Creaky wrote:
A very (very) small amount of cotton wool, stretched into wisps and strategically placed about the base could be an idea. I used this (rather too much - I've toned it down since then, you really need a very, very small amount) to make my Mirkwood Trees.
I use polyfiber for stuffing toys or pillows. It is very similar if not the same as the Hamster bedding. A small amount will go a long way.
I am going to make my spiders from toy rings that are meant to hand out instead of candy at Halloween. They cost a fraction of what Fine Cast cost and are no more difficult to work with. However, they will not break.
The first thing I did was to restore the legs to the correct position by resetting the plastic in hot water. They were sold in plastic bags and some of them were distorted much like weapons in Fine Cast or metal.
The legs can be modified by placing them in hot water then moving them to the desired position. I chill the plastic in room temperature water when I am satisfied with them. You can hold the model until it cools if you like. The hard plastic spiders legs were modified in the same fashion.
I am going to prime and paint the soft plastic spiders separately from the bases so it was attached temporally with hot glue. The base is pine bark chunk available from garden centers.
The hollow log effect was also created with a few shreds of pine bark.
Woodland Scenic small tree armatures make good tree roots. The reindeer moss will be primmer coated black and painted brown I will add flocking later.
The armature can be twisted in to about any shape. I find that starting twisting at the top most branch fork then twisting again at the next branch fork working down gives the best result. I twist clockwise. It wont matter so long as you twist in the same direction from top to bottom.