G'day Dulux. I have used Deluxe Materials, Woodland Scenics, Reality in Scale and RP Toolz. RP Toolz make several punches that cut paper in the form of scale leaves. Hope this helps, looking forward to seeing your dio.

Don't use anything edible, unless you need a "Maus" in your scene.

Bill

Dulux

...

 I'd like to buy the best as i'm of the opnion that if you buy cheap then your overall finish will look cheap as well. The diorama will just be foliage and trees so no buildings.

 

Thankyou in advance for any comments.

 

Not neccesarily.  Often common products that have many uses are repackaged in smaller containers and labeled for modeling use.  This is especially true of "water ", pastels, grass etc>

There is a wide range of companies that make diorama scenery and a wide range of products. I would not pick out a finest as all the ones i have used are just as good as its more about useing them right. On their own, some products like flock might not look as good, but if used right, mixing colours and lengths than you can get good results. The main 2 brands i used are Woodland scenics and Greenline. But i use otehr brands as well depending on what i need. For ground work i use a mix of scatter, flock and grass tufts. For maiking hedges etc i find the woodland scenic range of clumps and bushes works really well.

Someone mentioned RP Toolz for leaf punches.  GreenStuffWorld also make a series of leaf punches, various types of leaves in various scales, that I recommend:

https://www.greenstuffworld.com/en/101-punches

You can order direct from GreenStuffWorld, but if you're here in the US, you can also buy them through Dave Youngquist of Last Cavalry Miniatures, http://lastcavalry.com/

I love the Green Stuff World leaf punches. I use dried leaves. Which I guess are edible but I haven't had any issues so far with arts or other critters. Though there may be enough spiders in my basement to take care of any pest issues. 

I really like the stuff from Scenic Express. Their Supertrees are easy to make, cheap, and look good to me. 

https://scenicexpress.com/

Gamera

I love the Green Stuff World leaf punches. I use dried leaves. Which I guess are edible but I haven't had any issues so far with arts or other critters. Though there may be enough spiders in my basement to take care of any pest issues. 

I really like the stuff from Scenic Express. Their Supertrees are easy to make, cheap, and look good to me. 

https://scenicexpress.com/

 

 

I have looked at their site in the past but not used them, i have used another in the US but the name escapes me. Whats the service like. I am really after some decent fir/pine trees but there is nothing in Europe that looks any good. They have some other nice items on there as well. I can never have enough variety when it comes to terrain material.

Gamera

I love the Green Stuff World leaf punches. I use dried leaves... 

Hi, Gamera, yes, I've been doing the same.  The real leaves look, well, real   I haven't worked out coloring them, though.  Using differently colored leaves-fresh leaves, autumn leaves-is a start.  I've thought about dyeing lots by soaking them in water tinted with acrylic paint, but haven't tried it yet.  I'm also looking around for a good type of paper to try out as the material, too.

Dulux

...I'd like to build a Normandy "Bocage" diorama and wanted to ask members opinions on what landscape products to buy...

Hi, Dulux, another technique for foliage is to use tea leaves.  I've used them, with dried bits of roots, to make shrubs.  I drink a lot of tea during the day, and I saved used tea bags for a while, let them dry, and saved the used tea in a big (64-oz) plastic jar.  That's enough to last me the rest of my life.

The roots came from some evergreens I had to dig out of my garden.  The finer bits at the end of the root network work well.  I take pieces of root, dab on a little white glue, and sprinkle the leaves over it.  When the glue has dried, I shake off the excess, and I have a little bit of shrub.

Hope that helps!

Best regards,

Brad

the Baron

 

 

Gamera

I love the Green Stuff World leaf punches. I use dried leaves... 

 

 

 

Hi, Gamera, yes, I've been doing the same.  The real leaves look, well, real   I haven't worked out coloring them, though.  Using differently colored leaves-fresh leaves, autumn leaves-is a start.  I've thought about dyeing lots by soaking them in water tinted with acrylic paint, but haven't tried it yet.  I'm also looking around for a good type of paper to try out as the material, too.

 

I tried spray painting them with some yellows and reds. It sorta worked. If you have good results from dyeing or using paper please let me know. I did try using coloured post-it notes. I didn't really like the look though. 

Bish

 

 

Gamera

I love the Green Stuff World leaf punches. I use dried leaves. Which I guess are edible but I haven't had any issues so far with arts or other critters. Though there may be enough spiders in my basement to take care of any pest issues. 

I really like the stuff from Scenic Express. Their Supertrees are easy to make, cheap, and look good to me. 

https://scenicexpress.com/

 

 

 

 

 

I have looked at their site in the past but not used them, i have used another in the US but the name escapes me. Whats the service like. I am really after some decent fir/pine trees but there is nothing in Europe that looks any good. They have some other nice items on there as well. I can never have enough variety when it comes to terrain material.

 

Bish, I've ordered from them three times with excellent results. The prices seem reasonable and the items always get here in less than a week. Once I accidently ordered an item out of stock and they sent it as soon as it came back in stock paying the S&H themselves. 

No idea what S&H cost and shipping times would be to you though. 

A lot of their stuff is made in Germany. There isn't anywhere in continental Europe you can order the same stuff? I'd recommend them but it just seems to me it would be quicker and cheaper for you to get stuff from there if there isn't a distributor in the UK. 

There is a lot of good stuff from companies over here but i have never seen any decent fir trees. I can make my own deciduous trees and hedges, i just need firs and pines. Actually, given how much things are cheaper in the US, its often worth paying the postage costs, even for things we can get here. And since leaving the EU, its been rather awkward ordering from some countries. And the postage rates from Germany have gone through the roof for some reason. When i was looking for my Eurofighter exhausts, one company in Germany that i used to order figures from wanted £20 just for postage. But i got the exhausts from Polabnd (also in the EU and further away) for less than 20 including post.

I am not worried about speed as i tend to stock up on stuff like that for when i need it.

The online shop "Fridericus Rex" is another potential source of diorama materials:

https://www.fredericus-rex.eu/de/Dioramenbau-Landschaftsgestaltung/

The owner, Conrad (Conny) Schulte, offers a lot of products, very realistic, and it's worth browsing. Lots of different types of plants and vegetation, some laser-cut items.  There is an English version, for those who don't speak German.

He sells the RP Toolz leaf punches, too, by the way.

the Baron

The online shop "Fridericus Rex" is another potential source of diorama materials:

https://www.fredericus-rex.eu/de/Dioramenbau-Landschaftsgestaltung/

The owner, Conrad (Conny) Schulte, offers a lot of products, very realistic, and it's worth browsing. Lots of different types of plants and vegetation, some laser-cut items.  There is an English version, for those who don't speak German.

He sells the RP Toolz leaf punches, too, by the way.

 

 

Thats who makes the Greenline range, including the paper plants and grass tufts, and much of that is availiable at other sites. I use their stuff a lot.

Thanks for explaining that Bish, I was just looking at things from a geographic standpoint- I had no idea about the tariffs etc.

So to get back to your original question and not beat all around the bush again yes I'd strongly recommend Scenic Express. The three times I've dealt with them I've been very satisfied.

BTW: For pine and fir trees you might check Christmas stuff. I picked up a blister pack of  about a dozen evergreens a few years ago- ranging from about four to eight cm tall. The only real issue is they came with some awful 'snow' stuff sprayed all over them. I haven't tried to remove it, not sure if paint thinner or something like that might ruin the tree.

Baron: That site looks interesting. I'm going to check it out this weekend. Thanks!!!

Bish

but i have never seen any decent fir trees. I can make my own deciduous trees and hedges, i just need firs and pines.

Which is surprising given their numbers in Europe.

Luke Towan and Thomas at LaserCreationWorld have taken to using static grass to replicate evergreen needles.  I've not tried that, but remain intrigued by the notion.

The radial distribution of needles is a complicated thing to model in fine scale.

Mind, I've put some thought to emulating how artificial christmas trees relicate the real thing, too.  Just have not hit on a methodology for that.

And, to OP, the Bocage is a unique thing to model.  It wants a lot of trees, and undisiplined ones, with lots of vines and scrub brush.  Shep Paine was able to get by with dried garden roots and lichen, but that was four decades ago.  We have many resources to note for inspiration.  Kathy Millet, luke Towan, and the like.

Hmmm, that's interesting Captain. Thanks! I've not tried modeling a tree with that level of detail.