The Tree Thread

Have you looked on the Scenery Sourcelist?

Actually might be good to have a single long running discussion thread on the making of trees given the frequency that tree related topics seem to bloom, pollinate, take seed, sprout and take root....

A running or rooted discussion of materials and techniques combined with the Sourcelist could become a useful resource. 

Yes. This sourcelist will be exclusively for making trees.

That's what I was hoping for!

As I recall, in OGR's "Search" you can type in "Sedum Trees" and you will get a fairly recent discussion on making trees from weeds, sedum flowers, etc, plus  the discussion of components from Scenic Express and others.

Ironic this thread has come up as Ive been in the tree mode lately. I second Martins motion to get a tree thread going. I'll post more of my epic failures later and some of the trees I've made that I think are moving in the right direction. I seem to be struggling with scale and size of trees as it relates too the real world. Of the trees I've made so far many look to big even though they may not be big enough in the real world. It's all about the viewers perspective, I suppose. I find that taking photos of the trees and viewing those yield more pleasing results than in reality, not sure why but I find my scenery looks better in photos, I guess because it captures only a portion or close up area at a time. I've also discovered that beyond just the trees, some foliage or turf around the trees posed in front of a mountain lends more realism than the trees just stuck in a piece of foam waiting to be placed. One think compliments another and until we complete a scene it can't be said that our trees look bad. Here is a bright spot in my venture of trying to get a more realistic trunk.

Here is a link to another method I'm currently playing with that has also yielded some nice and inexpensive results.

http://www.sierrawestscalemode...ace-filter-trees./p1

Stewart,

Thanks for starting this great thread.  For me, making trees has proven to be a huge mystery.  So I am hoping to learn enough to go back and try it again.

Thanks,

Ed

I like using sisal rope for trees.  I unravel a section for branches, stabilize the trunk with glue, smooth the trunk with caulk, and paint black.  Then I use flake foliage because I like the texture.

You get a nice full tree for really cheap.

Good stuff guys! Do you think you guys could shoot some photos of your projects from start to finish?

For foreground trees, I use sage brush armatures with Super Trees material from Scenic Express added. Then, everything is flocked with Woodland Scenics coarse turf.

Jim

This is a rope method I picked up from a book somewhere, can't remember where.  You basically cut up various lengths of hemp rope and boil them in water which causes them to straighten out and separate easier. Spread them out on paper towels and let them dry.  Then you take 2 wires, like 14-16 gauge spray one with spray adhesive and place the rope fibers evenly but centered and perpendicular to the wire( I used marker flag wires as I had some left over and I recently looked at insulation support wires, but the gauge seem to heavy.)

I'm frugal, no flocking.

The first picture is of Caspia which is used to make eastern white pine trees. These are often found nestled together and give the forest a real dark look. You could buy these from Sterling models and from what I seen on the website they look great. I've been trying to make my own but it is very labor intensive. You must drill multiple small holes in the dowels you are using for the trunk so that the caspia forms enough branch structures.  

Caspia can be found at Michael's and other craft stores and a large bunch is about $5.00

Mike Confalone uses this technique in his H.O scale modeling videos "Allagash Railroad" The nice thing about these trees is that the don't have to look perfect. Twelve trees grouped together really look good. 

My wife and I take long walks through the woods in a local nature preserve. Every once in awhile a tree branch jumps out at me as a perfect tree armature. I take it home, a quick dip in the flock and voilà:

great tree, Pete. I have done the same with found sage for armatures, adding micro-mark fiber and woodland scenics foliage. works great.

jerrman

Just sitting here brainstorming and came up with this little experiment to try this week. I'll be taking pieces of real bark and tossing them into a blender. I'll then sift the bark matter to come up with collections of different sizes. To attach the bark, I'll spread out a thin layer of the bark and roll a dowel across the material. I'll also try the spray and sprinkle method.

Please post a photo of the blender after your done grinding the bark, if the old ball and chain doesn't kill you first. 

Scenic Express SuperSage  Jim Policastro mentioned this product.   IMO the Sage provided a pretty good tree armature.






I found that CA-ing parts of the armature together, even using small wire to wire pieces together to form a tree worked.  The Super sage kits.

The Sage Kit worked well for a dead tree.