7mm scale vegetables

[billtee]

My layout has a small village (currently in production), and behind some of the cottages I want to make some gardens. Of course, vegetable gardens are, or were, the most popular type of garden. However, I am having great difficulty in finding any British suppliers of 7mm scale vegetables - cabbages, cauliflowers, beans, etc. I can purchase some quite realistic models from the USA, but they would take ages to get here, and I don’t think the prices are reasonable. Surely there must be a small (home-based?) company producing realistic, scale vegetables (in boxes of six or eight to make a ‘proper’ vegetable patch), and not too big!

i thought I could use 1/76 scale vegetables, but I found most of them were modelled for 1/87 scale, and I found them far too small to look realistic.

can anyone point me to some suppliers, please?

[Father Dougal]

Hello, 

I was looking at this site the other day and found some awesome looking veg.

tap in modelscenerysupplies.co.uk in your search engine and you get to their shop, then filter for o gauge and away you go.

 

They appear to have plenty of brassicas to keep any 7mm scale gardener happy!

 

Dougal

 

[Guest Jack Benson]

3 hours ago, billtee said:

I can purchase some quite realistic models from the USA, but they would take ages to get here, and I don’t think the prices are reasonable. 

can anyone point me to some suppliers, please?

Scenic Express can supply a stunning variety of 7mm vegetables, all made for them by JTT Scenics. They don't takes ages to get here (normally 10days) and you get exactly the quality that you pay for. Why model 7mm if you can't afford to do so?

 

This half finished allotment was made from Scenic Express products.

 

Btw, my image and my copyright.

 

JB

 

 

[billtee]

Thank you for your suggestion - I have just ordered (probably far too many items) lots of plants which will be used on my O gauge layout ASAP! The models of everything are absolutely fabulous and I can hardly wait for them to arrive! Thank you for your help. 

 

[doilum]

Best supply shop is your dustbin.  First of all, a bit of research into typical size colour and shape of vegetables. Now scale them down. Next step is to develop an eye for unusual materials that will look right with a little paint glue and scatter.  An internet search should find you Roy England's amazing work at Pendon. Pulling cat's whiskers is not for the faint hearted. A Tiger or badger might be closer to 7mm hollyhocks.

Cabbages can be made from the paper roses used by crafters to decorate greeting cards. Just peel off the outer layers until it is the right size. Remember, a cabbage in the ground is much bigger than those on the supermarket shelves. 

The bristles on a stiff yard brush have a dozen uses not least making frames for your french beans. For the hardcore scratch builders, solder tiny snippets of shim brass to thin copper wire, paint and plant rhubarb. You could even call in at your local florist and ask if you can sweep the bench.

Research is the key, especially as to what grows and when, if it is to be realistic.

[billtee]

Doilum,

I do exactly what you are suggesting all of the time, though when I used to build 3.5” gauge live steam locomotives I used proper materials. However, now I am getting a bit too old and doddery to stand at a lathe for years and years, hence I have gone downscale to O gauge after passing through (for a period of about 10 years) a 16mm/ft garden railway, all live steam of course, but radio controlled. My wife died, and now my new partner and I have moved away from the Midlands to Suffolk, about as far away from railways as you can go, if you ignore the Mid Suffolk Rly! My pension allows me to purchase my locomotives (I am far too shaky to do neat soldering now!), so I am very glad for Heljan, Dapol, etc.

Anyway, I am still able to do railway modelling - not a long way away from my former job for years as editor of Engineering In Miniature, The Clockmaker magazine, etc. My modelling is not as good as it used to be, but I keep trying.

Thank you, everyone, for your help with this subject.

[doilum]

Good luck and keep the faith. I have real respect for proper engineers. I haven't enough years left to follow that path and settled for a Roundhouse Katie kit in order to achieve a bucket list tick. My allotment was the result of experimenting on a scrap of hardboard in my wife's nice warm hobby room and then installed months later as I built the layout.