Inexpensive Tinplate Bushes and Trees

Hi Bruce, i really enjoy your posts and what you are doing with your clockwork layout. Have you considered using loofah for hedges and trees? Both Lionel and Hornby used loofah dyed green. Have you seen the Hornby Countryside line from the 1930's 1940s I believe? here is a link:http://www.google.com/search?q=hornby+countryside&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=yzaJUdS2MNPM0gH6hoCIDQ&ved=0CC0QsAQ&biw=1623&bih=918.

Regards,

Mack

Here is another link with a photo of a Hornby O gauge tin layout with several of the Countryside "plots" with loofah trees and hedges. I believe this is the effect you are replicating in paint on your layout.http://www.forfardispatch.co.u...rain-event-1-2897566

Bruce,

Good Job! It's really a bugger finding "toy" like trees and bushes. I buy mine at Home Depot durring the holiday season. They usually have a very good selection to match their ceramic houses and such.

 I had "happy hunting" at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago. The one in my area stocks Christmas decorations year-round. I bought all they had on display. Anyways, it's worth a try. Please, keep us posted as we're all intersted in these type of decorations.

Mack

Thanks for the links to what could be considered "a dream layout"and I spied the cows in the pasture that reminded me of a new find that pretty old as far as being a Hornby newbie, and that's Barclay lead figures used in a lot of Hornby layouts. The perfect folks to hang out on the layout...

My childhood best friend's Dad made cast lead figures at home, which I always thought was cool. We painted them into armies for the backyard. I was surprised to see them still around.by Barclay.
 http://www.barclaycompany.com/servlet/StoreFront

Happy Pappy,

Ill post a photo of the trees..the whole thing cost about four bucks. I ate the corn dogs so the sticks were free..  That was my problem too and I went on line and all I could find was plastic which I made a rule for this...no plastic, no overly detailed stuff, which left me in a bind until I went on a hunt for an alternative, as a do it yourself project.

Thanks for the compliments guys.

Bruce

Nice going Bruce.  I went full-on schizophrenic with my tinplate layout because it looked like fun, but not without seriously considering keeping it tin.

Some of my favorites are the Marx trees, because my brother had them in a Marx playset 'way back:

But if you've ruled out 1950's plastic, they may not work for you either.

Hornby is British, Barclay is American.  The lead figures used on Hornby layouts were by Dinky, made by Hornby (Meccano).

Jeff, the modern Barclay guy, is doing a good thing reviving the old Barclay and Manoil figures: both the "Pee Wee" which are for O Gauge and the large figures for Standard Gauge.  He sometimes takes forever with an order, drives me crazy, but he's an artist, you can't hurry him.

Also Leddy-Slack is making reproductions of some of the old lead figures.  

I had a chance to sit and talk for a while this past York with Joyce Davanzo, since her husband's death she is selling off the remaining inventory of the Pride Lines lead figures, and then they will be gone.  I bought a bag full from her.  Sad, but she also said she was glad to see someone else (Barclay) continung the tradition.  

Hojack

I was somewhat tempted by the Marx stuff but was put off by their flatness, not that I am doing accurate trees by any means, they are more like caricatures and the Marx trees are almost too realistic..lol.. for the toy theme. I thought Pride Lines inventory was long gone. Is there any way to contact them?

Bruce

That, I don't know.  Sounded like she was really winding things down.  Maybe someone else on the forum knows?

The craft store styrofoam balls for trees were carved and painted with acrylic paint and next up, will be their planting and I wanted to show the texture of what the tree looks like more up close, and it's a somewhat tighter open cell than the loofa that Mack had mentioned as originally used by Lionel back in the day.. The whole process end to end took about 90 minutes, less "planting"...I'll post a photo of the finished product for Happy Pappy..So far, so good...

Bruce

Bruce,

I like what I see, very nice. I've not thought of doing so. I'm really looking forward to more photos...Thank you!

Here's the final on the trees on the still a-building clockwork layout..

Bruce, They look great. Perhaps the world's first litho-look  trees! Did you first seal the styrofoam. Did they "drink" a lot of paint? They look perfect for the layout; "realistic" trees are totally out of place on any prewar tinplate layout. You nailed it.

Mack

Mack

I was surprised they didn't soak up the paint, the paint it pretty much stayed put on the surface. I will seal them tomorrow with straight out of bottle matte finish thats water based, the same stuff I used on the layout to give it that shiny look. I got it at Michaels, a craft store, and it's name is Modge Podge... One thing that's nice is the acrylics dry fast. I abandoned the corn dog sticks for 1/4" dowels, as the trunks looked anemic. As they say here in the South, they look "old timey" and thanks for the thumbs up.

Bruce

Nice going Bruce.  I particularly like the scultping of the trees, and I like the little half-dome bushes.  Looks like fun.

I just stopped by at my local Michael's craft store this afternoon, and I noticed (in the flower arranging section) styrofoam cones in various sizes.  Some were even green styrofoam.  Thinking they might make evergreen trees along the lines of what you're doing.  Take a look next time you're in the store.

Hojack

I'll take a gander next time...there's always Christmas

Bruce