Was wondering about techniques any of y'all have used to come up with believeable yucca plants and sagebrush? I tried a little bit with a sprig of lichen and sage colored foam by Timberline, it's ok but still could use something.... Haven't gone after yucca yet. Here's a pic of the sagebrush I tried, it is along the tracks .
I've not tried to make any but Fiferhobby supply one of our Vendors has some on his site that you might be able to copy
Here's my attempt at Yucca: I used an old toothbrush for the lower bush, and a strand of copper wire for the main stalk. I dipped the top of the stalk in white glue and then rolled it in some brown ground foam for the flower/blossom on top:
I have been using sagebrush for years. It's not hard to find here in Montana. Here's a few examples. The natural plant looks exactly like real bark.This is in HO scale, but I see no reason it wouldn't work in N scale.
I used Mike's tutorial to make yuccas for my San Felipe Desert FreeMoN module Extraordinarily easy to make, the look great, and you can use different colored tufts. For sage brush/tumbleweed, I use the fall Silfor tufts, as well as cut small pieces of twine
Thanks guys! Watched the fifer video, looks easy enough. Will give it a try. The yucca out here has a green-grey color to the leaves that ought to be fun to match. dave n - Liked the idea of the toothbrush, Hmmmm. Rick - And fill the toothbrush with some of the finer Silflor, hmmm. Thinking going on here, even if it hurts! montanan = Nice looking trees! Yup, I use lots of dead sagebrush stems for trees, they work well in N for cottonwoods and others. Am working towards getting a decent looking N sized sagebrush tho, and may have found a fine root that will make a good stem.