- Welcome to this week's episode of Video Workbench.
And on today's episode,
I show you how to make pine trees by hand,
in five easy steps.
So, why don't we get to the video!
(exciting guitar music)
You can buy different pine tree variations
in most hobby stores that have either a diorama
or train section.
Some are very finely detailed,
and you will certainly pay for that extra finesse.
But, with a little time and effort,
you can make your own pine trees,
and there are many ways to make them.
This is one of the reasons why most modelers decide
to take the challenge and try to do things themselves.
There is no one way of doing things,
that's the joy of it.
Variation is the key to enjoying this hobby,
and the more the variations, the better.
So, let's get started with this project.
Here are the items used for this project.
Florist ferns, the name says it all.
These plants are mostly sold at florist shops.
A grinding tool.
A pair of scissors.
White glue, any brand will do.
Glycerin, a preservation chemical.
Dowels, the ones used in this video range from
17 centimeters to 30 centimeters tall,
and are about eight millimeters in diameter.
Any type of drilling tool.
A mixture of brown paint.
For this video I used a pre-mixed liquid wood stain
Antique Oak paint from the Home Decor series by Delta.
And green spray paint, any green of your choice,
but a dark color is preferable.
Separate the pieces of the florist ferns
from the main branch by cutting several branches
with the pair of scissors.
I have roughly 6-16 branches on one tree.
You can use as many as you want.
As you can see, they are sparsely arranged.
In my opinion, it stands out better
and gives a sense of individualism.
Take the spray can with the desired color
you would like to use on your trees.
Here, I am using a matte dark green color.
Spray the ferns and let dry about a day.
Using an ordinary pump-action spray bottle
that is used to water plants,
spray a glycerin and water mixture
onto the ferns that you have.
Make sure that you've read the instructions on the bottle
on how much glycerin you have to mix with water,
and spray a good amount on all the ferns.
This will preserve the ferns as they are
and prevent them from discoloration and from withering.
Leave some areas uncovered so that when it does discolor,
it will break up the monotony of the colors,
making it stand out even more.
If you don't have a pump-action spray bottle handy,
you can also use a bowl with the glycerin and water
mixture in it.
Dip the fern branches into it.
Not fully, just enough to get around 60-70% saturated.
Place onto a piece of paper towel, and let dry.
Using a grinding instrument,
grind the dowel at uneven intervals to give an unsmooth,
rugged, distorted bark effect.
You can even use a sharp cutting blade to cut out
small dents into the bark.
Make sure one end of the dowel is slightly pointed.
This part would represent the top of the tree.
Then, take your drill of choice and using a .7 millimeter
or .8 millimeter drill bit,
drill holes in the dowel at various intervals and levels
for the ferns to be inserted.
It is more interesting if you make the dowels
vary in height.
A variation of 15 centimeters to 30 centimeters is fine.
It'll add interest and individualism.
When you're satisfied with the look of the trunk,
or dowel, then take a brown mixture of paint,
you decide on how dark you want
the color of the bark to be,
and paint the dowel completely.
I used an oak stain color made by Delta, from Home Decor.
They make different stain-like colors
that match real-life wood.
When done, place a small amount of white glue
on the end of the fern stem,
and insert it into the hole.
To make sure you are satisfied with the look and position
of each fern, view the tree at different angles
until you are satisfied with the look.
If you are not satisfied, then just remove them
and place them into another hole.
Touch up the areas where excess glue might have oozed out
with your brown paint.
You can go all-out and actually paint the branch
where the small ferns leaves are situated
with brown paint to represent the bark
of the branches itself, but that might be overdoing it.
I painted some of the branches,
but left some the way they were.
It's so small that hardly anyone would take notice of it.
You'd really have to look closely.
And that's it.
That's all there is to it.
- Well I hope that you enjoyed and learned
the five easy steps to make your own homemade pine trees
for dioramas, or any type of model kit
that you're building.
I would also like to thank Charles King
for being a good sport with wanting to share his knowledge
on how to make pine trees with Video Workbench.
I'll show you how you can use used coffee grounds
and recycle them to make terrain width for any diorama.
So why don't we get to the video!
When you are done with making a pot of coffee,
what do you normally do with the used coffee grounds?
Throw them away, right?
Not so fast!
I will show you how you can recycle
used coffee grounds into natural and authentic-looking
terrain for your model kit dioramas.
Take the used coffee grounds out of the coffee maker,
still keeping them on the filter.
Place the used grounds that are still
on the filter on a plate.
You can use a disposable plate if you wish.
Spread the grounds around with either your fingers,
or some sort of utensil.
Place under a heat lamp, or for faster drying,
place them in a microwave oven.
But go only 20 seconds at a time,
and make sure to watch as to not cause a fire.
If you don't have access to a heat lamp or a microwave oven,
you can have the coffee grounds air dry.
But prepare to wait quite a while.
After a few minutes,
spread around the coffee grounds that have dried
and expose either the damp
or wet grounds that are underneath.
Once completely dry to the touch,
you can place the grounds into a baggie for storage.
Now onto the diorama.
Get a bottle of white glue,
a disposable brush, and any type of cup.
Squeeze white glue onto the base,
and using your disposable brush,
paint the glue on the base a section at a time.
Fill your cup with the dry coffee grounds and pour.
Once an area is covered,
lightly pat the grounds into the glue.
When you have a section covered to your liking,
and after the glue has dried,
gently pound or tap one edge of the diorama base
on your worktable that is covered with newspaper
or paper towels.
Take the loose coffee grounds and pour them back into a cup.
Now it's time to proceed to the next section.
Add white glue,
spread with your brush,
make sure the whole area is covered,
add more coffee grounds,
pat down into the glue.
And once again, when the glue is dry
get rid of the excess grounds
the same way that you did before
by lightly pounding or tapping the diorama base
on your worktable.
The entire diorama is now covered in used coffee grounds
giving it a realistic dirt look.
If you'd like to seal it,
you can do so with any type of spray or brush-on sealer.
Results will vary from a very muddy to a dry look.
Do some testing before sealing the actual base.
And that's it!
That's all it takes to recycle used coffee grounds
for your diorama.
And you can use any type of coffee ground,
it doesn't matter, all you have to do
is dry them out and figure out how you're gonna use them.
And that's it.
It's as simple as that.
Thank you for watching,
thank you for your support,
and model on!
(rock music)
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