Introduction

Treemendus is a company based in Cheshire, England and was started as a part time business venture in 2003. In 2008 this business became the founder’s main employment and has gone from strength to strength. The company’s products were originally manufactured and aimed at the model railway enthusiast but as time has gone on they have branched out (like the trees this company produces!) into the realm of scatters, and diorama products for the military modeller. The range has slowly, but surely, grown to encompass not only some of the most realistic trees I have seen (which are sold in kit form or as finished items) but also into a number of ground effects and scatters.

review

In this review I will be looking at a selection of scatters on offer from this company, each of the scatters is provided in a zip lock bag. These are;

• Pine
• Summer
• Oak
• Spring
• Late Summer
• Autumn Yellow
• Autumn Orange

With the owner of this company being a model maker himself the products Treemendus has on the market are designed with our ease of use factored in, while at the same time the degree of realism when in use being a high priority. These products are all designed to be used as ground scatters or for tree and hedge coverage, they will be available in two grades which are fine (approximately 1mm) and a slightly coarser grade (approximately 2mm). All of these products are available at £3.00 a bag which includes free delivery to a UK address and postage to the rest of the world being at actual postage cost. Each of the scatters has an approx. weight of 16g, but keep in mind that they are sold by volume, not weight.

The items reviewed here are all of the finer grade products, but they still provide a reasonable insight in to the slightly coarser grade product. I have spoken to the owner of Treemendus about slight colour variation in products I had purchased previously and the colours of the media I am reviewing here, I have been advised that the colours of the scatters does vary slightly during the blending and colouring process. I do not consider this to be a negative as nothing in nature is a universal colour.

I feel the mix of sizes is a plus with this product as again you do not find universal sizes in nature as a rule, and the mix of size will help to create a more natural looking finish after application. I feel the finest grade is useful for 'braille scale' dioramas and vignettes, with a mix of the two grades being better suited to 1/48th and 1/35th scale dioramas and vignettes.

The blending of different colours in the product is subtle in some places and more obvious in others, but the mixes all appear (to me at least) to be complimentary. The two autumn mixes have the most obvious colour variations and a mix of both the autumn colours should create an attractive and eye catching contrast effect. The product also presents you with the ability to mix your own preferred blend or blends just as you would paint, so if you are looking for your perfect colour variation this product should provide that ability.

The design of this product also makes it ideal for replicating ground material that when mixed with wet soil sticks to various areas of armoured vehicles, or where it accumulates on horizontal areas of vehicles. Treemendus also sell a glue that is specially formulated with a mister spray gun for its application when using these products, however the company also suggests using a water/PVA mix as an alternative adhesive. The main difference between the two glue types is that the glue supplied by Treemendus cures matt while PVA is usually glossy when cured.

Conclusion

All things considered I believe this product has the ability to meet the needs of the modeller when building a diorama or vignette either as a purchased scatter or a home mixed blend. There are no obvious weaknesses with the product that I can think of, true you can use other items to obtain the same effect but they will not always be consistent or, for that matter, readily at hand. I have included a couple of pictures of the scatters used at their best, one showing it used as ground cover and one where they have been used on a tree.