Trees

[13Mtrainer]

this is my first atempt at scenery and i have small hills and i was wondering how to make cheap trees out of house hold things?

i need alot of trees for very little money. thanks in advance



13Mt

they also need to look nice and realistic

 

[trains1972]

I am making evergreen trees from an old christmas tree or wreath. I untwisted the branch and cut them to the shape of pine trees. Then I dipped them into water down glue and then into the green ground cover. I got about 10 dozen trees so far and it still looks like it could be use as a christmas tree. I am making n scale trees this is my first try they got better with pactice.
Starting picture.

Finished picture.

 

[jetrock]

If it's not too late to score on any Christmas-clearance sales, if you want a big pine forest, score a plastic Christmas tree and hack apart the branches with a bolt cutter. Trim the needles with tin snips to a tree-like taper, spray with adhesive and dip in scenic foam. The wreath trees above look pretty good--the idea is similar, but on a larger scale.

Other tree materials: bumpy chenille, or pieces of cut-up furnace filter stuck on a bamboo barbecue skewer (needs painting.)

Take a look around your yard and try to find plants or weeds whose stalks look like tiny trees. Cut them up, let them dry out and apply scenic foam (just make sure it's not your wife's gardening pride and joy--otherwise you might find your favorite engine smashed to bits with a baseball bat...)

 

[spitfire]

Hi 13MT. A great way to get a lot of trees in a hurry is not to model each single tree. For a forested hillside for example, all you do is plant the trunks (which can be made out of small real branches) in the hillside, and then cover the whole thing with that stretchy green stuff they sell at the LHS.
If you want more detail up front, a package of WS Fine Scale Foliage works wonders. Just take the individual branches and stick them through.

Val

 

[Russ Bellinis]

If you want to make some cheap disiduous (spelling?) trees-ie oaks, maples, etc., get a roll of "mechanic's wire" or bailing wire. You could also use a wire that is sold in craft stores. Cut a bunch of pieces six inches or so long, and twist them together for an inch or two. Then separate the wires into two or three or even four individual bundles. Keep twisting them together for an inch or so, then separate them again. What you are doing is making a "tree armature" out of wire. Paint the armature a dull brown/grey color. Once you have the tree armature made to your satisfaction, add some of that "stretchy green stuff" mentioned previously. Spray the tree with the cheapest hairspray you can find, and sprinkle on green ground foam. If you do the first coat of ground foam with a darker shade of green and then respray and use a light green over the top of the dark green you will get some highlights on your trees. By the way, if you want to model Florida cypress, make the individual roots off the bottom of the trunk the same way you do the upper armature, and plant them in the swamp.

 

[SAL Comet]

Finished picture.

That looks like something other than trees!

 

[jetrock]

aieee! bad college flashbacks! Someone get the Visine...

 

[XavierJ123]

Making trees

Scroll down to my thread entitled "Making trees" In it you will find a link posted by Fred, formally knows as Dash 10, which shows his method (with lots of helful pictures) of making trees using caspia purchased at Michaels. I found using very thin bead wire to hold the trunk structure together was easier than just using your fingers while gluing. Also Garden Ridge sells bags of moss which is a lot cheaper than Woodland Scenery. I like the moss better because it is mother nature's natural colors---not all one shade. Also I use a blender to blend the moss "fine." I use Dupont Spray Adhesive on the little tree and then sprinkle the ground up moss on it. Sometimes I rubbed the sticky little tree in the fine moss and always have a ball shaking off the excess which reveils a (as Fred would say) "tada" a tree. LOL :thumb: :thumb: