Natural scenery - what/where/how?

[Ruprecht]

The background cliffs were purchased at Michael's several years ago.  They are from some sort of Christmas sets, and were originally white (to look like snow) so I repainted them.  I have several of them.  I wish I could afford some more soon, and paint them black for Mustafar.

This is from Chewie's customs thread, and the backgrounds he's referring to look just like some of the cliff walls at Zions National Park. 

My questions are thus:

If purchasing background scenery to paint/customize myself, what are the best ones to buy?
What's the best place to buy?

Finally, if the above are too expensive (which such items can be), is there a preferred method/materials, etc. that any of you have used to create your own? 

I've seen some pics of the outstanding scenery that many railroad model builders can do, but that's probably a tad too advanced for me right now.  Some tips for beginners?  Anyone?  Anyone?

B

[CHEWIE]

Well, I use real sand from TRU sometimes for some dioramas, like Tatooine stuff.

For my Geonosis battle scene, I purchased some red sand off the internet, it wasn't cheap but it was well worth it.

For snow effects, I prefer to use caulking (like stuff you put on walls) and let it dry, then paint it white.

Then for mountains and stuff, each one of those cost around $15.00 if my memory serves me right.

Also, check out a hobby store for mossy looking shrubbery plants.  They work out really well for wooded areas like Endor.

 

[MasterYogurt]

The background cliffs were purchased at Michael's several years ago.  They are from some sort of Christmas sets, and were originally white (to look like snow) so I repainted them.  I have several of them.  I wish I could afford some more soon, and paint them black for Mustafar.

This is from Chewie's customs thread, and the backgrounds he's referring to look just like some of the cliff walls at Zions National Park. 

My questions are thus:

If purchasing background scenery to paint/customize myself, what are the best ones to buy?
What's the best place to buy?

Finally, if the above are too expensive (which such items can be), is there a preferred method/materials, etc. that any of you have used to create your own? 

I've seen some pics of the outstanding scenery that many railroad model builders can do, but that's probably a tad too advanced for me right now.  Some tips for beginners?  Anyone?  Anyone?

B

If you look into it you will find that the methods used by railroad model builders are actually very simple but produce great results. There is one book that you can probably borrow from the library or pickup for under $10, which explains how to make scaled scenery in great detail. It is called 'How to build realistic model railroad scenery' by D. Frary and is incredibly helpful for begginers. I'm sure you will be surprised as to how easy it is to make the scenery you want. In the meantime you could try using styrofoam as the base for your cliffs. Rough out the desired shape and go to town on it with regular sculpting tools (you will be using these tools to score and gauge the styrofoam). Once you get the look you are going for, prime it and paint with acrylics. Finally, add sand or snow (grated styrofoam) over select areas where you have pre applied glue and you are done. Hope this helps.   

[Jayson]

What I have used too is available at Pet shops for make Terrariums for reptile and amphibians. Depend on the shop, they carry cool looking rock structure and natural looking foliage for building a scenes on Endor or Felucia.

Neat stuff.

[Ruprecht]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help.

B