The raw material:
For Diorama modellers it is always important, if not only city scenes are represented, that also nature is represented detailed faithfully and reliably. One states frequently that the best materials for this purpose still come from nature. Even details, like sheets are best represented by themselves, i.e. appropriate filigrane plants. Thus there is a bush, whose branches have smallest branchings. It is the so-called "sea foam". In Vienna this product is sold at the model shop "Paul" in the Kalvarienberggasse 58, 1170. The tree is not so difficult to achieve: For what reasons do we have the Japanese and "their" Bonsais? Naturally, so that a model construction amateur has something that looks like a tree on a scale 1:35! Get oneself these plants in a DIY. Sometimes there are already died ones, which are anyway thrown away. Speak with the responsible person in the garden department and he will store them for you. Even new mini trees today cost no fortune (at least less, than a "Verlinden" tree product!
Preparations:
First the earth is removed and the tree is cleaned. Then one removes its roots, the leafes and all thinner branches from the Bonsai with a Dremel Minidrill and a saw blade device. The result should look like the accompanying sketch. Into the resulting snags then one bores holes for inserting the flower wire. The branches of sea foam are then divided into individual sections. Many small bypass sections should develop, as represented in the schematical picture.
The composition
After your own creation with wire ends the sea foam sections are
now attached into the snags of the Bonsais. One should change gradually from leafeless
branches of far down to those with leafes within the range of the crown of tree .
Depending upon the thickness of the branches of sea foam one selects the strength of
the wire. The further outside from the trunk, the more thinly it must be, since
otherwise it might not fit into the opening of the stems. Then one must treat
the junction points between Bonsai and branches, and/or between the branches
with Cyanoacrylat glue. With my example it concerned approx. 40 junction points.
Thus a little bit of patience with this is necessary! At the junction points one should
seal possible gaps with high-viscosity adhesive. The sketch points to blue
the wires, light brown are the branches of sea foam with the different sections.
Finally I dried leafes, crushed them in a mortar and after sprinkling the tree with
diluted white glue through a vaporizer (toilet articles of my worthy wife are
covering those demands best) I put the crushed leafes onto the tree. If one holds
a sheet of paper under the tree, one can use surplus strewing material for further tries.
Painting:
First I painted all the junctions of the sea foam and of the branches and those, that already grown green with different brown tones, . Then I sprayed the leafes in different green tones with the airbrush in semi-Mattlack. Both the appearance, and the durability of the tree improves. Complete fetishists may spray darker green from above and brighter tones from a downward position, to achieve differences in color of the upper and lower surface of the leafes similar to the nature. That I saved however. The trunk was painted with oil colours and - still in the drying phase - drying-brushed with a brighter brown. Much fun, when trying this method!
© 2002 George Schachinger
