Foliage and crushed foam are the fine foam and fibre materials that leaf mass is built from: tree canopies, the leaves of shrubs and tangled undergrowth. The group holds leaf foliage in light, medium, dark, willow and pine green, autumn yellow, red and brown, microflocks in four green shades, flocking material for conifers, bagged moss, decorative flower pads and leaf pads measuring 14 by 28 cm.
How to turn loose crumb into a convincing canopy is described below.
Crushed foam is a flexible foam material broken down and dyed in individual shades. It is glued onto an armature of wire, moss or a cast trunk and builds up the volume of the leaves. Microflock is the finest grade and is used for young foliage, for mosses and as a last thin layer over a finished canopy. Leaf pads are sheets of foliage already worked up, from which pieces are torn off and glued straight onto branches - which makes the job considerably faster. Autumn yellows, reds and browns serve autumn scenes and can also be scattered on the ground as fallen leaves.
A canopy in a single colour looks like a green cube. Work with dark crumb near the trunk, medium through the mass and the lightest only on the upper and outer faces where the light falls. The same approach works on scrub. To go further, add a few per cent of a different colour - a dead twig or a yellowing leaf gives a canopy life.
Spray the armature with adhesive or coat it with thin PVA, then scatter crumb over it or dip the armature in. Let it dry, shake off the surplus and repeat. Two or three passes give a dense canopy that does not sag and survives being carried.
The commonest fault is a solid canopy with no gaps. A real tree lets branches and sky show between its leaves. Once dry, pull some of the crumb back out with tweezers and open windows in the mass - the scene gains depth immediately.
Three bags of crumb and a length of wire will give you a tree that stands comparison with a finished one, and in exactly the size the scene needs. The ground beneath it then comes from the scenic accessories range.
