Tropical foliage

During the period of making terrain mats, terrain pieces that were not up to the new standard were disposed of. The new terrain items fit better in their boxes which means fewer boxes are pulled out for a game; a big plus. 

The tropical scenic posed a challenge; these were very large pieces filled with palm trees and undergrowth, nice looking but impossible for troops to move through. Rather than toss these into the bin, I salvaged the palm trees and undergrowth, pictured below.

The palm trees have no vegetation fixed to their base so these can be used for either tropical or desert games. During my excavation, I found plastic Christmas wreaths purchased 15 years ago, and one with leafy ferns proved suitable for tropical foliage.

Using a general-purpose glue, two fern pieces were tied together with string to make each tree. Tightly winding the string will create a trunk. Let this dry longer than usual as the curvature of the branches will offer some tension.

Clip with scissors and glue the pair to a suitable base. An ‘A’ frame support was constructed to hold the trees upright while bonding. 

Spread Milliput around the base to disguise the trunk, this will also add weight and further secure the tree to its base. Paint the trunk and base to taste and spray with a mat varnish.