Just wondering what I could use to make Vietnam plants, trees, bushes, tall grass? Any ideas?

Also I want to get a few Palm trees/palm plants but for each tree its about $12.00, and the leafe set goes for $7.99 both from Verlinden. The prices arent too bad but if your going to use a lot of them it can be. So my 2nd question is, does anyone know how to make palm trees? what to use for the leaves??

thanks,
Mike

I used to dry natural plants using Borax. It is white powdery stuff (hmm.. :-) ) that you can get in pharmacy.. Sodium borate is the chemical name of it. You just pick a plant that you want from your garden or something and cover it with Borax. After a week or two you'll have dried plant that would hold its shape and won't loose the natural color.. Try it, I think you won't be dissapointed.

Mario M.

Palm tree leaves are easy to make, use soft iron wire (get that from garden centres) and paper. There was an article about it in a modelling mag (can't remember which one). I'll gladly scan the article and e-mail it to you if you wish. Basically you use the soft iron wire as the spine of the palm leaf and then paper for the leaf (air or dry brushed and varnished with hairspray). The ones in the magazine article looked really good (it was a Pacific island diorama) and I'll certainly be using this technique with my Panda Huey dio over the Christmas break.
Elephant grass and other vegetation can be made with the good old standby of canabalising cheap decorating brushes. Secondary jungle growth can be simulated with dried ferns (about a quid from a florist - dry them yourself). Flowers can be fashioned from milliput or paper. Don't make the mistake of thinking everything in the jungle is green! A library book on jungle plants will help here! Simulate the undergrowth and dead vegetaion with dried leaves, roll them between your palms so they break up and glue the resulting flakes (suitably dyed or painted) to your jungle floor. Use pastels for the typical Vietnamese reddish brown dusty soil, unless you're modelling mosoon season, in which case good luck you are on your own!.
Don't forget some wildlife too. You can make snakes for the trees and grasslands really easily with rolled out milliput - paint them bright green or charcoal coloured to simulate the bamboo viper or any one of several kraits, don't worry about the colour of them too much, there are thirty-odd indigenous snakes in Vietnam. Most of which are poisonous!! If you are feeling adventurous, make an exotic bird (parrot macaw etc) from milliput and stick it in the trees! Also there are wild boars and even the occasional tiger in the jungles of South East Asia, and of course, monkeys. If you want to get really obsessive, you could simulate a line of red ants on a dead tree or similar with a row of dots from a draughting pen.
Lightly season with M113s, Grunts and Hueys, then cook for twenty minutes LOL!

Message me if you want a scan of that article.

If you check the articles on the site you'll find a great one explaining how to make palm trees step by step !

You can also use aquarium plants as jungle-looking plants. They look qite well when detail painted.

Can someone give me the link to the post about making palm trees? I looked and couldn't find it.
Thanks.

thee you go !
making palm trees

Thank you much!

You can try using paint brissels the tan colored brissels work fine you may also try bailing twine or any grass rope with a little paint tha effect is good.

PFC (:-)

WOW! thanks or all the tips guys.

I'll PM you with my E-mail for that article you were talking about. Also Iam checking your article on making the palm trees now. I'll check around for those aquarium plants. Theres a fish store maybee 5min. away by the hobby shop I'll be sure to stop in there.

thanks,
Mike

like the powder idea, i just paint the leaf or whateva u chose from your garden or a tree to what ever color i want it to be, this acts as a seal and insures that it will stay the color you want, the aquarium idea i also use, but i use the plastic ones only, not the sort of ones with fabric leafs, as they look a bit fake for what u want, hope this is of some help, as nam is my speciallity cheers

Ok, found out that there arent any palm trees near the area where my diorama is gong to take place. Doesnt mean I wont make a few for fun, or just to get the hang of it for when I do need to make them.

So what I need is what are some other trees I might be able to use in the Vietnam Jungle. The dio. is going to take place near An Khe Pass. Any ideas?

tanks,
Mike