To answer your question

To answer your question, no, I haven't, but what about fake fur? There was a good article in the September 09 MR called Make Realistic Weeds that hightlighted fake fur; a longer "tuft" might just do it.

You didn't mention what scale you are modeling.

I model in ho, so I think in terms of ho unless the person posting the question mentions another scale.  The thing I notice about the brush is that is is almost like a miniature tree.  It has one stem or trunk, but branches out to multiple trunks within 6 inches of the ground.  I just checked the Woodland Scenics web site for their tree armatures.  I think you could replicate that brush with the 3/4"-2" deciduous armatures.  Lose the base and cut the trunk about 3-6 scale inches below where the branches start branching out from the trunk.  bend the armature to shape and perhaps trim the ends of the branches so that the "tree" doesn't stand taller than you want in ho scale.  Fill out the foliage with ground foam.  The color of the foliage looks pretty close to a blue spruce color.  I don't know if they make that color foam, but that would be a good choice if available.  The only problem with this method is that at $13.00 for what looks to be 4 armatures would get very expensive.  You might look around to see if you can find suitable armatures on new growth of trees or some brush in your area.  The reason that the various types of "grass" that you have tried doesn't look right is because grasses always have individual blades rather than the trunk & branch detail that you are looking for.  You will need to find something that will make a miniature tree armature to replicate that detail.

What about

cutting up Super Trees from Scenic Express into smaller chunks?

I'm not familiar with the Super Trees.

If there is enough branch detail in one tree to make a bunch of brush for one, then that would work.  What won't work is taking a tall tree and cutting it up into six "short trees".  The branches of sage brush are scaled down to an appropriate size compared to the size of the bush.  A limb will probably only be a maximum of 1 1/2 inches in diameter.  A typical large tree will have branches that are 4 to 6 inches thick, perhaps even thicker.

I just thought of another method that might work as well.  Strip the insulation off of a short piece of #10 ga stranded wire about 1 inch longer than you want your brush to be.  Leave an inch or so of insulation at one end for a handle.  Then separate and twist together sets of three wires to make a tree armature, and bend the limbs to replicate the shape of the branch structure.  Dipping the armature into thick latex paint of an apropriate wood color would replicate the bark.  After the paint dries, use a bit of spray adhesive and ground foam to do the foliage.  Then you could either drill a large enoufgh hole in the layout to "plant" the insulation in the "ground" out of sight, or strip off the last bit of insulation and cut out most of the wires leaving two or three twisted together to make a stake to plant it with. 

If there is enough branch

There is, and this isn't a bad idea -  depending on scale as you mentioned. A bit time consuming maybe, but I use broken SuperTrees for bushes and they work out well.

I'm not sure, but I suspect that cutting up Super Trees

is a lot less time consuming than building sage brush from scratch using wire or tree armatures.

Good ideas

Thanks for the replies.  Sorry I didn't mention it, but yes I model in HO.  Fake fur clumps... That Idea has potential.  Also mentioned was using pieces of supertrees.  I'm actually using that method right now to model bigger brush like mountain mahogany (or what I call it anyway).  It works superb.  Another hobby of mine is fly tying as in trout flies, etc.  I've come up with a method to take the bobbin tool (thread applicator) and wrap several small twigs of supertrees together to make a fuller looking bush.  Then I proceed as with full size supertrees.  I'll post some pictures of this after I take some photos.  I have made some larger sage brush using this method, but to get bushes smaller than about 3' HO using this technique is difficult.

Mike Lozensky

Wire armatures

Hi Russ. 

That is a great idea!  It may be a little tedious, but I'll give it a shot.

Mike

Photos of my super tree bushes

Ok here is a picture of some mountain mahogany I made with my supertree method.

Here is a picture of the M.M planted in a scene.  Also you will see my initial attempt at small sage brush using the field grass.  There are some bigger sage brush planted using the supertree method.  I apologize for the picture being fuzzy.

Here are some pictures of the tools I use to make the supertree clumps.  The bobbin (holds thread), and the whip finisher (ties a Knot when done).  These tools are available at any fly shop or Dicks, Cabelas, etc.

By the way, The clump I'm holding is about as small as I can make (probably about 30" tall HO).  Here is a picture (fuzzy -- sorry) of various sized supertree clumps.  These are ready for a dunk in the matte medium tank.  After they dry completely I spray them primer grey and flock with varous shades of ground foam.  The mtn. mahogany in the picture above uses a medium green flock and a scant mist of primer grey to finish off.

Mike Lozensky

sage

Perhaps lichen would work for the smaller bushes.Trim it, cover with ground foam and spray an approriate color.

Brian Clogg

Cariboo Western Railway

Sagebrush and Rabbitbrush

Note that you're most likely dealing with more than one species of vegetation.  I live at the edge of the Great Basin's "sagebrush ocean" so will speak from what grows near me, but the scrub vegetation around Mt. Shasta is similar. 

Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and relatives, plus rabbitbrush (e.g. Chrysothamnus nauseosus) are the typical scrub growth plants.  Both have gray leaves and yellow flowers, but sagebrush has a denser branch structure while rabbitbrsuh tends to have long stalks.  Sagebrush flowers earlier in the growing season, with separate groups of flowers growing among the other branches, and rabbitbrush gets clusters of flowers on the end of the existing stalks, tending to bloom in early fall.  The type of plant you represent in bloom will define the season on your layout.

I've modeled sagebrush using mats of poly fiber stretched thin, then covered in gray-green ground foam like Eucalyptus from AMSI.  When the harispray or other adhesive is dry, I cut the mat into serparate individual bushes, and deform the shapes a bit as I install them on the layout, ensuring the foam-covered surfaces hide the fiber for the most part.  When modeling sagebrush by the hundreds, I've found this method easier than modeling separate bushes.

In HO, I think the use of the grass tufts has some merit for rabbitbrush.  I haven't tried to differentiate between the species much on previous layouts, but the scenery materials out today give us better options.

Thanks for the comments,

Thanks for the comments, Rob.  I have taken a break from scenery, but will be back in it soon, and have much sagebrush to model!  Your info is very useful.

Mike

Fake Fur

Hi Mike try these two  links for ideas hope it helps 

http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/mink_grass/

http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/grass_clumps/

Here  a a  few pics of  my initial ones i  made up   cover a box with cling film   &  use  latex glue  to hold the  bottom   of the clump  together till   dry peel  off as  you need  them.

http://i549.photobucket.com/albums/ii377/upnick/WORKBENCH%20PICTURES/grass.jpg

http://i549.photobucket.com/albums/ii377/upnick/WORKBENCH%20PICTURES/grass2.jpg

http://i549.photobucket.com/albums/ii377/upnick/WORKBENCH%20PICTURES/grass3.jpg

This group made it from steel

This group made it from steel at their Gila River module. Look at thier pictures under "progress".

And this made my friend Pete:

He used materia from floristic shops.

Wolfgang

yes!

Aaahhh, sagebrush, with some juniper trees too, and a broken-down stock pen, please.

Some one mentioned my site

Some one mentioned my site for faux fur sage brush:

The blooms can be simulated with pastels rubbed into the faux fur. I have done it with greens and blueish greens and it comes out well. See:

http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/brush/

Thank you if you visit

Harold

HO Sagebrush

This is just a few months behind here, but I live in the eastern Great Basin of Nevada and see sagebrush and rabbitbrush all the time.  In trying to figure out how to model sagebrush, I stumbled on lichen from Woodland Scenics at a hobby shop that is about the same color as the sagebrush plant as a whole.  I then found at another shop some Flowering Foliage (also by Woodland Scenics) that I plan to use to represent flowering sagebrush.  I haven't found a good color yet to represent sagebrush that isn't in bloom, but I really haven't looked around much either.  Links to the two products I intend to use are below:

Lichen:
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/785-167

Flowering Foliage:
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/785-176

Moderator note: Originally posted by inarevil. Poster changed to preserve post during deletion and recreation of his account.

Realistic Sage Brush

Just new here.

This site was recommended by Woodland Scenics because I had made inquires about the possible introduction of Sage coloured clumps.  I don't model in HO myself but I'm the scenery director of a large HO layout using the KVR as the subject.  Sage is just about obligatory around here and I've been trying to substitute it for years.  Anyway, there seems to be some serious interest at Woodland Scenics so just maybe....

Thought you would be glad to know unless there is actually more up to date info on this.

Dave at http://www.wvrr.ca   

My Sagebrush

I used small lengths of sisal rope (any natural fibre would do) dip one end into a pile of yellow carpenters glue and roll it between your fingers until the glue works it's way into the end of the rope and hardens. This only takes about ten seconds, because you're pressing the moisture out of it, I think. "fuzz" up the other end and stick all your bushes into a chunk of Styrofoam and spray them a warm grey colour.

I used Selkirk Scenery Co.s leaves, they are not available any more, but other "blue silver" coloured ground foams should work as well. just spray your bush with adhesive and roll in the "leaves" Add a bit more glue and daub on some yellow foam if you want flowers.

More Pix

Since making my comments above on this old thread, I have planted hundreds of sagebrush on my layout.  Instead of poly fiber, I ended up using scrub pad products sold as paint stripping pads and synthetic steel wool (they are coarse and have a gray color).  I spray them with 3M Super 77 adhesive and apply AMSI "Eucalyptus" coarse and fine foam.  Were I working in a larger scale, I'd try the method On30Guy Rick described above.

These are a few hanging around on the layout.

This is a great thread for

This is a great thread for me. as I'm about to  start making sage bushes etc. but for the life me could not figure out how I was going to do it. Rob do you pre cut the scrub pads and then apply the AMSI product. Or apply then cut?. Oh and what is AMSI

Re: hobbes1310

Yes.  Cut them into small chunks to start, then tear these into still smaller ones.  Maybe go for something like 1/2" square or less, then rip in half (the pad will separate in the middle into a rough shape).  I skewer the pieces on a mass of toothpicks stuck into a sheet of styrofoam for easier handling while applying adhesive.

It's a brand name of scenery products (Architectural Model Supply Inc.).  Most hobby shops do not stock it, but it's available through Walthers and elsewhere online.  See http://amsistuff.com/.