It is the small touches that can add to terrain appeal, especially in the gardens surrounding your model buildings. Often these are just bare flocked affairs, but now you can add your very own vegetable garden. There are several craft items that can be used to create a “cabbage patch”. Small rose shaped beads in plastic or material can be found in most craft shops like Spotlight. The plastic ones are generally cheaper but sometimes harder to find. If using the material ones you will need to coat them in PVA first to “fix” them. I chose the plastic ones.

Step 1 is to file the pointy base off the cabbages to help them stand upright. This just requires a few rubs over a course file.

Step 2 is to glue them on whatever base you require. I wanted to be able to create large gardens for my “modern” gaming so used the rectangular coasters from the above store. This enables me to have a small patch of 12 cabbages (just over a punnets worth at Bunnings) or multiples of these. I have kept some aside to have the odd cabbage for the backyards of my houses.

Step 3 is to lightly undercoat them. I use Tamiya TS-3 Dark Yellow.

Step 4 is the beginning of the end. I paint them wtih GW’s Straken Greeen or Loren green although you can use GW’s Genestealer Purple for red cabbages.

Step 5 is to wash them with them with GW’s Coelia Green Shade. Use any brown wash for the red cabbages.

 Step 6 is to provide a highlight by dry brushing lightly with white and gluing the appropriate amount of static grass to represent weeds. I chose a contrasting colour for the weeds.

The finals step is to flock the base to match your terrain and to varnish the lot with Tamiya TS-80 Flat Clear varnish.

And there you have it – your very own cabbage patch doll. Doll is Dixon miniatures WG28’Hurty Gurty’ or saloon girl – raising glass and frock to show garter!

With “Operation Market Garden” now successfully complete we just have to await the German sauerkraut counter-offensive.