My wife told me that we need some prickly pear cactus on the layout. This is Texas, after all. How in the heck would you make prickly pear cactus in HO scale? There is a guy who sells 3d printed cactus, but it costs $24 (+ tax and shipping) and it only covers a 2" x 2" area. Any ideas on how to make prickly pear cactus?
Hmm, I think I would take a few different sizes of brass tubing, bend the ends to the desired shape and use some .020 styrene and start pounding cactuses pieces out in different sizes. Glue them together in clumps as you see fit, paint and install. I also see Woodland Scenics has some cactus, but I am not sure if they are prickly pears though.
After picking them when you are done, char and peel them. Use them for nopalitos in a salad with tomatoes, chilies, feta, a lime and olive oil dressing. I have never done that from raw vegetables because very few grow around here. Step one is a bit of work, unfortunately. I do think gjslsffan's idea to make them from brass tubing is a good idea. You have to figure out how to make the branching, though.
