Hedges

by Tom Jagiello This article explains how to build simple and good looking hedges. Materials needed for this project aren't hard to find, but if you have trouble with getting something listed below you can always try using something similar.

Materials

1. pan scourer (needed for the hedge, this is the main part of the model)
2. some plasticcard for the bases, if you can't find that try using cardboard
3. some balsa for the fence
4. dental plaster or ordinary plaster, and some Lego pieces for a simple mold
5. small rocks, pebbles and sand to add some ground details
6. static grass, ground foam, lichen also to add details
7. PVA and super glue to glue the whole thing
8. knife and scissors for cutting
9. matt varnish for protection
10. some paints to paint the finished model and a brush

That should be enough, of course if you like you can add other things you like, a small tree perhaps or a bigger plant. So with everything gathered and your workplace prepared we can get to work.

Method

1. Take the plasticard and cut out some rectangle pieces for the bases. They don't have to be perfect, try to cut off the corners and give it a more oval shape. Some examples can be found on the photographs on the end of this article. I figured out that the best dimensions are: 12,5cm x 3cm
2. Now you need some hedges. Take the pan scourer and cut it in to pieces, 12cm wide, 2cm high and about 1cm deep. Take the scissors and try to give the pieces a more natural look (we don't need any sharp corners). Also you should make three pieces a bit shorter then the others to add the fence and the walls later on (those pieces should be about 6cm long)
3. To make each single hedge a little different from the others try adding small things like a fence or a wall. To add a fence cut out small pieces of balsa and glue them together to imitate a wooden fence. For a wall you will need to make a small mould from Lego blocks and then use dental plaster to make a cast.
When the plaster is completely dry you need to take a small screwdriver or a sculpting tool and try to "destroy" the wall a little bit, so it looks more realistic. Save everything that is left from the "devastation" process, you can glue everything that breaks off on to the base to imitate rubble.
4. Now you need to glue the pan scourer pieces and the wooden fence to the base using super glue. The walls are better glued using PVA glue. Wait for everything to dry.
5. The next step is to add ground detail, like rocks and sand. Using PVA glue and a brush add small patches of glue and cover them with sand. You might want to cover the whole base with glue and sand or not to use sand at all, the choice is yours. Using PVA glue try to make small rock "gatherings" or glue some bigger rocks on to the base. A lot of examples can be found on the photos of my finished pieces.
6. Now it's time to paint the models. Try to use ground colours like brown, green, and black. The choice of a painting technique is up to you. I used dark green for the hedges, lighten them up with a drybrush of goblin green. The fence was painted using dark brown, then drybrushed with several layers of lighter browns.
The walls are very simple to paint, try using black for the basecoat and than drybrush it with codex gray. Adding things like brown drybrushing on the lower parts of the walls and hedges give the models a more natural look.
7. After painting comes the time to cover the model with matt varnish. You can use a spray or apply the varnish using a brush.
8. When the varnish dries completely you can add some ground foam and static grass to improve the final look. Also adding lichen here and there (try imitating some small plants growing from behind the rocks) gives the model some additional detail.
9. Finished!! Your hedges are now finished and ready to be placed on your gaming table.
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