Although modelling trees has been covered before, no one has covered making Australian natives, more so eucalyptus trees. I need a couple of trees for my new project, so I opted for the tried and tested twisted wire armature method. Now the difference between European trees and the common Aussie gum tree is the shape. Gum trees tend to be tall and thin with less main branches than the European trees such as Ashes, Birch, Beech and Elms species. So, the wire armature... Made from the same wire I use for the bus under the layout, multi strand wire. I cut several lengths approximately 9" long for the taller trees and varying lengths for some of the shorter trees. Once I made up several armatures of different sizes and shapes, I applied acrylic gap filler with a small paint brush. I allowed several hours for this to harden up. Being gap filler, it is quite flexible which allows the armatures to be bent to the desired shape once cured. The painting comes next and I applied several colours to the tree armatures. I first used burnt umber here and there in patches followed by raw sienna. I allowed this to dry then gave a thin coat of white and allowed this to dry, followed by a wash of black. The black high lighted some of the curves in the moulded trunk and branches. The paint was allowed to dry for an hour or so before I tore up some mid green poly fibre, which was pushed into place on the branch ends. Some of the wire tips were shortened to suit. Using clear matt finish, I sprayed the poly fibre and then carefully sprinkled on chopped up Heki leaves. I had to chop these up finer than what was in the packet as they wre too large for the purpose. This is the end result... and closer up... and another... To give a comparison in size, here are the trees over and beside a locomotive... That's it for now... Cheers, Gary.
Great stuff Gary and I follow much the same approach although I have screwed the pegs to a base board so I can do 12 at a time as I need quite a few for my Dargan layout. I have made a few tall ones (Sydney blue gum) and the peg needs a bit of stability. What glue are you using to fix the poly fibre to the branch ends? I am currently using quick set pva and it seems to be the best so far. Cheers and happy modelling Richard
I have only used the clear matt fixer/sealer for glue ! It seems to stick better than hair spray ! Cheers, Gary.
and to go with Gary's effective methods, this is another Aussie and his trees http://www.bouldercreekrailroad.com/trees.html