Pine Trees

coachC

New Member
Does anyone have any tips on modeling pine trees like those found in the South. Southern pine trees are not triangular shaped like most tree kits and layout pictures that are so common. Southern pine trees (of all kinds) are shaped more like decidious trees. How would one go about making these trees look like pines instead of regular decidious trees, especially in N scale?
 

woodone

Member
I am not sure what a southern pine tree might look like, got a photo? I have made many pine trees but they are of the Northwest type. Photo would help me give you some ideas. Post a picture and I will give you my .02 cents for building some.:thumb:
 

Torpedo

Member
Common pines in the South are shortleaf, longleaf, loblolly or slash, all of which are marketed as yellow pine. There is also virgina pine and white pine. Southern pines don't look like christmas trees because most christmas trees don't look like christmas trees until the tree farmer makes them look like christmans tress. Did that make sense? Most christmas trees are "shaped" by pruning into a conical shape as they grow. Not all "christmas" trees grow with that natural shape.

Pines really have all kinds of shapes. Trees growing out in the open will have a different shape than those growing deep in the forest where they have to compete for light, water, and nutrients with other trees. Atttached is a pic of slash pines growing in FLorda. I suspect they may have the sort of shape coachC is thinking of.
 

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woodone

Member
Thanks for the photo Torpedo:thumb:
I guess pine trees look differant depending on where they come from. I thought your coment about the Christmas trees was interesting. In the California Sierras they have trees that grow just like that, some are called silver tips.
For the tree in question, I would start with a cedar shingle. ( I perfer cedar because it is a soft wood). Split the shingle into a small strip, then tapper it to a point. You need to decide how tall you want the tree and cut it to lenght. Use a razor saw and run it up and down the tree trunk, this will put some groves into the trunk and make it look like bark. Now the fun part, drill small holes into the tree trunk and glue into the holes small dried flower stems ( you will have to find a dried flower that you think will look like the tree you are trying to model) For the tree shown in the photo I would not put any limbs on the lower part of the tree. Then you can add green folage to the branches that you have glued in place, and you will have a first class tree. If you want a quick and easer tree, use dish pan schubing pads, tear the pad into small squares and pull they apart until thy are very thin. Then stick them on the pointed tree trunk, slide them down where you want glue, and then do more of the same untill you reach the top of the tree. Add greee folage and you should have a fair looking tree.
Sorry for the long post:cry:
made it as brief as possable. my .02
 

Torpedo

Member
I believe the silver tip is a local christmas tree name out there for the red fir. A lot of people refer to any conifer as a "pine tree." I once made the mistake of pointing to a noble fir and calling it a pine while talking to a professional forestor. He rapidly disabused me of the notion that the tree we were discussing was a "pine."

sign1

Around here, the mid South, there are a lot of eastern red cedars. They grow like weeds along fence lines and in abandoned fields. A lot of people consider them a nuisance, and I have heard more than one person refer to them as "those nasty pines." Of course, they are not pines at all. They aren't even cedars; they're junipers. :D
 

coachC

New Member

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woodone

Member
CoachC,
Yes, the cedar shingles work well as they already have a tapper. You should be able to use what they call a shim package. Building supply stores shoud have them. That way you will not end up with a whole bunch of shingles you have no use for. I will post some photos as soon as I figure how to do that. Like I said earlier the cedar is soft so it works easy. You might want to stain the trunks after you get them the way you like.
 
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