This will give you awsome detail, easy! (28mm AND 15mm) Look here!

[Smokeyrone]

The Malaluca Tree, a pretty, but non native species here in Florida(they are everywhere) has these hard, wooden buds, that look exactly like terra cotta/clay or wooden buckets, pots, etc. in 28mm, and larger versions in 15mm.

Heres a pic of them: (scroll down to the branch with nublets (is that a word?)

 http://www.nescent.org/courses/2008/workshops/PAEMST.php


This photo doesn't do it justice.  I just painted about a hundred in 30 seconds (terra cotta acryllic), they grow on a tiny branch in line, maybe fifty per 3 inches of branch,  and they will be liberally placed in my market stalls, on porches, besides buildings, besides cannon, etc.

So easy, and they look GREAT!

If you have no malaluca trees where you are from, Smokey will gladly send an envelope full (they are inert, no customs or seed laws or such to bother with), as I can grab a handfull simply walking outside on the porch.

Really, they look marvelous!  Anyone familiar with them?



Oh, and painted creatively, they are surefire winners for sci fi alien pods, like ALIEN, or Invasion of the Body Snatchers, etc. (you turn them upisde down, and they go from bucket look, to space alien pod look)

Just a heads up, from Smokey!   

[Hauptgefreiter]

This is interesting. Do you have a picture of the finished pods?

[Smokeyrone]

Yes, coming up shortly.

If you look at the inside of the market, top of the picture, you will see two on the left corner, and two towards the right.

These are after they are dead a while, as they get very round in the middle, and look more like Mexican pottery.


http://s213.photobucket.com/albums/cc152/gocanesba/?action=view&current=market.jpg



Now, top left, just to the left of the window, is one, bucket shaped, with a lid on it:

http://s213.photobucket.com/albums/cc152/gocanesba/?action=view&current=house.jpg

I'll get a pic of them off the branch, where they are true bucket cylender shaped (if you pick them from the branch, they are buckets, if you pick them from the ground, they are fat, round clay pottery)


On the left of the Taco Stand courtyard, front left, are two buckets:

http://s213.photobucket.com/albums/cc152/gocanesba/?action=view&current=tacostand.jpg

[starkadder]

As I understand it, the Florida everglades are being overwhelmed by melaleuca. This is not a Good Thing.

Melaleuca in Australia get eaten by borers and all sort of other greeblies. We have several in our front garden and very impressive they are too.

I use the paper bark for modelling occasionally. It makes great roofing material. Interestingly enough it was used for the real thing in the early days of the Sydney colony.

Great find.

[Smokeyrone]

As I understand it, the Florida everglades are being overwhelmed by melaleuca. This is not a Good Thing.

Melaleuca in Australia get eaten by borers and all sort of other greeblies. We have several in our front garden and very impressive they are too.

I use the paper bark for modelling occasionally. It makes great roofing material. Interestingly enough it was used for the real thing in the early days of the Sydney colony.

Great find.

In the "highlands" of the Everglades (the northern, cypress swamps), yes, malaluca are considered pests.  We have lots of boars (feral pigs, hogs, and the real thing, Russian Boars (with the tusks and all, the famed "Razorback") but I didn't know they fed on them.  Pretty tree, in bloom.

Australia also sent us the hated "Australian Pine" (actually, a member of the Oak family, serrated "pine" needles).  Turns out, the extremley heavy, dense wood (it "bleeds" red when cut) is GREAT for BBQ and smokers.  We lost many in the Hurricanes (which is good) and have an abundance of cheap (free) fire wood/smoker wood now. 

[Christian]

I think by "borers" he meant of the insect kind Got any photos of the boars though, Smokey? This isn't an invitation to get some if you don't, however.






But it would make a good "This is how I hurt myself" thread.