Figures and Trees

Wehonest on eBay has lots of cheap figures the only problem is they all look Chinese with black hair n yellow skin. They work really well for distance filler people

Matt Makens posted:

Wehonest on eBay has lots of cheap figures the only problem is they all look Chinese with black hair n yellow skin. They work really well for distance filler people

Thanks, I'll check it out!

I have used these. Trees aren't bad and price is good. Great choice of figures here and Wehonest on ebay.

If you don't mind the trees and figures being used, sometimes they can be picked up pretty cheap from local train shows. It's generally cheaper to buy tree kits (I think Woodland Scenics offers them) that are DIY and can make 100+ trees, than ready-made trees.  Also, there have been several articles in various hobby publications (such as OGR) about scratch-making trees from common household goods. As far as figures go, I can only repeat advice from above: buy really good, detailed figures only if they're in a scene where they stand out. Otherwise, buy cheaper figures for background. 

Are you open to painting figures and making trees from scratch?  It can be fun.

Make your own trees, go to YouTube for a variety of how to films. The commercial offerings are just too costly especially if you need large quantities.

Bob

USe Super trees and tree armatures from Scenic express. A little creativity can go a long way in stretching your $$$. Also lots of common weeds and perennials  from your yard.neighborhood  REALLY work well, I use Astilbe and Sedum which work well

Steve

Kunde posted:

Are you open to painting figures and making trees from scratch?  It can be fun.

I'm definitely willing to build my own trees from scratch.    Painting figures may not turn out so well for me. 

I purchased most of my trees on ebay.

Lots of them were used but look as good as new.

Some look better being used in some scenes.

I also purchased from wehonest and used those figures for inside passenger cars.

It is almost an equal expense to scenic your layout as it is to purchase the rolling stock and motive power. I have tried to cut corners as much as possible. E-bay trees give you a fairly good bargain. Menards trees are also a good bargain. I have often looked for post-Christmas sales to buy assorted pine trees that are sold in bunches for the Christmas Village displays. I try to remove as much flock as possible off of them and then spray paint them green. Finally, I make my own trees from Sedum Autumn Joy perennial garden plants. There is usually an abundance of this species planted as an ornamental at least through the eastern US. As the name suggests, they bloom in late summer or fall and then the flowers dry up. "Harvesting" of the dried array of flowers can begin in December. I strip the dried leaves off the stem and any that are in the array. I usually spray paint the array a shade of green. I then use a spray glue and hit the array with that, them add flocking of different green colors. I have a whole bunch of dried sedum awaiting to be made into trees. 

Now and then it is nice, just as in real life, to have a very special tree of interest on your layout, whether it be a neat species or a large size, etc. Then it may be worth spending a few extra dollars to set that tree off.

Rick

We sell all of the stuff to make these trees in bulk.  You can see more on the Mercer Junction facebook page.

Dave

Like the panther, I am looking at trees and need tons and tons of them!

I am pretty satisfied with dowel/furnace filter trees for spruce forests. I followed the technique shown in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdl4Pa81zHY

But I have not managed to make satisfactory pines and my attempt at deciduous trees using WS armatures was so unsatisfactory I'll just throw the silly armatures away!

JTT make some really nice trees but, for any quantity, the cost is totally prohibitive! Figure $10-$20 per tree! OUCH! Even more for trees bigger than 8 inches.

So, still looking . . . and still cranking out furnace filter spruce trees. I hope to try

"supertrees" next as in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpxAW4DvDK8

I've also made a "Trophy Tree" as in this video: http://www.freerails.com/view_...orum_id=4&page=1

A lot of work! You won't make many of these! But very impressive!

For figures, keep your eye on the FSOT forum. Otherwise I have a bunch of assorted figures that didn't make the cut on my layout for various reasons that I'll sell at a low price. These are good ones (Woodland Scenics, RMT, Preiser). See my email if you have any interest.

For trees my own nit pickiness is killing me. I have several of the JTT Scenery brand that are great looking but go for more than $10 a pop. Would really like something comparable in quality for a lot less.

I bought the BIG box of super trees from Micro Mark, and that'll be one of the last things I'll be doing on the initial build of my layout (and that's coming soon). I have seen the results of others with super trees and all you need is a box of them, a few ground foam containers, and some spray paint or spray adhesive to use both together...

Some good ideas on trees.  Thanks, everyone!