Scenery using plastic plants, sources and application

My gaming skills are OK, dice rolls lucky, painting adequate, but I do get compliments for my scenery. It's not world class but in my peer group often complimented.

I've been asked how I make my scenery so I thought I'd show how I source and use the materials.

I use all the plastic plant material I can find but there are three basic targeted sources.

First - Aquarium shops/Plants where you can get special flooring/breeding plants that are placed on the bottom of the tank with a little grit to hide the structure.

On the right is a perfect example of this and you can see the plastic grid/frame (Red ring) to which the individual pieces/elements are attached together. 

In this instance the peg is the same width as a cocktail stick and you can just push the element on. Sometimes the element is the width of a wooden kebab skewer, so no real sourcing issues for the supports. Paint the wood before pushing on the element, glue if required (any).

As you can see it would make a palm tree or a fern depending on the scale.

Look around for suitable plants and as you can see they'll fit almost any scale. if you thread a second element it will double the canopy or make the bush bigger.

Second - Artificial Topiary balls, these are a magnificent supply and the bigger the ball the more elements you get. I find these in Pound Shops, I assume Dollar Stores would hold similar stock. Look for the right foliage for your scheme, though to be honest even mistakes can work. 

Here is a selection showing size variants, foliage variants and as you can see it's assembled the same way, elements on a frame. 

This composite image shows just a few of the possibilities.

These pegs are usually cocktail stick width too. Here is as example using the top left Boxwood topiary ball.

Third - Plants for train sets  I pick up complete mini plants, often with plastic pegs on the bottom, drill the right hole in your base and glue it in, cutting of the excess. 

I buy different sizes of Palm trees and grass bushes from Etsy and eBay, sellers are often on both and prices can vary. 

In fact I can get the Topiary ball there as well as the Aquarium plants, but I prefer to see before I buy those.

NOTE - The topiary balls and aquarium plant can be further broken up and planted individually using a 1mm or smaller bit. 

The three elements on the left consist of a ring for the securing it and four branches, these can be cut off and used individually, drill into a planted area and add a single stand for added texture.

For my Lizard men I got extreme and in these based command units I have used parts of the plant as shown in bottom right of above picture cut them into short lengths.

You can also see the single yellow flower element.

 Go to Lizardmen basing to see how i did the bases.

Final piece of advice is to mix the different pieces in together.

Different palm trees and grass bush sizes, as well as pieces from three different topiary balls.

Glue, generally  a little PVA to hold the cocktail stick into the base and a little of the same or Copydex to hold the plant.

Where you are gluing the plastic peg into the base, or small elements then I use Superglue Gel. 

Your fingers will get covered, work with care!

Read the "Alien Trees 2 6mm-15mm or 28mm Scrub" on how to paint the plastic

Index

Below are some links to my Scenery making blogs. I'll try to remember to add other links as I create them.

Alien Trees 28 mm
Alien Trees 2 6mm-15mm or 28mm Scrub - Talks about spray painting the plastic foliage
Cedar of Lebanon 28 mm - Home made giant tree for 28mm
Epic buildings from Blotz
Giant Cactus 28 mm
Industrial Scenery 28 mm

Jungle Terrain 10mm for the Lizardmen Army

Lizardmen basing
Jungle Terrain 28 mm

KandM Trees s8mm LOTR
Mechanoid Domes

If I forget to add them above you may find them in the Index Page under the heading Scenery