Wild Tuft – Jungle

Tropical growth in miniature

A deep, saturated green carries a scene into the humid zones at once and with no further explanation: rice terraces in Indochina, a lane cut through the Burmese jungle, a landing strip in the Solomon Islands, a patrol in the delta of a great river. Everywhere there the grass grows faster than anyone can cut it, and vehicles sink into it literally.

Box contents

Inside there are 17 tufts 12 millimeters high. The fibers carry several shades of green, so the individual pieces do not repeat each other and a planted area does not look like a carpet cut from one piece. They come on a translucent adhesive film from which they are taken one at a time.

Planting and fine-tuning

High growth does two things at once on a diorama: it hides what you do not want to show and it decides how the viewer's eye reaches the main event. Lead a more continuous band toward the back and toward the edges of the base, while around the figures and the vehicle leave the vegetation thinned out and trampled. A few pieces laid flat, as if something had driven over them, do more for credibility than twice as many tufts standing upright. The tips of the fibers can be lightened with a dry brush so that the crowns catch the light, while the lower part can be darkened with a brownish wash. In the jungle it is dim below and bright above, and it is exactly this difference that makes a scene believable.

How to avoid monotony

A saturated green tends to flood the whole base. Leave part of the area bare, trodden down or muddy. The contrast between dense growth and beaten earth is just what makes the result read as tropical.