Palm Trees ( "scratch Built" )

Sir Henry Botherington Smyth is having a relaxing rest under the shade of a couple of palm trees. The well is re-cycled from the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem Dio.....

The palm trees..how to make them. A couple of weeks ago Michel from Germania Figuren visited and we discussed, among other things, Palm Trees. He told me that Erik Trauner makes his using the middles from Pinecones. Off  I went and got one and we both tried (without success) pulling the scales off with pliers etc. A few days ago I was again  thinking how to make palmtrees for the Khandibar set up and bingo!!!

What do you need ? A pair of scissors, some clear silicon, some plastic decoration leaves (the sort with a metal or plastic spine welded under the leaf, the ones used for roses seem to be the best) a Pine cone...AND!!!!!!...................

..........A Squirrel. One of the visitors to our garden...:-D

Squirrels like the seeds in pine cones and to get at them they strip the scales off. and then throw the core down. After just a quick look under a pine tree near our house I collected over 50 such "cores". The only thing the squirrel doesn´t do is remove the "tuft" of scales at the top, but as this can be easily snapped off, I´ll let them off.

The Plastic leaves. Simply cut down to the rough size wanted, and with scissors cut irregular strips all along the sides. When that´s done, turn the leaf over and remove the last 1/2 cm of the spine near the base of the leaf. This gives it a nice flat area for attaching. Bend the leaf to shape(the bending also spreads the fronds apart)....and using silicone, glue to the top of the pinecone core in an overlapping clockwise (anti-clockwise)  pattern.

If anyone is interested, Valdemar are looking for sponsors to help fund a set of Bods.

The concept:
It costs 50 euro to be part investor in the set, these money are used to help cover some of the development costs. What you get are that you help the range grow and you get 1 sample set from the first testshots, so you will get the figures way before anyone else.

How:
You sign of for 1 share (10 total) and when all ten are sold the project will begin. If the project are not completed you will get your money back.
It will be a "brutal" battle set..so if your interested,  contact Jens on the Valdemar site