I have seen pictures of plant roots being used to represent dead trees on model railroads. I have tried pulling up some unwanted plants but haven’t seen a root structure that comes close to a miniature dead tree. Most roots have a main shaft with very small fingers that would look like a tree trunk with very few and very small branches in HO scale.
Do any of you know of a type of plant(s) that is good for this? I live in so I know the availability of plants will very across the county.
Brian, a while back someone wrote an article, in MR I think, on that very thing. I’ll dig around tonight and see if I can’t find a month/year for you. One of the other forum folks may know also. Most of the roots I’ve seen fall into the “big trunk, not much branch” catagory you mention. They might, however, be good for “dead” trees. I’ve never seen a real forest without them, but it’s pretty commom to skip them. A forest with some dead trees looks natural. Say hi to my long lost SoCal for me, I’m marooned in Florida!
Hi Brian, I have found that Scenic Express “Super Trees” make the most realistic HO scale dead trees. Click on photo to enlarge it. Then, click on photo series, (at the left), to view other parts of my layout.Bob Hahn
I dug a few Maple roots this spring. After drying they did not look all that good. The detail was there but the shape was wrong. I thought I would try some more, but never got to it.
Here in Colorado I found the roots of the stinging nettle to be ok for trees. They are a little flat-bottomed but a bit of trimming can fix that problem. The real problem was finding ones of the right size. Most worked better for O-scale.
Have you considered dead Azalea bushes (or dead branches of same). Nice bark texture, good scale and color. Source from a local greenhouse or landscaping firm?
Good trees are something you just gotta “root” around for.[:D] Kidding aaside see if you can find dead weeds growing in sandy soil. They should have a pretty good root structure. Your gonna find the more twisty type of structure though like Harry Potter trees. Should still find some good stuff though. We have a lot of tumble weed here in Idaho but you gotta dig em up before the break off from the roots. Digging will probably result in more intact root systems too. BILL
