Making Bocage...
Cheap and Fast!
Materials:
1" thick sponges (1/72 scale) dark green works best if not available get the darkest color you can
White glue (AKA "Elmer's Glue")
Lots of cheap, dark green spray paint
One can of light green spray paint
Lichen
Toothpicks
I get all of my materials at my local hardware store or discount retailer (AKA Wal-Mart). Don't buy any of these materials "name brand" there is no point in it.
The size of sponges you want will depend on what scale of figures you use. After painting they will shrink to about 3/4 normal thickness. I buy the 1" thick ones and they work fine for 1/72 scale. Buy the cheapest ones you can find because once they are covered in paint, etc it won't make a bit of difference if you paid .25 cents or .50 cents a piece.
You will need white glue but any white glue will do get the cheapest brand you can find.
You will need a lot of dark green spray-paint. Get lots of it. It seems that sponges can really soak up paint...kinda like a sponge (go figure). I get the Wal-Mart band for .99 cents a can.
You will also need some light green paint. One can of the light green should do for quite a few pieces. The light green is optional if you want to dry brush yours instead. It takes a lot longer to dry brush and the results are not much different, but to each his own. Again, I get all my paint for at Wal-Mart at .99 cents a can.
You will also need some lichen and toothpicks to make "trees" to stick out of the bocage. Remember that bocage is not the same as a hedgerow.
Construction:
First thing after you buy your sponges cut them to the proper size you will need. This will depend on the scale you are trying to attain but remember they will shrink after painting by 20-50% and how much is dependant on the type of sponge and amount of paint and other factors. So, a test batch may be in order.
Then wash them with warm soapy water. Rinse them out and lay the flat to dry. This is an important step because all sponges I have seen come with some sort of anti-drying/anti-bacterial stuff in them. It seems to be oily and it does not allow the sponge to dry or absorb the paint and glue correctly. The drying time can vary from one night to over a week so prepare ahead of time depending on your climate.
After they are dry start into them with a pair of pliers and a pair of scissors. Gouge out hunks to make them more natural and trim the corners off.
Then set them outside in a large group and spray the holy heck out of them with the dark green spray paint. After they are dry (again drying time can vary widely, these are sponges remember) do it again...and again...and as often as needed until the entire sponge is a nice dark green. Make very sure they are fully dry between coats. This is important and can save a lot of wasted painting.
Then, hit them with a light over-spray of the light green. You can also do a bit of dry brushing if you like. To each his own... Make sure they are completely dry before proceeding.
After painting take your toothpicks (I prefer the round ones myself) and paint a bunch of them brown and dip them in glue, and stick them in the sponges at spots where you want the "trees" to stick up. Then pour a big dab of glue over the entire toothpick (don't even try to be neat here, lots of glue is a good thing and it will dry clear). Then stick a nice hunk of lichen on top of the toothpick and mash it into the glue at the same time. When they dry, you are done.
With about 4 hours of work I made over 50' of bocage for my 1/72 figs and I figure it cost me about $30 tops.
They turn out surprisingly nice looking, they are dirt cheap and you can really crank them out in a hurry. All key aspects for my terrain building efforts. <G>
All content copyright R. Scott Clinton