This is my first time designing a model railroad on the Durango-Silverton, and I lost my edition of Model Railroad on how to make pine trees? Could someone give me any creative ideas on how to?
Check Bob Grech’s tutorial now playing at a Layouts and Layout Building forum near you:
The easiest way is to buy Woodland Scenics tree kits. Don’t use the Hobby tack glue they provide though, because the clump foilage will start to drop off on it’s own accord a little later. I have used ‘Bostik’ clear bond (Which may not be available in the US) which goes on quite ‘tacky’ but dries hard. It sets quite quickly, so you have to work reasonably fast, or do a smaller section at a time. It also smells rather strong, so avoid breathing the vapour. I break the clump foilage into odd sized pieces and put them on by hand, starting at the top and working around the tree and down. They may not look as good as some, but to my eye they are not too bad. They will look a little better if you paint the armatures with a flat model paint or spray them with dullcoat of some kind to get rid of the plastic shine.
Cheers.
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Check it out.
Thanks for the tips! It will really help with the layout!
Between Aggro’s filter on a stick and Bob’s weeds in a dowel you can make every pine tree that mother nature has invented. The only limit will be your patience and imagination. Be prepared to throw some away, and you will get great trees. We will expect picks. Here is a pic of what they taught me.
If I can learn, you sure can. Good luck.
For convincing pine trees, see the article in the August 2006, issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. There’s an article titled “Making Ponderosa Pines” by Ken Larson, on pages 54 through 57. It gives the complete technique used by the author, and is the only article I’ve seen where the model trees compare favorably with the prototype trees in the photo beside it.
It’s not a difficult method, and it can be adapted to other varieties of evergreen. The general idea could also be used with deciduous trees.
Check this article out. You won’t be disappointed.
-Ed
For decicuous trees, foam and micro fiber on weeds is the key. Different weeds for different trees. This is a good time to walk around the garden and woods and “see” trees in every weed or flower patch. Also Asilbe flowers make great small pine trees.
Jimewing, I have used Woodland Scenics, Scotchbrite Brillow pads, pieces from a buffing pad, Christmas Tree branches from artificial trees, to make pine trees on my layouts… My favorite is Woodland scenic, because I can do a whole bag in about thirty minutes.
First I take the bendable trunk and branches and shape them the way I want the tree to look like. Then I dip the trunk/branches in a quart can of contact cement, covering all of the branches then let it drain off. I then hold the cement covered tree over a box of ground foam and tree greenery that comes in the package and drop the foliage over the treee as I rotate it, covering the tree branches with green stuff and shake it. What remains is attached by the contact cement. Let it dry or plant it right away. I have literally moved these trees in boxes coming from South Carolina to Tennessee, and hardly any foliage came off. The contact cement holds it on.
The Scotchbrite brillow pad and buffing pad are used the same way by cutting a circular pad, with each diameter getting larger, then sliding it over a wooden scewer and attaching the pad to the wooden rod with Elmers glue. I literally stack the pad material, with the largest diameter at the bottom up to the smallest diameter at the top of the tree, when dry the Elmer’s glue holds the circular pads in place on the scewer rod/Shaft. When completed I spray paint the trees in various colors of green, then plant them on the layout.
The last way is to use the smaller branches from an old Christmas tree, (artificial of course), then trim the tree branch into a cone shape. I then dip the cut tree into the contact cement and dust the tree with ground foam and foliage. Spray paint in various shades of green and there you have another way to make foreground pine trees, and they all look good.
Hope it helps
Train Master
WTRR
Buy premade trees at the LHS and touch them up with paints and grass foliage and Goo! It works good, but if you like to scratch make them, thats fine too, I use Goo! glue. -beegle55.
You can also visit Kanwha Creek Supply at: http://www.storesonline.com/site/519086/page/175341 I buy the Grand Central Gems Pine trees from them http://www.storesonline.com/site/519086/page/152146 In quantities of 20 they end up being around 80 cents each.