Model Railway Forum

I found some lichen growing on a tree last week and picked some for my layout.

Will it remain stable after being removed from the tree?

After a week it feels like it could be becoming brittle.

If it is not likely to remain stable, any ideas on how to treat it for stability? It will need some dyeing or painting at some stage.

Spray it with varnish.

Throw it away. It'll never look like anything, but lichen!
We really have moved on from lichen covered model railways...haven't we?

Martin

Hi Guildman - welcome to the forum.

I have moss and bark on my layout. Admittedly no lichen but it is up to each modeller what they want to use.

R-

And up to the rest of us, I hope, to advise, based on experience.
Always well meant.

Martin

No reason not to use lichen - yes, other materials may be more realistic, but it can be made to look quite good if treated with flock and other materials. My only concern is that it can absorb moisture from the air and go floppy and any dye used on it can leach out as a result.
As for ‘moving on’, still the best material for hedging is rubberised horsehair, and that’s been around since Adam was a lad.

Hi Steve, I also want to use lichen and if you google preserving lichen with glycerin you will finf what you want to know. Easiest solution is 2 parts lukewarm warm to 1 part glycerin (dye could be added to improve colour. I haven't tried it yet but it's on my list.

Perhaps, if you use the lichen as an armature for well applied scatter, it could work, but never on its own.
Rubberised horse hair was the ultimate "moving on", never bettered. Let's face it George Stokes' trees have never been bettered and they were done when even I was an itch in my Dad's trousers. They are still my inspiration, as are his buildings. They were in the first issue of Railway Modeller I ever bought, when I was 10 years old. I still have that magazine,57 years later.

Martin

I’ve made hedges from scouring pads dipped in PVA with scatter “scattered”. Perhaps lichen can be treated in the same way.

R-

P.s. Moonlights a bit bright!

Makes a good well tended hedge. It's, I suppose, a kind of modern version of rubberised horsehair.

Nice job.

Martin