Jungle

Wolfie,

Some of the jungle dioramas I've seen look fabulous, but unfortunately, few manage to get the details correct. Many jungle dioramas are dominated by palms and large-leaf vegetation, which (from my experience) is totally unrealistic.

On the other hand, a diorama (especially a ficticious one) is really just a way of expressing 3-dimensional concept with your model as the primary subject. So if you can use your imagination and model making skills to express that idea, then accuracy is immaterial. If you can capture the "feel" of the subject in its environment, then you've achieved your goal. That's my 2 cents worth, anyway!

With consideration to these thoughts, the trees/palms/ferns that you use don't need to be too accurate, because you'll want to focus on the subject, not necessarily on its surroundings.

Lastly, do a few Google searches on "jungle" using the Images option to get a few ideas of what the jungle looks like and use your imagination to represent some jungle foliage. Cheap options are balsa wood, paper, electrical wire, garden cuttings, herbs, etc. No need to spend your hard-earned cash on plastic trees - generally, they don't look too realistic anyway.

Good luck with the project - hope my comments help.

Hi Geo,

Wow that was insightful and I mean that in a good way, I'm pretty new to modelling and seeing photos of others work on here shows the details and its the small things that make the dio's come to life so I appreciate that thread. Its one of those Dio's I'm just trying to plan out in my head first, ensuring that I can get hold of all the bits needed to make it, don't know what you guys are like but I seem to get a few ideas at once then wonder which one to concentrate on, but your view of jungles is appreciated.

Wolfie 

Have you checked the train store. They have a bunch of trees for alot of scales.

David

Hi Wolfie,

I have had the same issues with considering what to use as realistic vegetation in 1:72 scale. Pegasus hobbies make some reasonable good palm trees and banana trees in 1:72, which might be useful, depending upon your subject.

Obviously, the type of trees you'll need depends upon the type of jungle you're modelling. I am a geologist and have spent a lot of time in various "jungle" terrains in northern Australia, Papua New Guinea and SE Asia and I can assure you that the jungle varies considerably from location to location.

The jungle in PNG generally has a very thick and high canopy, which means that the undergrowth is usually confined to stunted saplings, small fens, lichen, moss and fungi. Unless the canopy has been recently broken (eg. by a falling tree, or clearing for a village garden), the undergrowth is usually very sparse, simply because insufficient light penetrates to allow growth. Conversely, where the canopy is broken, undergrowth is very dense, usually comprising grass, vines, young trees, palms, ferns, etc. The jungle floor is usually dark, damp and has a thick layer of humus, which is mostly decaying leaves and fallen timber. The floor is usually also quite uneven.

The northern Australian jungle is generally very similar to PNG but is usually not quite so dense, probably as a result of the lower rainfall. Because the canopy is not quite as thick, nor as high, more light reaches the jungle floor and the undergrowth is a little thicker, mostly with ferns and palms.

Here in Laos, the jungle has been subject to generations of hunting, clearing, slash and burn and logging, so it's a whole different story. Also, the Lao/Vietnam border region was heavily bombed and defoliated by the US during the Indochina war, so that has left a legacy also. I have not been to Vietnam, but the jungles in Thailand are much the same as Laos, so I would guess that most of SE Asia is similar to what I have seen. Although there are isolated pockets where the jungle is relatively untouched (sometimes reminiscent of PNG), most of the jungle here is quite sparse, consisting mostly of dense bamboo, vines, ferns and leafy "weeds" and is in a constant state of regrowth following some form of human disturbance. Palms are present but their distribution is sparse. Banana trees are very common through the Lao jungle also. The floor is usually quite dry in the scrubby regrowth jungle, but damp in the denser areas.

As for the Amazon and Congo jungles, I can't help you there.

Hope these comments help...

Check out this article, it was written for 1/35 scale, but it still might help, It shows how to use real plants in your dio too. As for trees, there are lots of techniques you could find by searching around.

http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=572 

and the second part

http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=587 

hope this helps

---Sawyer 

try a pet store  the plastic aquarium plants are (some of them ) close to the right size and prices are ok too

Have you checked the local craft store? I have seen some plants in the craft store that have a jungle/tropical look to them, many look like ferns and have very small leaves. They might work for some of your bushes. One branch of them would make a bunch of scale bushes. Just a thought.