Hi Guys ,This is what i want to do ,I want to put trees on my mountains but do i have to put trees all over it? or just at the base? I think i red somewhere on MRR Mag that you just put them at the base of the mountain and follage all over the rest,Or what do you guys do ?
Much Thanks.
Carl.
I suppose that would depend on how sparse the tree coverage is for the local that you’re trying to model. I the east you could probably get away with it. Out west the foliage is much more sparse and rugged so you’d probably have to do a little more work to make it look right.
Our own joe Fugate (who has an excellent website) has some thought’s on it that he expresses in his forum. Here’s a link to the forum;
http://model-trains-video.com/forum/index.php
And here’s a link specifically to address the issue at hand;
Go easy, and lighter as the mountain rises to altitude. Depends, of course, on how high the scale altitude is, but tall mountains have a tree line. Also, you can use polyfiber balls or tufts to make a forest canopy without having to make all those tree tunks. Save the finer trees for places where one’s eyes can see more details.
It depends on what you are displaying. The mountainside of trees is what that part of my layout is about, so I need to do individual trees so I can also do the underbrush and the people in the forest. If the trees are just backdrop for something else, the canopy should be enough and maybe easier. I like making and planting trees. If I disliked that, I certainly would be looking for an easier way.
scenic express makes great trees, super cheap too!
their called super trees.
I’ll be putting indivdual trees all over the mountainside on mine as Art said. I want the detail of being able to put small scenes (like hikers) on my mountains. BTW, I’m modelling the Northeast (north of NYC).
Our layout has a huge mountain on it. We are doing individual trees. The better trees up front where people can see the trunk details.
Like mentioned earlier, this opens up for more details and hidden scenes to spark the visitor’s imagination. Hikers, Hunters, Animals, (We have deer and bears HO Scale) Moon Shine Still, etc. In the front, where people are, you could hide an old outhouse, install a tire swing. Unless you are in a hurry to cover the mountain, do tress little at the time, and hide some “Easter Eggs” for visitors to enjoy!
If you can’t see the trunks, there’s not reason to model individual trees. For background areas, it’s much easier, faster, and usually cheaper to just model the tree tops. I use “puff ball trees”
And don’t forget, in many areas of the Northeast, the brambles and stuff at the edge of tree line, make it difficult to see into the forest. So, in the background areas, I bring the “puff ball” trees right down to track level.
In foreground areas, I do use full trees. And, of course I plan on including “easter eggs”.
Nick
Puff ball trees can be very effective and they are so quick and easy to make. I am not sure that they really pass close inspection, but then again, they do a very good job of convincing the eye that there is a lot of foliage on the hills. Good trees in front of them make a huge difference.
Here is an example of puff balls in the back and Super Trees in the foreground.
Just for my edification, puff balls are 2" or 3" balls of styrene, a la craft store? Cut in half in some cases, dipped or sprayed with a light glue, and then dipped in at least two colours of ground foam?
I use balls of poly fiber (a type of pillow stuffing) to make my puff balls. Some from Woodland Scenics, some from the craft store. I spray them with mega hold hair spray, drop them in a bag of ground foam and shake. They come out with a nice airy, yet fully covered look.
Nick
These are all great suggestions. If you gon’t mind, I’d like to throw one into the mix. This one would add some variation to the puff balls and canopy ideas. You’d probably want to use it more in the background and maybe on the edge of a field or something, but here it is;
http://home.cablerocket.com/~crowley/easy_trees.htm
BTW, don’t forget to check out the asphalt roads page, it’s excellent. [8D]