Question: How to make vegetables

[RvanAken]

As I'm helping my mother in law making props for a production of "crusade in jeans" I thought I'll ask her question here. She needs to make/gather some vegetables and we have no idea how to do it. All the plastic fruit and vegetables we have and can find are toys and way too small. Using real fruit and vegetables will be to expensive because we cant keep them good for all the performances. Prop vegetables can be used in different shows in the years to come so that has our preference.

Any ideas and/or tips how to make prop fruit and vegetables ?

Thanks
-R-

 

[Darth Lars]

I have indeed seen realistically sized fake vegetables around Europe, mostly as set dressing in stores and restaurants. They should exist to buy.

Or buy them from Japan? There, quite elaborate prop food is often seen in restaurant windows.

It might be feasible to mould vegetables in silicone and cast in resin. Giving them convincing paint jobs might be the greatest challenge.

 

[Mike J.]

My first thought was painted paper mache.

 

[nomuse]

Yup. Cheap and simple...paper maché or glue-paper (same idea, but instead of flour paste -- which some vermin will get into -- you use thinned white glue). A good way to bulk up cheaply is loosely crumpled tinfoil. Also bead board (expanded polystyrene), which is available in big enough chunks any time anyone gets an item of furniture delivered in a box. Coat it with glue-paper or a couple coats of lightly thinned white glue to keep the foam from shedding little white balls all over (and it will also protect it from melting if you use enamels or sprays).

Then paint up with acrylics. Acrylics or poster paints because you can get a starter set with a variety of basic colors for quite cheap, you can mix almost everything you need from that, and they wash up with water.

Then after they are thoroughly dry hit the props with several coats of gloss...from spray can gloss like Krylon Crystal-Clear to even Future floor wax. This is to protect the paint, make the prop stronger, and give it the sheen a lot of produce has.

 

[modelcitizen]

consider perhaps casting real veggies in plaster as well.

 

[Pro Mod]

I recently produced some displays using some excellent replica fruit which I bought from a company in London.
It's probably the best I've ever seen and was far cheaper than making it ourselves.

We made the chocolate as they didn't make anything as chunky as the client wanted.
The company is called Props4Shows Ltd, http://www.props4shows.co.uk/fake_food/vegetables__salad/11256_0c.html
Hope this helps

 

[RvanAken]

I past along the props4shows website, thanks for that Pro Mod. I think ill try some appels using the paper mache route or the foam route. Thanks to all for the great tips.

-R-