Not sure if this is the right section but anywho...

I know this has been a pretty well talked over topic but I've been looking for a good way to make leaves in 1/35. I'd like to be able to add them to some builds. I've heard of the Birch seeds, parsley, oregano, dried tea leaves... I'd rather not have to buy the materials online nor would I like to have to print them (although I'm not ruling out that option). I've looked into a hole punch a little bit but I'm not even sure what exactly I'm looking for.

For Parsley and oregano, how would I go about turning them into usable "leaves" for my purposes? Dry and grind? Dry and shred? Would I even dry them at all? For the tea leaves from the bag, how would I use them? Seeing as they are already dry would I need to crush them or use them as-is? As for the birch, again, how would I make them useable for my purpose?

Now for the non-natural matériel. Does anyone have any insight to which size and possibly type of hole punch I could use? I'm at a complete loss for that sort of thing. I've searched HobbyLobby and gave up on Michael's.

And for the printed leaves... Any sited might have free printables in 1/35? I don't think FCModelTips have them as I've checked there before (albeit a while ago... His site seems to always crash my internet connection).

Any help is gratefully taken. Thanks.

Also, I have found some leave templates online. What would you say is a good size to adjust them to to be printed?

P.S.S.: What trees are common in Europe? Mainly Southern, Central and Western Europe but also a bit in Eastern Europe as well. I know of the innumerous Pine trees but what deciduous trees are there? Oak? Elm?

I tried the oregano and it didn't look too good. Birch seeds have a very distinct leaf look to them and will work. You will have to paint them though unless your aim is to show dead leaves. Printing leaves is interesting but you will have to then cut them out? That is a bunch of work and beyond me. There are very nice foliage scatter materials available from model rr firms like Heki. Bottom line,depends how realistic you want to get and it is either going to be expensive or take hours and hours of time. No easy solution to this one bubba! Sorry.
J

For the trees in Europe:

www.waldwissen.net

I'ved used parsley before (the type of dried herb you get in a supermarket) and that turned out okay. If you use different makes you seem to get different colours and coarseness which is bizarre as I bet it's all from the same place. The only drawback I found was while I left it overnight to dry my dog was attracted by the smell and ate the foliage then puked everywhere due to the glue. Not one of his smartest moves plus the dio looked like it had been hit by an airstrike lol.

Try cat nip. It has a good variety of herbs for many types of leaves.

And your dog won't be tempted to eat your dio. The cat on the other hand....

Dried tobacco also works well as dead leaf material...

Thanks for the replies. I was browsing the spice cabinet just now (needed something to put on my steak) and found some spice that looked like leafs but I forgot what it is currently.
Frankly if I could print and cut them out, I would if they'd look good. I'll check out that Heki company and see what's there.

And thanks for the link. Still have yet to actually comb through for any information I could use. The parsley we have I don't think I could use unless I shred it first. Dunno. Need to do some experimenting


I would try the catnip but I don't have a cat

And I don't use tobacco... None in the house. Interesting suggestion though.