - I have "sealed " plants after drying with light sprays of varnish.

Glycerine, again works well and the colour change helps indicate when process is completed - again takes time and I have had issues with "glycerine bleed" afterwards.

Desiccants, forget it unless you are sealing your model up after completion - even spraying with a varnish does not seem to stop plant re-absorbing moisture from the air.

Pressing, works well just visit a good natural history museum to see but not come across a use for it in modelling.

Microwave, my favourite due to speed and ease of use. You do need to experiment as there is a fine line between drying out the plant material so that it is still slightly pliable and drying it out to such an extent that it crumbles to dust when you touch it !

[Gordon Ferguson]

Michael,

This link gives much the same info

http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/plant_info/identifying_plants/processing_plant_specimens/Preserving_plant_specimens

[mspaw]

Thanks!

-Michael

[Bill Gill]

Does anyone recognize this scenery foliage material?
I was given this small sample by a modeler who asked me what it was. I don't have a clue. I can't even tell if it is a synthetic material like a thin plastic film or something natural that has been processed. It is fairly fragile and falls apart readily if handled.

It kind of looks like Woodland Scenics "Foliage Clusters", but not exactly. The Woodland Scenics clusters look like they have a finer texture, but the photos on line are not sharp enough to tell for sure. There are other WS products that don't seem to look just like this either.

If you have used this stuff, what is it and where did it come from?

[Design-HSB]

Bill

as you describe it, I think it could be Iceland moss.

[Bill Gill]

Thank you, Helmut. it does look like it might be Icelandic moss that has been preserved and colored.

[Bexley]

Ooh! Ooh! I know! It's SuperTurf from Scenic Express.

[Bill Gill]

Thank you Bexley, It does look a lot like that Super Turf. I'll have to double check by comparing it in hand because it's so compact in the photo that it's hard to see exactly what the texture is. The Scenic Express site describes it as "a unique open-cell foam foliage". What I have looks more like a thin, crinkly plastic film instead of foam, but their  display photo does look pretty similar.

[finescalerr]

Bexley, you seem very enthusiastic today. I will give you a gold star but you still must stand in the corner. -- ssuR

[Bill Gill]

May Bexley come out of the corner? His answer was correct! There's a very short YouTube video that shows the Super Turf up close at about 49 seconds and it is the same stuff I asked about.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG1DhU8SQ4g
Thanks Bexley.

[Design-HSB]

OK, I'm going in the corner?

[finescalerr]

Thank you for standing in the corner, Helmut. You are a shining example for everybody on this forum. -- Russ