North African Build

[Graeme C.]

The Palm looks great Richard, I've got to hand it to you....
I'll get my coat!

 

[adt70hk]

Richard

Just had a catch up. The palms look stunning. Very, very good indeed.

Keep up the excellent work.

Andrew

 

[rtfoe]

Thanks John, I keep hearing yeehawing in the night...probably still complaining about the load.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Thanks Graeme and Andrew, just missed your post.
The scale is correct but perspective wise it is a little over powering on the dio. I guess with paints and tinting I should get it to blend in.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[GerryW]

In the 'real' world full size trees are overpowering - and something like that would dominate the area as it's the tallest thing for miles, keep with it, it's fascinating to watch (at least for me!)

 

[rtfoe]

In the 'real' world full size trees are overpowering - and something like that would dominate the area as it's the tallest thing for miles, keep with it, it's fascinating to watch (at least for me!)

Thanks for that Gerry. I will persist.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Nato primer on the trunk and light olive from a Krylon camouflage spray can...

This trunk is dying for some dry brushing...



I don't know but it still looks too sparse to me...



Bunches of dates will be hanging here...I don't think I'll be able to make them look like rows of firecrackers.



Cheers,
Richard

 

[Jim R]

Totally convincing.
Jim

 

[minitnkr]

Beautiful work. PaulE

 

[rtfoe]

Thank you gentlemen.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Sorry nothing done today...just watching my roast pork skin crackling in the oven...



Mmm...yum yum, this is just after I got the rock salt off the top. Another 10 mins on high heat and its done.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[BigGreg]

DAAAAAAMMN THAT PALM TREE.....and THE PORK SKIN.....YUMMY..... FAT IS LIFE....

 

[rtfoe]

Thanks Greg, making this particular palm is a learning curve. The way the dates hang is out of this world... below are my reference to follow.



So I'm going to be hard pressed to get the dates looking like that.

The roast pork disappeared faster than it was cooked.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Hi,
I have begun with scratching the bunch of dates by adding strips of wire infused masking tape to simulate the long single stems that connect the bunch of date stems to the base of the palm frond.



After spraying a coat of brown primer, I will then spray 3M Super77 spraymount glue...this is strong stuff... onto the bunch stems and dip it into a pot of the spice seeds I found earlier. I microwaved the seeds to kill any insects that may have laid eggs or lived in them... I don't want another episode of The Living Dead happening.

We'll see the progress in the next post but for now it's cat feeding and supplements time.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[JR]

The Palm trees just get better Richard, looking fwd to dates. That will be a first , seen plenty of model Palms but never with a crop of dates.
No pork left then, oh dear , would have been great along with water chestnuts.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Richard
That is really impressive. A lot of effort has gone into getting it just right. Looks superb. It's not easy to get perfect crackling
Palm tree dates look good as well.
Jim

 

[GerryW]

Hi,
I have begun with scratching the bunch of dates by adding strips of wire infused masking tape to simulate the long single stems that connect the bunch of date stems to the base of the palm frond.

View attachment 417926

After spraying a coat of brown primer, I will then spray 3M Super77 spraymount glue...this is strong stuff... onto the bunch stems and dip it into a pot of the spice seeds I found earlier. I microwaved the seeds to kill any insects that may have laid eggs or lived in them... I don't want another episode of The Living Dead happening.

We'll see the progress in the next post but for now it's cat feeding and supplements time.

Cheers,
Richard

And I thought that you'd be sticking each date on individually

 

[rtfoe]

Thanks Gents, the roast pork crackling skin is constant after following a recipe and method from YouTube. As for the palm...every species has its own characteristics and fruiting.

Thank goodness I don't have to stick the dates one by one...here's the result...



Now it's just to secure them and paint them the right colours although the ripe ones are nearly these colours.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Jim R]

Those date bunches are very good indeed.
Jim

 

[Si Benson]

Hi Richard,
Was wondering how you would tackle the dates and you’ve not disappointed...excellent result