discussion Dave's meadow

[Gern]

Finally! I got some time to do some building. Just a piece of MDF and 20mm polystyrene(Unlike Ron I don't eat pizzas so I have to buy my polystyrene ) to give me something for the tree trunks to stick into, some faux fur and some really cheapo, cheapo trees and shrubs


I got the faux fur as advised by a couple of guys here (thanks) and I'm happy with the colour I picked, but it looks too shiny. I don't want to use ordinary matt varnish as it will most likely make it look clumpy because the strands of fur will stick together. Has anyone any idea how I can tone down the gloss?


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[Guest]

Oh goody a tutorial, chair pulled up, and I'm looking forward to following this 

 

[papa 695]

Finally! I got some time to do some building. Just a piece of MDF and 20mm polystyrene(Unlike Ron I don't eat pizzas so I have to buy my polystyrene ) to give me something for the tree trunks to stick into, some faux fur and some really cheapo, cheapo trees and shrubs


I got the faux fur as advised by a couple of guys here (thanks) and I'm happy with the colour I picked, but it looks too shiny. I don't want to use ordinary matt varnish as it will most likely make it look clumpy because the strands of fur will stick together. Has anyone any idea how I can tone down the gloss?


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Hi Dave nice idea. 


About the faux fur, John Rixon gave me a tip about toning down the colour of the grass and trees on my WWI dogfight build. Just spray a light coat of burnt umber over it and it dulls it right down very nicely. If you have a spare piece give it a go on that.

 

[Gwyn]

I love these posts where I learn from the knowledgeable people who contribute on this forum. 

 

[monica]

looks interesting Dave,I have never used the faux fur,so will be looking to see how this turns out,

 

[Guest]

looks interesting Dave,I have never used the faux fur,so will be looking to see how this turns out,

Me too!

 

[spanner570]

I'm in Dave. Some excellent gathering of materials....and one comfy looking sofa to boot!

 

[Gern]

An audience yet! I wish my other audiences (my students) took as much notice of what I'm doing as you guys!


Ron. You're right, it is a comfy sofa. I just wish I could spend more time on it!


Thanks Ian (and John) for the suggestion on toning down the shine. I've got plenty of spare material so I'll give that a go. I also found some matt medium amongst my paints so I'll try a mist coat of that - obviously really well thinned.

 

[eddiesolo]

I'm in Dave...get a building!

 

[Guest]

Dave, the best way to apply paint to faux fur is with your fingers! Messy, but it prevents the strands clumping together.


I buy a light coloured fur & then add the green. Mixing yellow with a little black gives the most realistic look IMHO, rather than using a green paint directly.

 

[Gern]

Si. I've got plans for this when it's finished which don't include a building I'm afraid. More on that later though.


Patrick. Are we back to "Splash it on all over" again? xD  Seems to me we've been there before. I will give it a go. I'm happy with the colour I've got but adding patches of lighter colours would help break it up a little as it's a large area.

 

[Gern]

I've just had a thought. (Why has my head started hurting?).


I told you my students weren't listening to anything I do. Obviously maths is more boring than modelling. Should I set up some finger painting sessions? They're only in the 16 - 19 age group so it should just about be at the right level for them!

 

[spanner570]

Dave, put the sweet cherub's counting beads in front of them and tell them to guess the various colours.......Maths and painting all in one go - Sorted!

 

[Gern]

Dave, put the sweet cherub's counting beads in front of them and tell them to guess the various colours.......Maths and painting all in one go - Sorted!

"counting beads"? That's a bit too advanced for most of my students Ron! Still, if they've only got to work out the colours ......

 

[Gern]

That's the base done - just stuck together with PVA. I've still got to finish trimming the grass where the trees will be going and sort out the best way to tone down the shine a bit.


I used ordinary household emulsion for the pathway. I painted a thick coat on the back of the fur after I trimmed almost all of it away. I was hoping the paint would fill in the weave of the backing cloth but leave some of the fur showing as if it was trampled down grass. It's not filled the weave as I hoped so I'll have to paint the top.


I've kept the bits of fur I cut off so I can sprinkle some back on the path when it's been painted.


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[Gern]

I had a browse through all the trees and ground cover I bought and I've selected this lot.


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Some of it is a bit out of scale, but not enough to worry me. I may have to reduce/add to the amount depending on how they take up the available space. I want lots of them as I'm trying to recreate a forest - so three trees and a bush ain't gonna cut it! This is about half of what I bought.


They're only cheapo things moulded from some sort of polyethylene similar to the stuff Airfix uses for it's 1/72 figures. Means of course that the flash has to be cut away and not simply scraped and there's no suitable glue to fix them in place. I will add some PVA to the stems and just push them into the polystyrene base. With care, that should hold them well enough.


I also tried Patrick's suggestion for toning down the glossy finish and adding a little colour variation. I used some well-thinned Tamiya XF59 Desert Yellow (about 10 parts thinner to 1 part paint) and rubbed it into the fur with my fingers, making sure I rubbed in all different directions to get the paint all around the sides of the strands of fur.


It's lightened the colour just a little bit, added a bit of variation and removed the shine - perfect! Thanks Patrick!


I'll post pics later.

 

[Gern]

All done! Nothing complicated here so I carried on and added all the trees and shrubs.


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I will be adding figures to this later, but for this GB I just need the scenery.


PS Could someone tell me how to add "Completed" to my titles, or do the mods have to do that?

 

[papa 695]

Very nice work Dave.

 

[Gern]

Thanks folks. Some B****y awful pictures though! I'll do better when I add the figures.


Anybody want to guess what I'm trying to do?

 

[Guest]

Glad to be of help Dave, although I use cheap craft paints, not the expensive stuff! 


It's looking very good now, perhaps a scene from LOTR?


If you want to have a 'completed', you'll have to post a new thread I think.