modeling aspen trees

[wp8thsub]

Aspens get a lot of attention among model railroaders because they're so prominent with their white trunks, but most models I've seen of them are unconvincing. I like to use rabbitbru***wigs painted white for the trunks and poly fiber with ground foam attached for the foliage (similar to popular methods for representing Eastern US forest masses). Note that aspens spread by their root systems and seldom produce viable seedlings that survive by themselves, so plant almost all of them in groups. Groves are dense with many trunks, which most modelers ignore. You can create a nice effect by just inserting relatively few whole trees combined with a mass of closely spaced trunks that can be made to look as if they're all supporting part of the foliage canopy. The ground usually shows much evidence of fallen leaves. Ground oregano leaves (sold with spices at the grocery store) work great for adding this texture if you combine them with ground foam.

I found several prototype photos for good modeling inspiration here:

http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/subimages.cfm?sub=2758

Aspens are very similar in many ways to the closely related cottonwoods, which usually grow along water courses. If you're modeling the West you'll need cottonwoods too; they can get much larger, have wider spreading branches and grayer trunks.

[jrbarney]

HD1487,
Just did an Index of Magazines search at this site, using the search term "aspen tree" and the following four citations were found. I know there are vendors that specialize in aspen trees and there probably are hints on aspen trees buried in articles and soft bound books where aspens specifically weren't indexed. Hope this helps.
Bob

Aspens and evergreens
S Gaugian, March/April 1981, page 21, Trees of the Colorado Rockies and how to model them in S gauge, ( ASPEN, "JONES, ROBERT", SCENERY, TREE, S, SGA )

Colorado Aspens, Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette, March/April 1983, page 60, ( ASPEN, "METCALFE, TERRY", SCENERY, TREE, NGSL )

Mass-produced aspens, Model Railroader, June 1992, page 98,
( ASPEN, "SAGE, DOC", SCENERY, TREE, MR )

In pursuit of better model trees, Model Railroader, May 1995, page 84,
( ASPEN, "HAMM, ROBERT", SCENERY, TREE, MR )

[Anonymous]

I have searched this site and others all morning. I cannot find any good info on modeling aspen trees. Could anyone please provide me with some ideas or a link to a site that may help? Thanks in advance for your help.