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and dry before doing this) but the layering spray gives the quickest and best consistent result. It's very easy to use and you just spray the glue then apply the grass. You can build up multiple layers of grass with this technique in a matter of minutes.
You can also wipe on white glue with your finger and sprinkle on small amounts of ground foam to represent leaved plants or flowers. A little can go a long way with this technique but it builds up another layer of texture and adds to the reality.
Sometimes I go back with an airbrush and add a different colour, such as a vivid green in a damp hollow, just to give variety. You can dry brush the tips a pale colour to represent the grass drying in later summer.
Bedding in Buildings and Structures
At this point I bed in my buildings. If you have them on a base then you just need to merge the scenery. If they are individual buildings then do pay careful attention to getting them to sit in the landscape. A pet hate of mine is the dark lines around the bottom of buildings where they don't quite meet the ground.
If this happens, don't panic! You can use thin rolls of plasticine to add an easily malleable gap filler which allows you to remove the building later if needed. If you are happy to glue solidly in place then do run your scenery up to the building and think
carefully about the detritus that builds up against the edges of buildings, such as leaves, rubbish, dirt etc.
Details
The best-looking scenery has multiple layers which build up the illusion of reality. Nature is not just one colour green or one texture. We need to emulate this with our modelling.
As with roads, details are a good way to add extra layers and they can be anything from weeds to rubbish. I recommend detailing the foreground more than the background. Details naturally get lost as they get further away and we can force a feeling of depth with our placement of items. Here are some ideas to get you started:
• Scale newspapers - made out of fine printed paper
• Rubbish – I find that cut up sweet wrappers make excellent rubbish but you can buy all sorts of details such as bottles or
cans to add more layers
• Leaves – as with roads or in larger scales consider using laser
cut leaves for effect. They're not cheap but just one or two
can look amazing
• Weeds – you can use ground foam for simple weeds through
to laser cut dandelions or nettles from suppliers like Noch
• Animal paths – through patches of grass land
• Flowers – using white or coloured ground foam
• Animals or birds – dock scenes look excellent with a few
seagulls
• Bird mess – naturally follows the birds and easily done with
fine application of white acrylic paint
• Abandoned junk or cars – use up those mistakes and weather
them to death so no one can see the problems!
Once the basics and details are in I do recommend taking some photos and seeing where areas look flat, model-like or just plain boring. Shiny spots can be fixed with matt varnish. See overleaf for some photos of details added to aspects of models to bring them alive.
That's a whistle stop tour of basic scenery. There are some excellent videos and books out there to help if you get stuck, wonder how best to achieve something or want to take your scenery to the next level. There are many reference sources today, beyond just books and magazines.
A selection of my videos on YouTube can be found here:
Reference Sources
Static grass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiR83CikHoo River beds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soMGwgm6FFI Dioramas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_UNpdJa-3U Muddy roads: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02Rt8If7Qes&list=PLrIRL5 XIQmdmIANRZrRuIzJEdhfeTVD5S
Making water:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0PtkWhANFU Clutter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd6AIisaST8
Books by Gordon Gravett from Wild Swan Publications: Modelling Trees Part One – Broad Leaf Trees Modelling Trees Part Two - Conifers
Modelling Grassland and Landscape Detailing
October 2018 - ROUNDHOUSE 17