G'day all,

A friend recently asked me how I would tackle a jungle (tropical) tree in 1:35 scale. "Easy", I replied. I looked around my modelling desk looking for an example among the 'forest' of unfinished and in progress palm trees, ferns, lianas etc. I showed him a large example of a tree, buttress and all, which was already in place on a diorama. He correctly suggested that to make the scene look like a jungle, I would need to have smaller trees, saplings, not just one large one surrounded by grassland. I really had no clue as to where to start or what to use. It was only when walking home from school one day that I spotted a branch of interesting looking foliage, very suitable to what I had in mind. The foliage on the tree I saw looked like this:

I started off tree No.1 (we will call it Wallace) using a small twig about 6cm high as the armature:

On a stroll down at the beach, I picked up this amazing sea weed, similar to the commercial sea foam which you can buy. I am in progress gluing this to the armature to add branch structure:


Here is the armature I will be using for tree number 2. We will call it 'Timothy'. He is a bit larger than Wallace but compared to my other trees, he is a tot.

Here is the type of foliage I will be adding to 'Timothy', tree No.2.


Stay tuned and shout when I'm doing something wrong,

Chas

Greet start for a tuto Chas !
Can't wait to see Thimoty and Wallace grow and take weight...

Best,
Julien

Very creative names

cant wait to see timothy and wallace finished

cheers

I had to look twice at those leaves......I'm corrupt

Thankyou everyone,

Here is some progress on Timothy. I have simply taken the leaves, left them inside a notepad for a few days before bringing them out to paint. When dry, I snapped them off the stem and glued them to the tree (in patterns, groups of 3). There is no quicker way of attaching them other than leaf-by-leaf.

Here are two fellas who will soon be transformed into beautiful broad-leaved palm trees, hopefully:


Chas

Here is some progress on Wallace. I am using parsley flakes as foliage.

Excuse the white spots of glue, it hadn't dried fully when photographing. Next, I will paint the foliage so that the parsley doesn't turn yellow.

Chas

Hi Chas,
trees look great so far, please detail how you did the two tall palm stalks, they look very realistic! Most people miss the flowering stuff, but i see you already have that in place on the one. I have done palm trees myself before with varying degrees of success, but i am always looking for a new angle. Please keep posting, i will watch this thread!

Jon, i am with ya bro, had to look twice at the first pic too

Hi Sean,

The palm trunks were made using a piece of bamboo skewer as the trunk, string was then wrapped around the trunk to simulate the growth rings, and then tissue paper was plastered onto the trunk, papier mache style. I then painted it, added washes etc.

Here is how the palm tree is looking at the moment. The fronds are natural, preserved pieces of vegetation.

I think I have unintentionally mislead some of you, the leaves in the very first picture is a pic from the internet, it is not what I am using for foliage. I posted it here to show the pattern and shape which I will try to replicate.

Timothy is progressing nicely, about 150 leaves have been attached so far, covering about half the canopy. I will post pics once the glue is dry.

Chas

Am I boring anybody yet? Please let me know if this thread is helping/interesting, or am I wasting my time?

Anyway, here is the progress on Timothy:


And some more fronds glued to the Palm:


Chas

Hmmm... I am talking to myself.

Almost finished on Timothy (excuse the glue):


And the palm is almost done:


Chas

Hi Chas,

No , you are not boring us or talking to yourself...great progress on your trees. I think i will try the string thing myself for the palm stalks... I will also share an idea with you. Go to your local florist shop and ask if you can purchase a roll of "wax floral tape" . This stuff is awesome for making trees, especially (disiduous?) oak, apple, etc. leaf bearing trees. make armature with any old gauge wire twisted on an anchor post, you can even do roots etc. and wrap it all tightly with the floral tape adding extra branches as you wrap.

Keep updates comin bro, looks good, my only suggestion is wider fronds on your palm tree.
(p.s. i live in Florida, if you would like some reference pics, i can look for some wild palms and take a shot or two)

Cheers, Maynard

Hi Chas,

Very nice work! I must say I like Timothy the best.
Keep up the good work and thanks for such a nice sbs.

Hi Sean,

Thanks for the tip, I will have a look for this floral tape. Thanks for your offer for palm references, but I already have millions of photos taken in Asia so don't worry about it. Thanks all the same. I am looking forward to seeing some of your own work on the site, you sound like quite a diorama enthusiast.

Jancic, thanks for the encouragement and feedback.

Updates Tomorrow, including pictures of the trees on the diorama base.

Chas

Ok here are the finished trees:


The palm works quite well on the base I think.


Chas

Wow Leaf for Leaf - they came out great and look very very natural.

Hi Chas.
No, not boring ... yes, very interesting ... no, you´re not wasting your time
I remember an interview with MIG from years ago where he said he always checked out new modellers work, where often things didn´t work out exactly what they imagined, MIG could see possibilities of a new idea/technique. He said, his inspiration came from new modellers more often than established modellers who took more controlled steps. Same goes here .... the same foilage may not be available to all, but the ideas and techniques are adaptable. its always great to see another modeller´s work in progress. I really like the finished scene ... you got the wildness feel just right.
Feedback, would be to consider your colouring. As well as getting realistic foilage, the colouring is also a strong feature for the illusion of jungle. I always associate lush, livid colours with "jungle". Your colour choices give me the impression of Arica .. maybe parts of Asia, with very dry climates. More greens ... less yellows and browns.

Chas,
Thank you so much for posting the tutorial. It is helping me to figure out different and effective ways of completing some trees I've made so that I can get my Tiger in a dio (one of these days ). Keep up the good work.
Cheers
Dave

Hi Frank, I agree with you and am grateful for your comments. The colours and tones are some things I want to work on. Luckily, I was able to visit the actual battleground and took photographs. What was a relatively open clearing at the time is still being cleared by the locals, here is what the kunai grass looks like:

Fortunately in modelling, it is easier to darker a colour than it is to lighten it, so that is what I will do the the grass as well as giving it highlights.

I am not really trying to make it look like a 'jungle' because the occupying Japanese continually cleared the area to provide a good field of fire. So I want it to look like a grassland being 'reclaimed' by jungle (jungle vegetation grows very quickly).

The photos show some gaps in the tree so I will have to add more leaves... But I'm glad it is helping you Dave.

Chas

Here is another little piece I created today.

Chas

Great Chas
I love it and i am not bored
Keep us update
cheers
seb