15 mm Hedges (part 1)

As part of my effort to produce a decent set of terrain for 15mm gaming I have begun some hedges.  These will be very useful in games as they provide cover and act as an obstacle (different games treat these differently, but they have an effect in most games).

They are pretty simple to make, I adapted techniques often used to make 28mm hedges.  If you want to try you will need;
Materials
Green pan scourers; I found some double thickness ones at Poundstretcher, at a pinch normal thickness ones will do, simply use two thicknesses.
Lollipop sticks
Basing texture and paints as required (see part 2)
Tools
Craft knife and ruler
Glue gun
Nail scissors (NOT family ones as it will blunt them over time).
Wire brush

I went for hedge sections around 60mm wide, as that is the frontage of a troop of normal infantry in my small scale Kings of War (just a fraction under in fact, but on the table it should be fine).  It's also half the length of the lollipop stick and half the width of the sheet of scourer.  This also matches my commercially bought fence sections.

First cut the lollipop sticks in half and round the ends.  This can be carefully done with a craft knife.  The rounding doesn't have to be exact, it will mostly be concealed by hedge.

Cut the scourer into strips about 15mm high, it should be about the thickness of the lollipop stick (hence the thicker ones are ideal).

Hot glue the scourer onto the sticks.  You now have a set of the least interesting hedges ever.

Now trim them to look more natural.  It helps to have some minis to hand so you can judge the right height.  Remember though that the purpose of a hedge is to keep livestock in/out, so don't make them too low.

A close up of one of the sections. I use nail scissors to trim them as they are sharp, pointed and have small, easily maneuvered blades.  The first stage is to trim off all the right angles, then divide the hedge into individual 'plants'.  This is best done by making 'V' shaped cuts with the scissors, then shaping further with smaller cuts.  A 'V' along the base helps the hedge look natural as hedges tend to be narrower at the base.  

I found that trimming the section into four looked about right, though I have varied it on some sections.  Vary the height as well.  when they are all done give them a light brush with a wire brush to roughen up any artificially smooth edges.

Trim the hedges over some paper as it is messy.  What you have left might come in useful as a sort of cheap clump foliage.  

If these were 28mm they would benefit from the addition of some sort of texture; flock, clump foliage etc (an excellent tutorial can be found here).  However at 15mm scale we should be able to get away without this.

Next time I'll get them painted.  I should also make a couple of sections with gates in to allow access.  those will simply be a section with the centre hedge replaced by a gate made from thin balsa or matchsticks.

Real Medieval hedges would look different and quite remarkable to our modern eyes.  They were carefully 'laid' by interweaving branches to provide a very resilient barrier.  A far cry from the line of wild shrubbery often seen in the British countryside today.

However, this is gaming terrain and it helps if it is obviously recognisable to the players; a well laid hedge, particularly in its early years could be mistaken for a wattle fence in 15mm.