SUNFLOWERS: my latest experiment

[ForbesHutton]

Sunflowers are usually tall annual or perennial plants that grow to a height of 300 centimetres (120 in) or more. They bear one or more wide, terminal capitula (flower heads), with bright yellow ray florets at the outside and yellow or maroon (also known as a brown/red) disc florets inside. Several ornamental cultivars of Helianthus annuus have red-colored ray florets; all of them stem from a single original mutant.[9] During growth, sunflowers tilt during the day to face the sun, but stop once they begin blooming. This tracking of the sun in young sunflower heads is called heliotropism. By the time they are mature, sunflowers generally face east.[10] The rough and hairy stem is branched in the upper part in wild plants but is usually unbranched in domesticated cultivars. The petiolate leaves are dentate and often sticky. The lower leaves are opposite, ovate or often heart-shaped.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helianthus

Plenty of troops and military vehicles have passed through and fought in sunflower fields:


For modellers, the pre-made sunflowers are expensive ($12can (about $9usd) for this pack:

Certainly not enough to make a field, and at 2" or 70" in 1/35, they are very much on the small size.

So, I found a paper punch:


With some heavy bright yellow paper I get:


The dollar store calls it gardening wire, it's like a continuous twist or wire tie:


Two of the yellow punch-outs are combined with the wire stem, and then a glob of white glue mixed with black-brown paint is used to hold the flower onto the stem and create the center:


This is only the first part, other work is still needed to finish them. I'll update as I go, and when I have everything ironed out I'll do a video. Right now I'm really pleased as I can see this will work, I'll get a diorama's worth of sunflowers for a couple of dollars worth of materials and they'll be big enough to hide a tank's hull in.

[Paul]

They look really good. Great work

[ForbesHutton]

Groves for the tracks were carved out of the base:



The groves were then filled with hydrocal and track marks imbedded:



I picked up another punch with a heart/valentine shape for the leaves. Part of the twist tie plastic were cut away to form the branch for each leaf. The first couple are done:

[rcfanuk]

They look great

[ForbesHutton]

A teaser/update:

[ForbesHutton]

[youtube]PK9-jgqtMwc[/youtube]

[ForbesHutton]

[youtube]rTI1ExqOtXE[/youtube]