I haven't reviewed a modelling product before, but I recently tried paper plants made by Kamizukuri Paper + Creative of Japan, and was very impressed with the realism and ease of construction.

I purchased my set of Jungle Plants and Weeds & Ivy from Ian Harries at Empire Hobbies (www.empirehobbies.com.au) for my New Guinea vignette.

Each set of plants comes flat in a plastic bag, with several thin sheets of clean white paper. The instructions are all in Japanese , but there are a few pics that help show you what the plants should look like when finished.

There is an "up" side and a "down" side to each sheet. The "up" side has scored lines on the surface to allow flexing and enabling you to shape each leaf separately.

Step One is to paint the paper plants with acrylics while they are attached to the sheet. Keep your paint very thin and paint like you would with water colours, using a stain rather than a wash. Allow the paper to absorb the colours which will diffuse before drying.

I sprayed most of the leaves with Tamiya Lime Green, to simulate fresh young plants. One in every five or six plants was painted beige to simulate a fallen, dead leaf.

The tops and tips of each leaf were dry brushed with Yellow.

Once the leaves are painted and dried, carefully cut each plant away from its paper sprue, assemble your wire armature for the branches and trunk, and glue the leaves on. Start from the bottom inside of the plant and work your way out to the upper outer edges.

Once the glue dries (I used Superglue) you can bend and shape the plant and its leaves to hang naturally. I wanted to show a jungle where it had recently rained, and the leaves were hanging and dripping with water.

This is my first experience using this product,and I really enjoyed the process of making these plants,and I'm very impressed with how they look when placed on the groundwork.

In terms of realistic scale foliage/ flowers/plants, this range of products really raises the bar to new heights. They are available in 1/48, 1/35 and1/12th scales. After usig these, you'll never be satified with lichen and shredded foam foliage again.

For more pictures (but no English) go to www.kamizukuri.jp

Cheers

Excellent review Tony. I wondered how these plants came and what was needed to "bring them to life"

Thanks

Tony

Thanks for the review. I've been wondering if these paper products would be worth the time & expense & you've answered that. I'll have to give these a shot.

Mike

Tony,
I agree, excellent review. I may have to try them also.
Yours turned out great.

Thanks for sharing.
Dee

Great product!!!! Thanks for the reveiw Tony!!!!!

Thanks Tony! It's realy great!

Thanks for the info, Tony!

Could you tell us a little bit more of the "wire armature"?

Cheers

What was the "down" side Tony? I too had put off buying these but would be encouaged to do so now.

Hi Stephen,

I didn't experienced any "down" sides (except finding the bottom side of the leaves). They are simple to paint, easy to construct and very realistic.

Not much more I can say.

Cheers

Thanks for the plug Tony, I'm going have to put you on the payroll soon

The Plus Model range of leaves are paper, laser etched. They are also very good and take paint well.

Hi Janne,

The packet of jungle plants comes with a separate packet of 20 thin wires, which bend,curl and flex and hold a shape nicely. You can use them as single branches, or twist them togetherto make a clumped plants with multiple branches.

Cheers

G'day Ian & Bob,

Thanks for your comments.

Ian, I need some 1.12th scale poppies . Happy to help promote a good product and a good service.

Cheers

That's fantastic! Great job with your review and THANK YOU for turning us onto a fantastic link.

John (AkA EasyOff)

Oki, I see, thanks Tony!

Cheers

You beat me to it, Tony!

My stack of this stuff from Empire Miniatures and Accurate Armour has just arrived. Looks to be very fine quality, to be handled with care.

Not only have you put your paper to excellent use on that hillside, you´ve given us a classy review too.

Spike.

Tony,
Many thanks for the review and notes.
Cheers
John

Thanks for the review Tony. You did an excellent job with them. I'll have to buy a set.

John

I hadn't thought to put in the 1.12th range, but I guess with people using larger scales for vignettes I'll have to pull my finger out and get them

And of course I'll send the poppies your way when they lob up

Thanks for the review Tony, I guess you used more of the 1/35 scale? I found only the fern/small palm in 1/12 scale, the palm is the best I've ever seen, maybe this could be the solution to make realistic palm trees, hope they come up with huge palm leaves. Also, you did a great job on them too!
Thanks
Denes