Spiky Pods

The problem with a lot of seed pods is that they are made to disintegrate - the plant wants them scattered. As a wargamer this is a less satisfactory result so.. dip them in slightly watered PVA. This will soak into the crevices and secure the seeds. Once it is dry you can paint it. These pods are their natural dark brown at the bottom, but have been painted in progressively lighter greens towards the top. This gives a natural looking range in colour and is probably easier than trying to coat these jagged objects in an even colour.

The stems of this accidentally got covered in PVA and sand, but it works really well! The coating strengthens the rather weak stem, and gives it an interesting hairy look.

Small Round Pods

These are small bead like seed pods. They already had a hole in the middle, so I cut a small tuft of bristles from a broom head and glued them in with PVA. Once they had set I dabbed a little PVA on the tips and sprinkled with sand to create the pollen-laden stamens. A splash of acrylic paint, and they were finished.

Red flowers

These are the seed pods of a flowering annual called frittilaria. Although they look delicate, the pods are surprisingly tough, and are rigid enough to paint without them bending. I gave them a coat of scarlet acrylic, then drybrushed with a couple of coats of progressively yellower oranges, finishing up with a delicate brushing of yellow to the very edges of the pods.

Hard-shelled Pods

This is a particularly large sample of a common type of pine tree seed cone. When mature the cone opens up from a knobbly ball to reveal its interior. The inside was painted with a range of greyish pinks and purples, and the outside was given a light cream colour drybrush to bring out the texture.