# Experimental ground foam



## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

The portion in particular is the brown “flakey” areas. 
I intend this type of ground covering to represent that most commonly found under pine trees and unkempt tree line areas. 
I feel it appears too flakey on its own, but once low hanging conifers are installed, it might look okay? But I’m not sure, kind of 50/50 👍👎. I’m not very experienced with making conifers.

Made from autumn locust tree leaves ran through a blender.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

I think it would look fine under conifers. Much forested or conifer wooded areas in the low Alps look just like that.


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## Ron045 (Feb 11, 2016)

Sometimes what I do is put a model figure next to things to see it the are the right size. I might compare the figures foot to what I want to compare and then use my foot in the prototype to see if they are similar.

If you put that flakey stuff in a blender, you might find it comes out just the right size to blend with everything else.

Fantastic scene by the way.
Ron


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## Homeless by Choice (Apr 15, 2016)

That is an outstanding job that you did on that old house with weathering and the addition of the blue tarp on the roof.
LeRoy


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

OilValleyRy said:


> The portion in particular is the brown “flakey” areas.
> I intend this type of ground covering to represent that most commonly found under pine trees and unkempt tree line areas.
> I feel it appears too flakey on its own, but once low hanging conifers are installed, it might look okay? But I’m not sure, kind of 50/50 👍👎. I’m not very experienced with making conifers.
> 
> ...


Your scene looks great to me.  Realistic conifer trees have always been harder to make than deciduous trees in my opinion. The file below tells how I make mine, and the photos show some of the trees I've made using this method. Of course, conifers are also known as "Evergreens" because they retain most of their needles. Most, but not all. Some needles fall off and turn to "ever browns" while lying on the ground. I put some brown scenery material on forest floors to simulate this. 

Traction Fan 🙂


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

I agree with the others that your work on the house is superb. I think the "flakey" leaves might end up being not finely ground enough. Some of those pieces are bigger than the tire propped against the porch. On the other hand, it might look fine. The only way to know for sure is to try it.


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## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

Homeless by Choice said:


> That is an outstanding job that you did on that old house with weathering and the addition of the blue tarp on the roof.
> LeRoy


I remember a line from an old Ma & Pa Kettle movie:
Ma: Pa, did you fix that hole in the roof yet?
Pa: Nope.
Ma: Why not?
Pa: Well, I can't fix it when it's rainin'! Don't need to when it's not.


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## Dewman1945 (Jan 5, 2022)

traction fan said:


> Your scene looks great to me.  Realistic conifer trees have always been harder to make than deciduous trees in my opinion. The file below tells how I make mine, and the photos show some of the trees I've made using this method. Of course, conifers are also known as "Evergreens" because they retain most of their needles. Most, but not all. Some needles fall off and turn to "ever browns" while lying on the ground. I put some brown scenery material on forest floors to simulate this.
> 
> Traction Fan 🙂


Your pine tree is amazing and I would never have guessed at how you went about it. Amazing realism from such common items. I don't have the wherewithal to do a complete layout but I can see where a small diorama would be a lot of fun, and something that could be done sitting down. The old house beside the tracks was great, and the old blue tarp on the roof with the tire leaning against the porch was a touch of genius. You guys are doing some amazing work. I'm speechless. I've got a little Play Art steamer that doesn't run, but has a lot of nice detail and could be repainted and used in a small scene. I have one of the plastic Bachmann train depots I could use. That noise you hear is the wheels turning in my head.


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

Thanks for the kind words from all.
The pine shown isn’t done. It’s going to be a half-dead tree, hence the odd branch work. I have yet to find a “greenery” method for them that I like. I want a needly texture versus fuzzy or clumpy. I don’t think dark green static grass will work being glued to clumpy ground foam. Maybe to lichen though. I no longer have access to a static applicator though. Maybe someone here can experiment with that. 
I also tried short bits of rope twisted in a wire trunk armature, but didn’t like the result. 
I wish LS was around to nudge me in the direction he went with making his.

The tarped roof repairs was a detail I picked up while house hunting years back. As this house will be about 2-3 feet away from one’s nose, I omitted some detail, like no electric meter added… it’s presumably around back… And experimented a bit. A couple windows were missing so I fabricated non-see through imitations. And the hanging flower pots were a total coin flip. I’d like to scratch build an uncared for bbq grill & some other things. Maybe a freezer or junked water heater, lawnmower or something. An old beat up boat would be neat. Eyesore houses are not commonly modeled. Oh! A tree stump with an a e stuck in it maybe and splitvwood piked up.

Dewman,
I generally build structures on a handy panel (masonite board) base. This way I can do surrounding scenery etc at the workbench. I intend to do my roads as 1/8th plaster with curbs being slightly higher, which will lock the bases into place but still be removable in case I decide to update or sell any given one.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

OilValleyRy said:


> Thanks for the kind words from all.
> The pine shown isn’t done. It’s going to be a half-dead tree, hence the odd branch work. I have yet to find a “greenery” method for them that I like. I want a needly texture versus fuzzy or clumpy. I don’t think dark green static grass will work being glued to clumpy ground foam. Maybe to lichen though. I no longer have access to a static applicator though. Maybe someone here can experiment with that.
> I also tried short bits of rope twisted in a wire trunk armature, but didn’t like the result.
> I wish LS was around to nudge me in the direction he went with making his.


Well, for starters, I wouldn't bet good money on whether or not it was his own work...

For needles -- a friend of mine uses wire armatures for evergreens. He clips the grounding pin of a static grass applicator to the base of the trunk, mists his armature with hairspray, and rotates it over a pile of static grass. This makes the "needles" stand up away from the trunk. I don't know if this would work with a non-wire armature or not.


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

So this is kind of off in the weeds from experimental ground foam….. _squints suspiciously at that phrase_…. Anyway… I whipped up an old water heater mentioned in the conversation.


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## Dewman1945 (Jan 5, 2022)

OilValleyRy said:


> So this is kind of off in the weeds from experimental ground foam….. _squints suspiciously at that phrase_…. Anyway… I whipped up an old water heater mentioned in the conversation.
> 
> View attachment 575684
> 
> View attachment 575685


Very nice. All that's missing is an old, lazy dog on a chain.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

Dewman1945 said:


> Very nice. All that's missing is an old, lazy dog on a chain.


Or at least ten dogs living under the porch, if this is a *******'s house! 😄

Traction Fan 🙂


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## Raege (Jan 7, 2022)

Love the ramshackle house. The tarp and peeling paint are fantastic and the detail of the scratch water heater takes it up another level. A junkyard hound and busted picket fence and it looks like home..


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## scenicsRme (Aug 19, 2020)

Great job on the house and details, but IMHO the ground leaves nedd to be ground much finer. As far as conifers go there are several types, but they all have needles, not leaves. The area underneath the canopy is usually quite bare due to lack of sunshine. Needles do drop as the tree grows and end up a a mat of light brown needles. Around here the longleaf pine needles are collected and sold as mulch where it is called pine straw". I suggest do a google search in mature pine tree pictures for the area you are modeling, note the shape of the outline, how dense or sparce the branches and needles are, how the branches hang (clue: only the top few point upwards) and the colors. Almost no evergreens except maybe some ornamental plantings that are pruned regularly look like a trimmed solid dark green bottle brush as are sold for model RR use. This guy makes some of the most realistic trees, especially conifers, I've ever seen: making model trees


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

The hardest part was the leaves in the blender. They don’t have any weight. You have to stop and shake or stir it every minute or two, then blend again. Took me about 30 minutes to get one parmesan cheese container worth. I didn’t want to add water, due to mold potential.
There is promise, but refinement of the process is needed for sure. Maybe a more modern blender versus a 1960s era one. But for free stuff I’d otherwise be bagging & leave on the curb…


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## Raege (Jan 7, 2022)

OilValleyRy said:


> The hardest part was the leaves in the blender. They don’t have any weight. You have to stop and shake or stir it every minute or two, then blend again. Took me about 30 minutes to get one parmesan cheese container worth. I didn’t want to add water, due to mold potential.
> There is promise, but refinement of the process is needed for sure. Maybe a more modern blender versus a 1960s era one. But for free stuff I’d otherwise be bagging & leave on the curb…


I think a coffee/spice grinder might do the trick for you. That’s my plan once I start needing ground cover. I will opt for a cheap 14 dollar one off Amazon vs using the wife’s as I dont think she’d appreciate the roughage in her grind


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

OilValleyRy said:


> The hardest part was the leaves in the blender. They don’t have any weight. You have to stop and shake or stir it every minute or two, then blend again. Took me about 30 minutes to get one parmesan cheese container worth. I didn’t want to add water, due to mold potential.
> There is promise, but refinement of the process is needed for sure. Maybe a more modern blender versus a 1960s era one. But for free stuff I’d otherwise be bagging & leave on the curb…


Adding water is a common recommendation. After grinding, you can dry your "mulch" on a cookie sheet in a 250-300 degree oven. Don't worry, the ignition temperature of dry leaves is closer to 450 degrees.


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## scenicsRme (Aug 19, 2020)

I rip out the leaf stems before blending. I grind them very course or simply chop with a knife and add sprinkles of the stem pieces to the leaf grindings to resemble fallen small twigs and branches, also add along the high water mark in streams, to resemble drift wood left by slowing or receding water. A stick grinder may give better results when grinding dry since you can lift and drop the grinder rather than depending on gravity.


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