Guides

Step 1 / 19

Find a suitably shaped and sized twig or two. A length of sisal twine and super glue.

Step 2 / 19

Unwind the one end of the twine.

Step 3 / 19

Add some super glue at the end of the stick and start winding up the twine around the twig. Make sure to unwind the sisal twine so that you cover the twig with a thin layer of sisal.

Superglue sticks skin like crazy - do this at your own risk!

Step 4 / 19

Glue the top end in the same manner. Trim off excess hairy bits.

Step 5 / 19

I made up two trunks.

Step 6 / 19

Mix up some Duro or Pratley Putty to make up two heads for the trunks.

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Shape the heads, and prick in holes for the palm fronts. Let it dry overnight.

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Airbrush and drybrush the suitable colours.

Step 9 / 19

Cut a green tinted Ostrich feather to about finger length.

Step 10 / 19

Trim the feather to palm frond shape.

Step 11 / 19

About two thirds of the feather is trimmed off, but these offcuts make amazing ferns and plant growths for use on a diorama.

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Spray the feather with fixer on both sides, so that it becomes saturated.

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Use a hard brush and comb outwards. This clumps the fine sub-feathers together and now it starts looking like a palm frond.

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Once dry, re-trim uneven bits and airbrush with suitable colours at 0.5 bar.

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I use one of the Fynbos species'flower bud as the fruit produced by the palm. First I stabilize it with a good soaking of fixer which I let dry overnight, then airbrush it the appropriate colour.

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