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Scale bushes and weeds...

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  • Member since
    September 2009
Scale bushes and weeds...
Posted by SDFarmer on Monday, September 7, 2009 3:18 PM
I had a "Eureka" moment while pulling 1:1 scale weeds. I have been trying to find natural armatures for trees and weeds and have been having little luck. I noticed on some of Mic Greenbergs dioramas O scale bushes/weeds that looked very good. So, here it is a couple of weeks before Labor day and I'm pulling weeds in the drive (just for the heck of it...), I notice something peculiar. If you turn that crabgrass upside down and kind of squint you are looking at a bush AN O SCALE BUSH!!! (maybe an N scale tree) and a darn good one at that. Suddenly pulling those weeds is getting to be a harvest of scale bushes and weeds. Don't tell the wife, okay? I see a lot of dioramas that use the old "macrame twine pushed in the hole" weeds and they look terrible even if you squint. BUT CRABGRASS is great. I have been studying root material for a while as a source for miniature weeds and crabgrass does it... I'm going to start uprooting other noxious plants to see if there are some other ones that can be used. I would suggest that you find young crabgrass, dig it out of the dirt and wash it off in a bucket of water. I'm lucky because my neighbor has a small rock covered drive that is a garden spot for crabgrass. The stone allows me to pull a weed with the root system intact. I'll bet you could sprout grasses in a pebble filled water dish and grow your own weeds??? This is getting to be exciting. If you can't find grass seed in the winter, they sell kits to grow grass for cats... okay, this may be getting out of hand, but I think we are on to something here...
  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: clinton twp, michigan
Posted by camo junkie on Monday, September 7, 2009 7:37 PM
hey...congrats on the idea. i used a couple of small weeds myself here and there but never crab grass...may have to try it. you have to coat them with hairspray and a dull coat to seal them so they dont fall apart or turn on ya. can ya post a pic or two when ya put 'em in your next dio? Thumbs Up [tup]
"An idea is only as good as the person who thought of it...and only as brilliant as the person who makes it!!"
  • Member since
    April 2008
  • From: Charlottesville Va
Posted by Stern0 on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 6:17 AM
I am always on the look out for natural elements that are in scale, I prefer to use them as opposed to bought items...My budget on most build is $0.00 so this saves plenty of money and gives a "real" look....of course some things you just cant find on the ground...old paintbrush bristels make great weeds and grass....I will be checking out the grab grass!!!Smile,Wink, & Grin [swg]
Always Faithful U.S.M.C
  • Member since
    August 2009
Posted by chevymike on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 8:05 PM
Hey guys go over to trains.com and you can find all sorts of threads on making trees. 
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