Using JTT Sunflowers and JTT Corn Stalks.

Using JTT Sunflowers and JTT Corn Stalks.

JTT’s series of scale trees and landscaping continues to blossom with new and unique scenery products, including flowering hedges, corn stalks, sunflowers, tomato plants, fruit trees, grasses and more. These and other introductions have led to requests for techniques and ideas for creating more realistic layouts. This is the first in a continuing series… we’ll start with an article by Tom Staley on using JTT Sunflowers and JTT Corn Stalks.

I have been doing landscaping and teaching scenery classes for many years. When JTT introduced sunflowers and corn stalks, I was like a kid in a candy store. I always wanted to put sunflowers and fields of corn on my layout and now I can.  Both the sunflowers and corn stalks are available in HO scale at 1” and in O scale at 2”. Mixing both scales of sunflowers gives you a natural look. It enables you to mimic nature by showing both young and mature plants in the same area.

What I especially liked about both the sunflowers and the corn is that they look so real. Talk about putting the “WOW” in your layout, this will do it.  They are colorful, affordable and available. If you think about it, most modelers have too much green on their layouts. Adding JTT sunflowers with their yellow, brown and green hues, and bright, detailed corn stalks give you color, realism and pop. They add interest to your layout.

Landscaping Tips You Can Use

Prior to planting the sunflowers, sprinkle JTT leaves on the ground where you plan to place your sunflowers. Then make a 50/50 combination of white glue and water and mix well. Using an eye dropper put several drops of the glue mixture on the leaves. You’ll see the leaves darken providing a true, earthy look.

Before planting JTT corn, rake some leaves to make small, raised rows. You may want to put a few drops of alcohol (found at the drugstore) on the rows. Modelers refer to this as breaking the tension. Then, using an eye dropper, apply white glue. The alcohol helps the leaves absorb the white glue delivering more natural looking results. Once the leaves are prepared, you can plant your corn.


Putting sunflowers around old buildings, bridges, windmills and in your gardens is one of the easiest things you can do to add authenticity to your layout. Anyone, regardless of skill level, can do this and get excellent results.

Visit your local hobby dealer and start adding JTT scale landscaping and scenery products to your layout, you’ll be delighted with the final results.

A Tiger in the Grass

JTT landscaping, including trees, flowers, hedges, corn stalks, grasses, gravel and more have become popular staples for hobbyists of just about every stripe... Model railroaders, dollhouse crafters, students with school projects, architect’s and others. One key niche where MRC-JTT Scenery Products has proven invaluable is plastic modeling for scale military and automobile dioramas. Matt Wieczorek sent us some photos and info on one of his JTT augmented projects.

A Tiger in the Grass: A quick project.



As I started to put a 10” x 6” display case around my Italeri 1/35 scale Tiger Tank, I started thinking something was missing. Then it dawned on me, the Tiger called out to me to add something else. I began thinking about a setting, creating a scene. Then it struck me, the Tiger would look good if it were laying in wait in a field of tall grasses.

With that thought in mind, I went to work with JTT landscaping products. I used the three items listed below, to create a very simple, but effective environment.






First, I painted the base flat black and let it dry. I then coated the base with some diluted white glue, and sprinkled on JTT’s Autumn Blended Medium Turf #0595108. While the base was still wet, I added the tank and rolled it back and forth into the base to leave some track marks. Once the tank was in place, I fixed it with white glue to keep it there. At that point I added some covering to the tracks and around the wheels of the tank. I left this dry overnight, and started on the next steps.

I took some of JTT’s tall field grasses, Golden Brown Field Grass #0595085, and Natural Brown Field Grass #0595084. I mixed them together in my hand then cut them into different sizes so they would look natural once planted. When I had some at the right lengths, I dabbed the bottoms into a pool of white glue, and placed them randomly around the tank itself. In the end, I achieved the base look I was going for. I also added some more of the ground cover in the areas where I needed to fill in bare areas spaces. This worked well. Now, I have a Tiger in the grass waiting to pounce.

An Italian Fighter Blends Into the North African Desert

An Italian Fighter Blends Into the North African Desert

I wanted to build a World War II Italian Fighter plane.  Being of Italian descent, and having an uncle who served in North Africa with the American Army in 1943, I have taken a special interest in this theater of war. The model chosen is a Hasegawa 1/48 scale Macchi C.202 Folgore. I wanted to create a desert scene where the subject plane blends into the base… which is the reason camouflage paint schemes are used. This model won a First place in the Air Category at our October monthly meeting and is in the running for Model of the Year in the air category.    

I started with a 10” inch semi-oval wooden base. I covered the entire base with white glue and applied a layer of Golden Straw Turf #0595116 and Yellow Straw Turf #0595118, then waited 24 hours for it to dry. I then applied a layer of Fine Tan Gravel #0595304, using diluted white glue which I sprayed on the base. After this dried, I applied Dark Green Foliage-Fiber Clusters #0595068 in small, tight patches using thick white glue. I then added a 6” Royal Palm Tree #0596010 and a 9”, slightly cut down Palm Tree#0596009. I planted them by drilling holes and then applying CA glue. I think the finished product speaks for itself. I had never used or built bases for my models before. These easy to use JTT Scenery Products made “landscaping” simple. 

In the future, I expect to present all my models on finished bases.

A German Panzer Races Across Poland in 1940

A German Panzer Races Across Poland in 1940 

                         

As a member of NJIPMS, I participated in a group build of a 1/35 scale Tamiya AFV. I chose the Panzer Type 2 Ausf F. I usually don't put my models on a base, but thought that this would be a good time to step up my presentations. I wanted to create a scene of a tank racing cross country through the fields outside of Warsaw, Poland in September, 1940. 

I used an oval-shaped wooden 8” base. I applied white glue and added Burnt Grass #0595121, Moss Green #0595122 and Forest Green #0595094 Turfs. When they dried on the base, I used thick white glue to add Dark Green Foliage Fiber Clusters #0595059 and Natural Brown Field Grass #0595084. I then drilled a hole in the base for a 6" Ash Tree #0596058. 

All the products I used were from JTT Scenery Products. I am proud of the finished product. Thanks to JTT Scenery Products and Model Rectifier Coporation with their fine line of easy to use products, I can see my Panzer tank in action rumbling through Poland

1941 T34/76 Russian Tank in the Ukrainian Countryside

Articles and layouts by Vince D'Alessio, member of NJIPMS

1941 T34/76 Russian Tank in the Ukrainian Countryside

As a member of NJIPMS, I took part in a group build of a Tamiya 1/48 scale AFV. I chose the T34/76 1941 version Russian Tank. This model recently took best out of the box at the Hudson Valley Historical Miniatures Guild Contest. This is my second attempt to build with a base. I chose a wooden pine 11” by 8”. My concept was to capture a vision of the T/34 in motion, moving into position to cut off the German advance through the Ukrainian countryside.

I first applied white glue to the base. Then I added Ground Cover Turfs, Soil #0595113, Earth #0595128, Golden Straw #0595116 and Burnt Grass #0595120. They were allowed to dry for approximately 24 hours. I then added Blended Turfs Green #0595105 and Autumn Blend #0595107. 

I sprayed finely diluted white glue on top of this and allowed it to dry for 24 hours. Next, I wanted to add gravel to the edges of the base. This was done by applying Earth Medium Blend #0595311, again sprayed with diluted white glue and allowed to dry for 24 hours. I then placed Flower Bushes #0595505 using thick white glue to position them. Next came two trees, a 5” Live Oak Tree #0596043 and an 8” Pine Tree #0596027. 

I planted them by drilling holes and applying CA adhesive. I am very happy with the finished base, as it adds yet another dimension to this award winning model.

Plant an Orchard on your Layout

The following article and layouts by George Riley, Railroad Model Craftsman

Plant an Orchard on your Layout

Properly modeled, orchards can enhance a model railroad's scenery as well as providing a potential source of traffic. Several packs of JTT Orange Trees were used to create this orange grove scene; nearly any type of orchard can be modeled by planting the proper trees. Add a processing or packing plant nearby and your railroad can have a new customer in no time! From their earliest years in operation, the railroads played a crucial role in feeding the nation’s growing cities. Food stuffs and agricultural products were among some of the first consigned revenue producing lading to ply the rails. Fruit and nuts from recently planted orchards shared space with the vegetables, grain and livestock that funneled into the rapidly expanding eastern and Midwestern cities during the first half of the nineteenth century. While orchards were not a uniquely European enterprise, the Native Americans had originally planted orchards in the pre-Columbian era; they spread from coast to coast during the westward expansion of these immigrants. From the citrus groves of California and Florida; to the apple orchards of the Mid Atlantic and Midwestern States and the peach orchards of Georgia and the Carolinas, fruit production and processing plays an important part in the country’s economy and provides an important seasonal revue stream to many railroads. Properly modeled, orchards can enhance a model railroad's scenery as well as providing a potential source of traffic. With a little research and by carefully observing the scientific practices of fruit production one can present a realistic model of this common agricultural enterprise.

Begin by laying out the area that will be planted on the layout or as is the case of our orange grove, a piece of birch plywood that will later be added to the layout. Orchards are arranged so that a tree will produce the maximum yield in the minimum of space while allowing access for cultivation and harvesting. Holes were drilled in rows two inches apart with three inches between each row to accommodate a service path and still leave space between the trees. Another ‘trick’ used to make the orchard look larger was to lay out the rows on a curve. This fools the eye since while we can easily measure by eye the distance of a straight line while a curved line’s length is much more difficult to determine.

After the holes for the trees were drilled the board was sealed overall and the surface was primed and painted. This step not only helps stabilize the board and limits the effects of seasonal humidity, but also prevents the plywood from warping and the plys from separating when using water based glues and water to apply the ground cover.

A coat of 75% white glue or matt medium mixed with 25% water and a few drops of dishwashing liquid is applied over the entire surface to hold a thin layer of dirt onto the base. Water with a few drops of dishwashing liquid or denatured alcohol is then sprayed over the earth cover. Lightly wetting the dirt allows the adhesive to wick up through the ground cover to lock the earth in place. Too much water will often cause the earth layer to crack which in many situations makes for added realism. Allow the dirt layer to completely dry before proceeding with the application of grass.

Leaving a roughly on inch earthen path between each row, apply a coat of the glue/water mixture over the earth ground cover. Add your choice of grass material to the glue and over spay with a light mist of the "wet" water. Allow the ground cover to dry completely. Once the grass layer is completely dry remove any excess material and give the entire area a light overspray of hairspray from a pump spay bottle. Inexpensive non-scented hairspray in pump bottles is readily available a most dollar stores. Short static grass was used on the orange grove model to good effect. One does not necessary need to use a static grass applicator for this step since inexpensive squeeze bottles are available that yield good results when working with small areas.

Give the base an over all dry bushing with a light tan paint to accent the ground cover and add highlights. Plant the fruit trees in the predrilled holes. Hold them in place with a clear drying PVA glue such a Aleene’s Tacky Glue or Woodland Scenics Scenic Accents Glue. Several packs of JTT Orange Trees (Item #0592121) were used to assemble our orange grove scene. Nearly any type of orchard can be modeled by planting the proper representative fruit trees. Add a processing or packing plant nearby and your railroad can have a new customer.

*A version of this article was published on Railroad Model Craftsman Extra Board - March 2013. All photos are taken by the author George Riley.

JTT Scenery Quick Tips

JTT makes a world of scenery that adds that professional touch to any model railroad, military model, diorama or even doll house.

All of the products are easy to use and will yield superior results. To illustrate some of the many ways that JTT Scenery can be used here are some quick, simple and effective scenery tips.

JTT Scenery Detail Sheets are a quick way to fill in that open patch of ground be it a vacant lot, small pasture or overgrown field. These sheets also let one model different environments and seasons.

Step 1 – Cut the sheet to fit the space. This can be done using a pair of scissors or hobby knife.

Step 2 – Remove the Kraft paper backing

Step 3 – Glue in place using scenery cement, matte medium or white glue. Once the glue is dry blend in the edges with some loose ground cover and the scenery is done. Simple, Easy, Fast.

Add Curb appeal to your residential areas.
The addition of flowering plants, shrubs and bushes around the yard will really add to the realism and detail of any residential scene.

Plant a vegetable garden out back.
Most family run farms as well as a lot of homes have a small plot set aside to grow vegetables and herbs for the kitchen. A couple of packs of JTT HO or O scale corn plants is a great start to any garden. Add a few rows of row crops and even a tomato plant or two to round out the selection. This will not only add detail, but will also be a focal point that will draw attention to the scene.

Mix and Match different products to replicate different times of the year.
A set of JTT O scale pumpkins coupled with some JTT dry vines sets the scene as the pumpkins are ready for the fall harvest.

Add Biodiversity to your project.
In the real world one will see a wide range of different plants in any scene. Don’t limit your model world to just a few species. Add a stand of JTT cat tails to that wet spot by the pond or some tall try grass, some dry leaves and a tree behind the shed.
Use different scenery products to create different seasons.
JTT scenery comes in a wide variety of seasonal types. Winter, spring, summer or fall can easily be realistically replicated. Here JTT dead tries, dry vines, loose leaf ground cover and dry leaf foliage branches create a convincing late fall forest scene.

Click here to learn more about our JTT line of Scenery Products