My layout is sectional and one section (my staging yard) has the active mainline near the back of the section, with the yard in front. The distance between the bottom of the cork roadbed and the edge of the benchwork where the backdrop will go is between 0.5" and 1.5" wide. I wasn't intending on adding scenery to this section but now want to.
The prototype I am modeling had a row of trees/bushes and abandoned telephone poles along that side of the tracks, right next to the ROW. I want to model that somehow but there isn't much room. The kicker is that it isn't dense trees but just single trees sort of in a row. A row of trees that were so thick that you couldn't see through wouldn't look right.
I was thinking of doing a plain blue sky with clouds for a backdrop, and then in that small gap I have left adding a ridge of trees and telephone poles. They will have to be thin, so perhaps trees cut in half where the back is flat and mounted to the backdrop? Or, maybe a second backdrop of just tree photos mounted to foamcore and then set against the backdrop to give a 3-d effect (which is commonly done with industrial buildings for city backdrops).
Anyone ever done this before? Any photos or suggestions? Thanks.
Modeling the D&H in 1984: http://dandhcoloniemain.blogspot.com/
You could probably make some semi-3D trees use suitably-sized twigs. Pick the "good" side as the one facing the viewer, and then snip-off everything else that's sticking out in the opposite direction. This will allow for close placement to the backdrop, decent depth from the stuff facing the viewer, and the remaining branches sticking out on either side will help fill-in the row of trees, without you having to make too many of them....space them accordingly.
I made some background trees using rock-wool insulation, and they're only 1/2" in depth, but the're also very dense, so not much chance of seeing any "sky" behind them...
...the ones at the rear have mostly only some sprayed-on paint and sprinkled-on foam, but as they get closer to the viewer, I added some poly fibre, and more ground foam, then more fully-modelled trees in the foreground.
If you can't find suitable twigs, you could also use wire to create the treetrunk and branches. Stretch-out some poly fibre and cement it to the branches, then spray it with some non-scented hairspray and sprinkle-on some not-too-coarse foam. Once the tree looks acceptable, spray it again with hairspray, and sprinkle-on a light dusting of finely-ground foam, either a lighter green than the "leaves" on the tree, or use fine yellow foam. This highlighting simulates the effect ofsunlight rather well.
I use Finesse hairspray in the pump-type applicator: it gives you more control over the amount used than does a spray can, and when it's almost empty, simply pour the little bit that's left, beyond the reach of the pick-up tube, into your next pump applicator. This means that there's almost no waste of product, and no spray can still half-full, but its nozzle plugged beyond use.
Wayne
Did many forest areas on last layout. Painted rather cude trees on backdrop and then took full trees that I cut all of the back branches off and planted those, worked great.
Yes, half trees have been tried, and the examples I have seen all looked good.
So good, I tried it on my latest layout project.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Thank you. Those pictures look great!