I am considering using some lichen and spanish moss as decorating materials for bases. Do they lose colour over time? Is spraying purity seal enough to keep them from being too brittle as they dry out? Thanks in advance for your advice.

I am not an expert, some guys here know alot more that I do but logically you'd expect lichen to lose colour eventually due to oxidization.

In my experience, both will dry out and eventually turn to dust. Use Woodlands Scenics or a similar brand synthetic stuff.

Lichen and Reindeer Moss are good if your building terrain where you can use a bunch of it like in a forest scene. You can seal it with Matte Medium or watered down white glue and it will stay good for some time.

Using it on small bases will not really work because small pieces tend to dry out fast (even when coated) and crumble to dust.

That's just my experience. Otheres may have a different view.

You are correct it will dry out if it is not treated. Woodland Scenic Moss is not synthetic It is a natural product that has been treated with glycerine and dyed. I treat my own lichen. It is only cost effective if you do lots. The process I use changes the natural color so dye or paint is necessary.

link try about page 5 or 6
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=20083&start=100
http://terragenesis.co.uk/infopages/page368.html

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"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

Thank you everyone for your replies. I will avoid decorating my bases with them, but will use them in clumps on terrains.

Sorry for the confusion. I was referring to Woodland Scenics synthetic clumps or synthetic grass, not their lichen. The fake stuff lasts forever and looks better on small bases. Buy some grass clumps made by Silfor or Scenic Express. They add to your bases.
In fact, go to a couple of model railroaders sites and you'll see all of the best scenery tips you can ever use.

I've used a few natural products, such as lichen and sea sponge, but they need to be thoroughly cleaned and 'neutralised' in order to preserve them. I tried brake fluid, which seems to have done the trick (seven years later they still look ok). But it's messy and doesn't give better results than artificial products, so I don't bother now. Using Woodland Scenics stuff with some different dyes and washes gives me all the variety I need.

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Dagster

I have been using a variety of products from Woodland Scenic on my bases as well as small pebbles from the ground. I just thought of trying out new textures and elements.

Thank you for reminding me about railroad modeling resources. Great tips everyone!

I've used dried out real moss as clumps and had no problems with it degrading. One thing you can use is a layer of dilute PVA glue, that dries colourless and will act in a similar manner to purity seal I guess. Commercially bought reindeer moss seems fine too. I imagine any organic component will degrade eventually, but be drying things out thoroughly it seems to work for me. You can also over paint moss to add the colours you want if it doesn't keep it's original colour when it dries out.

Also grape stems seem to last forever, certainly the ones I used for my articles are still going strong. If you imagine how long a dried flower display can last, we have some that have lasted for years and years, then with careful drying there is no reason why natural products can't last.

The key for me is making sure stuff is fully dry, use PVA glue to seal and pick your pieces well. Maybe some of the clumps my degrade on drying but since it's free there is no loss. Perhaps the use of desiccant could be used to speed up the process but I haven't found it necessary.

I seem to remember harvesting my moss clumps one summer when it was already fairly dry, the clumps detached easily from the surface they were on. Perhaps if it is fairly dry to start with then it more successful.

I assume everybody already knows you can make use of dried herbs as base and terrain dressing. Rosemary is great for a twiggy look and mixed herbs is great as a general dressing. Once again you can seal it all with dilute PVA and paint over it as required.

With the cost of the commercial stuff there is no harm in giving it a try and you can get some unique looks by seeing what nature has lying around.

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Careful with that axe of yours... Dain!

Azog

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