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One very cheap method of making foliage is to use shredded latex foam. Plastic foam does work also, but latex makes for a finer finish. I phoned up a local mattress factory and asked if they had any bits and pieces I could use to experiment with. The receptionist said she'd call me when they had a bag full for me. About 20 minutes later, she called and asked if half a bag would do. I said OK and excitedly set off for the factory. To my surprise and great delight, she had been talking about the plastic bags used to cover full-size mattresses! I could barely lift the damn thing! When I got home I put small pieces of the cream coloured foam latex into a blender and switched on. No results - everything just spun around! I added some water and, hey presto! - cool looking shredded latex with rough lumps and fine pieces all mixed up. After making a couple of batches, I put some PVA glue, water and a generous squirt of green acrylic paint (one of those cheap $3 tubes from a discount art store[) into a stainless steel bowl, donned a pair of plastic gloves and happily squished the latex into the blend. After it appeared to be fully soaked in the coloured mix, I laid it on a baking tray and dried it in the sun (a warm oven works OK, too). I made some tree armatures from copper welding wire and solder, covered them with brown caulk and when that dried, painted them with a mixture of buff suede paint and a dash of grey/green matt acrylic. Then I stuck clumps of the coloured latex onto the 'branches' with a tacky glue from the craft shop (PVA works, too - it's just a little slower to set). Loose patches I fixed with el cheapo Superglue which visually disappears when dry. The trees look superb and I was delighted by the complimentary comments from other modellers in the Club I have just joined. Although very cheap to make, the trees do take a little time to construct. I made some hideous armatures at the beginning, but now I am beginning to master the art of a 'proper' tree shape. By the way, I tried colouring the cream latex with a leaf green dye(Dylon brand). It looked great in the simmering pot, but turned out spruce blue when it dried. No matter, the acrylic paint and PVA mix soon fixed that! PS. I used a hand held blender with the attachment bowl for coffee grinding etc. I am going to see if I can find an old meat grinder at the second-hand markets and try that to see if I can grind down to really fine particles like in the Woodland Scenics range - which is horrendously expensive here in Australia.
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