Cheap and easy clump foliage (Frugal Wargames Foliage)

[@bettymcdaniels1774]

I have learned more about the things that I need to know to make fairy houses from you than from the one hundred or so tutorials that play music instead of actually tutoring. Thank you so much!

[@absolutmauser]

Something must be wrong with your recipe, Mel. I've tried it several times and the smoothie always tastes just awful.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Brutal!

[@davemitchison6798]

But carb free mmmmmmm

[@negotiableaffections]

You need more paint [possible PVA too] and squeeze it well into the foam, or else it all fluffs up and you can't swallow! Taste is aquired.

[@thearehman4915]

I just love comments like this...

[@ranchochihuahua]

LOL!!!!!!

[@ATorres0821]

Your videos make modeling accessible to people who are new to the game, thank you for sharing your expertise!

[@AnnoyedKitten]

Once again you come and save me! Being poor (buying this stuff is sometimes really expensive!) and not really into war terrain (I am doing book nooks and small dioramas) your videos always helps me out. Just wanted to say a bit thank you! 💙 Cheers!

[@igoroliveira5086]

Ok now THAT was a great tutorial, Mel! Thank you! I can say I learned so, SO much from your videos, not only the techniques but also how to deal with different materials. You are a gem in this world, mate! Cheers!

This worked amazingly well, thanks for the tutorial! Now I have clump foliage for the next 900 years of my use :D I used idye Poly mixed with cheap acrylics to get a gorgeous, vivid orange for my autumn trees.

[@CubicApocalypse128]

Here's a thought: make it in gray and use it for smoke. Explosions, big volcanic ash clouds, or anything else where you can get away with hard edges. Could even make it in white and use it for clouds.

[@WhimsyLuna1up]

This is so great. I want to share with you my findings. I did this with a bath sponge(they cost $1.00usd per sponge). I put enough water to in to cover the sponge in the blender and blender really nicely. I let it bend for about 2-3min and then did some light chopping with my scissors. I like the bath sponge texture myself. Thanks for showing the paint and glue ratios. I think I over drenched mine in paint when I tried haha.

[@whitetranscriptions2633]

Just tried this with a ‘normal’ car sponge... works really well. Thank you

[@eligebrown8998]

Thanks for sharing this. I'm at least 2 hrs away from any hobby store but bunch of Dollar Tree stores near by and a Walmart. This is genius. Plus this will save me a bunch of money. 👍👍👍 Merry Christmas sir.

[@Grimlore82]

I have to put much emphasis on ignoring the trolls that seem to complain about your use of the word, yeah. I am sure they do things that others may label as "annoying". It is a crafting tutorial video, not a rehearsed power point presentation or TED Talk. You just keep being you, use whatever words you want or are accustomed to and please keep that wisdom flowing! No room for trolls! Let us all grab our torches, vials of acid and deal with them as needed!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

To be honest mate, I don't even notice them anymore, sticks and stones and all that ;-)

[@allanatwick1606]

@@TheTerrainTutor is it "sticks and stones will break my bones but whips and chains excite me" 🤫

[@allanatwick1606]

@@TheTerrainTutor P. S. I live in South Wales and you hear people use the word "like" about 3 times in every sentence, beginning, middle and end. I never used to say it but eventually I also picked up the habit of of saying it mid sentence for no reason, didn't realise I did it until I met someone who basically said "like" almost every other word which drove me nuts 🤪 Anyway, like, I like your vids very much like, find them very helpful indeed like, so I've like subbed and like liked your vid too like. (best read in a Welsh accent) 🤭 Keep it up 👍

[@vasili1207]

@@allanatwick1606 its not like that at all like.. i think you are taking the piss mate like... i think you need a cwtch like ... 😀 welsh are gods

[@allanatwick1606]

@@vasili1207 spot on, when someone heard me say to the grandkids come here I'll give you a cwtch they looked at me stupid and said what's that, never heard of one, they thought it was a sweet or something to eat from Wales lol If someone asked me to take a pic on holiday for them I'd change it to video and get them to say "Wales is best" instead of the usual "cheese " then when they looked later they would find it and it would be imprinted on their brain along with all their holiday memories. 😁

[@euansmith3699]

The triumphant return of the "watchamacallit". It is surprisingly how technical this all is; what with the ice and everything. As with all your best tutorials it contains enough fluffs to make it look like something anyone could do. This is great stuff. "Herb grinder" :D

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Euan Smith You know me mate, I have to keep it simple or I couldn't do it lol

[@thebigtricky9156]

You said about the scouring pads which is basicly sponge. I used many old differint colored sponges, which worked great. And the more worn the sponge is, the better.

[@andreaspoulsen8017]

Around 7:00 you put your hand inside the blender to mix when the power to the mixer was still on. I dont recommend anyone doing that. Just take out the cord before you do that or alternative use a tool like a plastic knife or wood instead of your hand. It takes 5 seconds more and you avoid loosing a finger.

[@bibbly1234]

I've been debating whether or not to do a forest diorama for a while now, but between not having the time to build it and not having the spare money to buy supplies I haven't gotten around to it. Tutorials like this one will definitely help on the money front, so cheers for this one mate!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+bibbly1234 Great minds think alike bud ;-)

[@coltius]

I just wanted to say thank you for all of the great videos, especially this one. After years of wanting to get into terrain building I'm finally at a point of being able to do so. In particular to this video I've been on the hunt for a couple of years on and off finding this kind of clumped foam either second hand or from a craft store with no luck. We were doing some house cleaning and found an old pillow that had never really been used and I got very excited, ripping it open, a whole bag of pre-shredded foam! Now just to find a blender and figure out how made this pillow for future supply.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Awesome mate, glad it helped you!

[@joshjohnston7388]

Thanks to guys like this, I finally got into model painting (and they look great!), and now spend more time landscaping than I do painting. So rewarding though. I am very thankful for wonderful youtube folk like this for showing how it is done.

[@rejoyce57]

Thrift stores are a great place to pick up blenders and old cushions.

[@Mydadsshed]

We play a drinking game - whenever you say "yeah?" we sip. We are all smashed, and only 1 minute in. Seriously great stuff - even 3 years later. Thanks. Using Florist foam and a nutrabullet (masked up of course) - no water required and paint takes well.

[@karltriebel4262]

I’ve just dyed some sawdust into flock using this method!

[@brentleajunction]

Hi mate what a awesome idea I went out and bought a blender yesterday and now have my own so thanks for this video it saves paying out all the money for the stuff we can buy in the shop cheers Paul

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Hope it helps buddy

[@gerlandkent6377]

[I, made some ground cover just like you explained in you're video and it's looks great. I, made 10- 5- gal. plastic bucket buckets full. dark green, light green, some fall colors like yellow orange and red]

[@Christi.Uninhabited]

Great tips. Had to up it to 1.5x speed and I’m keeping a “Yeah?” count on your videos. Can’t wait to see which has the most. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@WrongwayProductions]

when I stopped drinking coffee, the bean grinder became my foliage maker.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Wrongway Productions I drink instant :-(

[@naetuir]

+Wrongway Productions That is a marvelous idea. Nice tip!

[@jpf338]

why thou? D:

[@daltonjones4712]

Wrongway Productions I use it for blending dubbing for fly tying

[@ScratchAttackTV]

Hi Mel! Can't thank you enough for this video. I've been wanting to give this a try for a long time and I finally got my hands con a cheap second hand blender, and the first three batches came out perfect, I'm so stoked on making my own clump foliage! By the way, my blender came with a small spice blender or dry blender, so I tried to chomp the foliage further down once it had dried out and it's fenomenal! Great job mate! Thanx again!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Awesome sauce mate

[@tysonfritz9132]

I got really fine results with a cheap Ninja blender. It has really sharp blades and slices the foam into really small bits.

[@inaquianallforce4042]

fine enough for flock size? like ground cover flock?

[@negotiableaffections]

Hi Mel, after watching you guys/YTers get clumpy I figured I'd give it a try - know anyone who wants to buy 250 gms of extra-crispy green bits? SO.... I bought a nice new blender and studied YOUR recipe, thouroughly! I discovered two points along the way. 1) Moisten and measure a 'cup' of foam before adding it to the blender, then use as much water as possible when blending [don't drench the kitchen, get to know your blenders capacity] - this results in a nice medium well mixed grind. 2) Use 'zero-able' electric scales to measure the pva and paint on a small lid etc as this saves the fiddly problem of cleaning syringes. I have a large clump of foliage drying in the airing cupboard, Cheere Bose!

[@jefffrazier4627]

A Good Coffee Bean Grinder would work well for the smaller bits!

[@paparoysworkshop]

This is exactly what I was looking to do for my model railroad. You have another subscriber. Excellent video.

[@TempName525]

I see you don’t have anything uploaded on your KZbin channel but you should upload a video of your railroad

[@ooairmonkey4771]

Brilliant! Cheers! 👏 P.S. I would just recommend unplugging the blender before putting your hand in! Better be safe than sorry! That part was rather suspenseful, I must say. The finger on your other hand that's holding the blender could slip and turn the cheap knob and... well, perhaps you need foliage for a poppy field? ☺️

[@LostWhits]

I remember when stuffed bears and bunnies used to have crumbed foam as filling. Used to have recycled filling back then.

[@inigogw]

u have a video for litterally everything i swear ! Such a good channel !!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

I will one day bud ;-)

[@carmensuavillo7615]

My son have a diorama project and your tutorial helped a lot! Thank you so.much!

[@beckyforbis4858]

Thanks!

[@sw33n3yto00]

I love finding old videos I missed. Great stuff!

[@lordkas2000]

Love the vid Mel, Shared this on DMScotty's FB group.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+lordkas2000 Glad you liked it bud, thxs

[@zingerflippinz2066]

Hmmm, it kind of resembles stove top stuffing. Forget the trolls. I find your videos informative and money saving.

[@TheDungeonMattster]

Easily one of my favorite crafters. Thanks for the tutorial, great stuff!

[@gavinshineon3192]

The composite foam after n cut up with the blender looks like StoveTop stuffing!

[@kairishaarneth4840]

Take a shot every time this guy says "ye". Also thank you for the tutorial!

[@bigbossignition]

Brilliant! And perfect timing. Thanks Mel.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+bigbossignition Glad it helped buddy

[@glennmckay5119]

Just magnificent. Thank you

[@2nd66tube2]

I use the water and foam in the blender like you show but to add color to the foam after its chopped up I just add a small dab of artist oil paste into the blender along with the water and foam and blend it the foam takes up all the oil paints and water stay clear kinda like magic

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Great tip!

[@Dylfunkle]

I picked up a blender damn near identical for about 50p second hand specifically so that I don't get in trouble with the missus may try blending some sponges. XD

[@davidhorne5324]

fantastic, put it to good use making my oo model railway. very effective

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+David Horne Awesome sauce :-D

[@dutchkickerzdk]

Thanks, this will help me with the trees around my house model

[@gittefriishansen6138]

I'm doing a fun project for my dad - I'm making a garage for his (and my mom's, I guess 😅) robot lawnmower 😁 It's going to be a sort of little hill top with fairy houses and mushrooms and all sorts of fun little things 🤩 I wanted to make some foliage, and your video was SUPER helpful!! 👌 But I've never made anything remotely like this, so I'm a bit at a loss on how to make it stick well to the concrete (which the garage will be made of) 😬 The problem is, that it will of course be outside and has to withstand the Danish weather 🥴 Can you give me a tip? Or is it just not possible to use it for that purpose? Hope you can help me 🤞 (Although you did the video 7 years ago 😵‍💫😅🙈)

[@lydvincecruz824]

Very cheap and pretty easy to do.Thanks for the share.I could really use without breaking my bank. The cheaper the better..

[@erwinpansa632]

Sehr umständlich ! Das ganze geht auch sehr viel einfacher !

[@ashlieneevel9671]

Thank you for this

[@trentonmaloney3280]

i cant beleive i didnt think of this!your a damn genius mel!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+trenton maloney It's not my idea mate, it's proper old school

[@EnCoberturaScenery]

Excellent tutorial man! I always had problems to smash the foam, but you show a great way. THANK YOU!!

[@jpee300]

Awesome again :) Just fried my blender but I still had a blast. Browsing the online marketplace now for a cheap replacement :D

[@TheTerrainTutor]

My tenner one from argos works great!

[@Mardochiamun]

Love this idea!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Scott Riffas Hope it helps bud :-)

[@krisCrashTV]

Naw, my local store had tester pots for 50p, I'd say they're worth keeping an eye out for. And it's a really nice semi-matte I've been using to base coat a my tree trunks - the cheap acrylics were much glossier and didn't take to my shade/wash much either. That is nice looking :)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Nice find mate

[@tomassoejakto]

Thanks to your tutorials, I learned to make my first batch of flock last night. Thank you! 10:52 would've been funny (and messy) if you put a glove on and then use your uncovered hand to stir the paint LOL (that happened to me once... or maybe twice)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Excellent!

[@lazulis1814]

I'm about to pull up a bunch of carpet and carpet pad... It was all going to end up in the bin but now I'm curious if the carpet pad will work- it's looks very similar but slightly thinner. I'm certainly going to give it try. Great tutorial. Thanks!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

It should do, not sure about the hygiene element though ;-)

[@IDICBeer]

Good one Mel

[@jjab99]

Well done Mel, that was a really great Tutorial. More of these please mate. And if I don't speak to you in the meantime, Have a very Merry Christmas and an even better New Year to you, your family and all of your subscribers.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+jjab99 Plenty more to come mate ;-)

[@Jagthunder1]

YELLOW FOAM for those that wonder what it is called and how to get it. Chip Foam, Reconstituted Foam, Recon Foam, Chip Foam IIRC. As far as getting it outside the UK, I have not found any sources. I live in the US and shipping charges on that stuff from UK is just as much as the Foam. If TT or any other people know where else to get this other than dumpster diving, there are many others like myself that would like to know. Other than that I will be testing other sponges I guess. Saw a great tutorial on cheap car wash sponges and grinding that up with a meat grinder to get finer flock material. Hope that this comment helps someone. Good luck everyone! 👍😁 EDIT: The closest thing I’ve found is the padding you install under carpets. You can get scraps from a carpenter friend or ask someone at a carpet place for throw outs or excess pieces they can’t use. I personally haven’t tried this product yet. Still testing Jumbo Car Wash sponges with satisfactory results.

[@John_NJDM]

You can find it here (US) called carpet foam. It's what's under the vast majority of wall to wall carpeting in America.

[@franklycrazy5987]

@@John_NJDM thank you!

[@paulbradish]

@@franklycrazy5987 Carpet foam might not be the best frugal purchase though... unless you can find very small roles or squares.

[@kriegs6362]

Try just about any flooring/carpet store..the installers might have some, or even the store itself might have used they want to toss.

[@aaronbono4688]

Carpet foam, brilliant, thanks!

[@christopherdeitz5436]

I Find old Couch Cushions on the side of the road around Spring Cleanup time. Cut them into Chunks and put them through the Ninja Blender. Mix well like a sponge soaking up Paint and let dry in the Hot Sun. I make Green, Red, Yellow, Orange, Many different shades.

[@Banshun]

Great tutorial. I worked at a furniture wholesaler when I was at university. They called that rebond foam or chip foam IIRC

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Banshun Thanks for the heads up buddy, handy to know!

[@lensrc7460]

Also used as carpet pad.

[@obtv6827]

@@lensrc7460 I knew I had seen that stuff somewhere!

[@johnschweiger1079]

Love this idea will give a go

[@riff2072]

Sweet. That American slang for " very good" mate. And thanks for the post. Look forward to viewing more of your posts.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Riff Thanks matey

[@mintymoore6054]

Mel so sorry to see you in such a horrible place. When I came out of the RAF I was a lost sole, no money etc. with 3 kids. Bounced around loads of different jobs but thankfully found one I could stick at. I hate seeing someone so upset you have been through enough crap, I so hope things will get better but never forget what a great wife and kids you have no matter what shit life throws at you they will always be there for you.You are quite obviously a genius when it comes to terrain so why are you not selling the finished product on eBay or such like. In fact you could probably set up a shop with all manner of things terrain for those of us that don't have the time or space or just plain lazy. Just look at how much a few of the terrain companies sell there flocks, foliage for. Go for it and never look back again.I wish you and your family and everyone else on here a very Merry Christmas and may your New year be full of hope and happiness.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Minty Moore Cheers buddy, I'm soldiering on and 2016 is looking a lot brighter!

[@apophisjones4361]

Yo I did it bro. I started dry foam first, bad idea. Got stuck almost broke damn blender, lol. re watched your excellent vid, added some water and BAM! Came out sweet, thanks bro :-)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Sweet! nice one matey

[@karrieratcliff7418]

AWESOME! THANK YOU!

[@henriklarsen_art]

Very good video. I like your creative way of coming up with nice results.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Henrik Larsen Thanks mate

[@WestinsChannel]

Awesome vid, man. subscribed.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+westin Sandberg Welocme aboard buddy

[@whereismymind9429]

Hi from Bury , Lancs, great channel, great tips

[@TheUnsocialGod]

Incredibly clear and helpful video. Is there any way to make it back into larger clumps to use on trees for instance?

[@jefffrazier4627]

Love your videos Sir, Thank You!!

[@vickybesi9480]

Thanku buddy it was very helpful.

[@wysiwyg2489]

Looks pretty easy, now you need to post a video about what to tell the Misses when she discovered how you chopped the foam LOL

[@anakarencomer]

Love your videos! Thanks for sharing.

[@billd.iniowa2263]

Thanx Mel, you're the best. This video is just the thing we need... and just the thing Woodland Scenics hates! lol One question tho: Was there any particular reason you squashed it all back together for letting it dry? I would think you'd spread it out to dry it. You had some at the bottom that was still wet.

[@hashishi9]

+Bill D. in Iowa I'm interested in this too :)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Bill D. in Iowa it helps the little bits stick to the big bits for the fluffy look mate

[@billd.iniowa2263]

Ok, got it. Otherwise you'd just end up with smallish pieces. thanx.

[@rongablue]

Great demo, thanks...but PLEASE disconnect before putting your fingers near those blades!

[@tattooman3603]

Not gonna lie. Wasn't really paying attention to what KZbin threw on after my last video, but when I first looked up from crafting and saw your block of composite foam sitting there, I immediately thought it was leftover brocolli/cheddar quiche. Lol. I was totally baffled at what I was watching.

[@bradbeining3341]

Worked great.I have been monkeying around with this idea lately and your mixing ratios was spot on. Have you had luck with just mixing it all in the blender straightaway? This is what I have tried seem to work pretty good I have a mixer that I use for terrain building only.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Brad Beining I don't fancy the clean up job of mixing in the blender to be honest mate but I can imagine it'll work just fine

[@trentonmaloney3280]

ps unplug that thing while yer hands in there!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+trenton maloney I really should lol

[@Vorpal_Wit]

Or just take the container off the base while you do it. Great vid, btw.

[@gerbenvanessen]

when I use a blender for cooking I only plug it in just before blending and unplug it when I am done blending, it should not turn on but better be extra carefull than have a blended hand :P

[@josepagan3480]

yeah!

[@MrPorkmann]

I dislike the whole "elf n safety" culture. However I echo the sentiment. My aged aunt managed to "blend" her fingers a while back. Not nice. Very informative video.

[@philipgunter408]

Wow just gave this a try Its perfect Great tip and a true Money saver!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

no worries :-)

[@evanhughes7609]

Really useful tips here, nicely done!

[@seangere9698]

As it's a dry thing it should be measured buy grams/ounces. But that works if you don't want to wait till it's dry to weigh it.

[@palabrasdevida7363]

Excellent video

[@coffey3c]

Mel: Have you ever tried adding a surfactant to the water content when you blend. I'd have thought a squirt of IPA right at the end of the blend would have drawn the paint and glue in a bit. Not a criticism of the technique, but rather, I always look for way of varying the texture so that you can have a variety of foliage. Just wondering. And... If I could find any of this foam, I'd be trying this stuff today! Thank you Mel. I really love your stuff. I absolutely love anything that shows us how to do things more cheaply. I love to make terrain, but have no place to store a lot, so... I make a lot of terrain used by other people.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+coffey3c We did when we were doing the terrain labs, didn't actually make any difference mate. Thanks matey, I'm exactly the same, still haven't done my own board

[@gavinshineon3192]

LOVE THIS!

[@geekfreak69]

Thank you learned much about foliage

[@bigdon1a1]

good job lots of possibillites

[@hashishi9]

Oh my! This is something I needed so badly... The Woodland Scenics clumps are quite nice, but they also cost quite a bit. This comes to need indeed. Have you posted some examples of the scrubbing-patch-foliage somewhere? I was thinking that the really bright pink and blue would make pretty sweet chaos-/alienterrain :)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Hashishi Glad you like it bud, haven't done the scrub stuff yet but will be doing it soon

[@joshjohnston7388]

I do everything in 1/144 (ish), and these make GREAT shrubs. Love the alien landscape idea. Consider it borrowed.

[@LostCloudx4]

wow awesome for big areas man! love it

[@TheTerrainTutor]

No worries buddy

[@trainjam6596]

America calling the Wizard this vid is the one I wanted to know about. Thanks, by the way, you sound like Conner Mc greger don't think I spelled his name right but yea talk just like the blok. Do you live in the same area? And again your vids are the best out there.....

[@TheTerrainTutor]

No where near him mate lol

[@galan8115]

Nice for the tutorial Mel, but im werided about the fact that i cant find a tutorial on making flock out of sawdust in the list, tho ...

[@andrewtippman]

Brilliant! Thank you!

[@alfonsotsoto3954]

Amazing work! I really thank your courtesy by sharing this!

[@gothmorph]

very nice i'm going to try this ....thank you so much bro...

[@beetruth8790]

I was freaking out that you had your hands in that blender while it was plugged in,that not good accidents do happen man dont do that ok,you seem like a nice chap wouldnt want you to lose your digits,ok..like your tutorial very helpful and funny!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Jackie Rosario I am well know for doing my stupidity, it's why I'm not allowed fireworks anymore ;-)

[@kevintregunna]

Really good thanks a lot for sharing cheers Kevin

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+kevintregunna thanks mate

[@juanjoseredondo2314]

Hi tutor, you're teaching me a lot. The recipe so good. Can you write the second paint, not the acrilic, the other because i cant understand the name. Tyvm

[@TheTerrainTutor]

House paint mate

[@jaskco1]

Have you ever made a video for finer flocking? Specifically dealing with sawdust flocking for miniatures and or grass not foliage?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Not done fine flock yet mate

[@dshowat]

@@TheTerrainTutor I would love to see how you go with getting the flock finer as that’s what I use. Great tutorial for clumping foliage.👏🏻👏🏻

[@jimpyre5038]

Nice work

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Thanks

[@coltius]

What exactly are you typing into eBay to find this foam in bags? I've tried composite/chip/rebond foam with no luck finding bags of it. Thanks for the video!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

try reconsituted foam mate