Clump foliage trees - Varnish to protect?

[Dewbakuk]

I'm currently making some trees using clump foliage for, well, the foliage oddly 

The only concern I have is longevity. Clump foliage can be pulled apart easily and I can see it being pulled away from the glued parts if transported or knocked over too much etc. Has anyone used anything to strengthen the foliage at all? I'm thinking spray varnish might do it, but don't know if it will react somehow.

If no one has tried it then I'll give it a go on one of them to see what happens but thought I'd ask first.

Cheers

[6mmfan]

I tried spray varnish and hairspray but neither were very good, and you use a lot.

Instead I used watered down PVA and spray it on (with a cheap plastic spray bottle) and let it dry for a few days. After that the trees clumps dry rock hard. If the trees are small then you can dip them in a container of watered down PVA and then squeeze the excess out.


Cheers
Kieran

[Dewbakuk]

Thanks for the answer.

With the PVA though, does it make the trees shiny? How did you keep it off the trunks/bases?

Cheers

[Lowtardog]

Thanks for the answer.

With the PVA though, does it make the trees shiny? How did you keep it off the trunks/bases?

Cheers

The Pva can be varnished lightly if it is shiny

[Dewbakuk]

Good point. Hey it's early, I'm not awake yet!

[matakishi]

PVA and water applied liberally with a brush. Dries flat.

[Dewbakuk]

Thanks matakishi.

[Hammers]

I tried spray varnish and hairspray but neither were very good, and you use a lot.

Instead I used watered down PVA and spray it on (with a cheap plastic spray bottle) and let it dry for a few days. After that the trees clumps dry rock hard. If the trees are small then you can dip them in a container of watered down PVA and then squeeze the excess out.


Cheers
Kieran

Good ol' PVA. It's must be the most useful product in the whole wargaming arsenal, don't you agree?

By the by, has anyone seen a tutorial on how they did those clump foliage blasts seen in the WHH Great War?

[Glitzer]

PVA? Is that white glue?

I have a similar croblem with clomp foilage and flock (I flocked my clump foilage for an even better look, but now I have autumn on my table. The trees constantly loose their flock)

[gatetraveller]

Yes, PVA is white glue. 

It's nice to see that I'm probably not the only one that buys it by the gallon!

[6mmfan]

Yeah I forgot to mention that you can varnish them after if they are too shiny.

yes PVA is white glue and you could use the same technique for the clump foliage (it is just a bit messy until it dries).


Cheers
Kieran

[Dewbakuk]

Okay, finally got to this stage now! I've applied the foliage but the weight of the water/pva is pulling some of it off the trees. What do people use to attach it? PVA/White glue isn't any use as it takes forever to dry, so doesn't hold on. I've used a couple of different adhesives that I had lying around and we'll see hpw they go.

Wondered how others did it?

[Tsune]

You can use Woodland Scenic's "Scenic Cement" and spray it. I have done it and protect it a lot, and dries flat too.
I have spray the table to attach the flock as they recomend in his Scenic Manual and now the flock remains perfectly without becoming hard, what I like a lot.

A very good option, but more expensive than the PVA, of course, but with a better result, IMHO.

[Dewbakuk]

Yeah, I'd seen that mentioned on the back of the foliage but I've not seen it in the shops. I might give it a try and see how it compares.

As a side note, I tried two different clump foliage sets. The Hornby one and the Woodland Scenics. Honestly, I'm not sure which is better. The Hornby one is definately easier to use as it has fibers running through it which hold the clumps together better. However those same fibres tend to stick out of the clumps as though you got some hair stuck in it. After they're hard I'll see if they clean up at all.