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Another botanical question on tree making

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EDZ
  • Member since
    January 2011
  • From: Salisbury, MA
  • 158 posts
Posted by EDZ on Wednesday, May 18, 2011 1:46 PM

MisterBeasley

Where do you get spray adhesives?  Hobby shop, craft shop, hardware store, Wal-Mart?

So far, the hair spray is holding up, but it's only been a week.

Awesome.  Are you going to the prom?  Laugh

Auto parts stores carry 3M spray adhesive, though it may not be your best price.  WalMart might carry it in their crafts dept.  I'd stick with the hair spray.  Tons of ppl use it and I don't recall hearing anyone say it failed over time.

 

"We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."  -Aristotle

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Posted by cowman on Tuesday, May 17, 2011 9:38 PM

For hair spray I use cheap, strongest hold I can find, so far it is holding well.  As for the spray adhesives add offfice supply stores to your list of possibile sources.  They use it to stick up photos and other such things.  I've got a can of 3M that my son got somewhere, but I've never used it.  Don't know if I can as he used some out of it and I don't know about keeping the nozzle clean. 

Good luck,

Richard

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Posted by CTValleyRR on Tuesday, May 17, 2011 7:23 PM

I've successfully used Sedum flowers.  I soak them in matte medium while I tease out a ball of green poly fiber into a nice puffy ball.  Then I work the fiber down over the stems of the flower, dip it into the matte medium again, shake off the excess, and sprinkle on ground foam.  I do this last step over a shoebox.  Makes very cheap, serviceable trees.

 

Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford

"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford

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Posted by MisterBeasley on Tuesday, May 17, 2011 9:50 AM

Where do you get spray adhesives?  Hobby shop, craft shop, hardware store, Wal-Mart?

So far, the hair spray is holding up, but it's only been a week.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by HHPATH56 on Tuesday, May 17, 2011 9:33 AM
At the Milwaukee National convention, they showed making of deciduous trees using Super tree material for the trunks. A $25 box of Super Trees will produce about 60 trees. He cut sisal rope into 1/8"-3/8" pieces, and then used spray adhesive (I use Speedball Metal Leaf, and never lose a leaf. I spray on the adhesive in a protective box and then drop the sprayed Super Tree in a bag containing the cut up sisal rope pieces, remove from that bag and then spray adhesive again, and place the tree in a bag of WS Blended Turf, and shake it. The 60 excellent trees are done in an hour, or less. Note the Super Tree without foliage (as winter trees or dead trees would look. Bob Hahn Note the Fall foliage. I change my forests with the seasons. I get Spray Adhesive at Michael's Craft store. A picture of Mona Lisa on the $6.50 can. I get about 120 trees per can of adhesive. With 11,270 Posts, I was a bit surprised that you are just starting the making of trees. But, I am a scenic buff and, strangely, have never run a train on all the 260yds. of HO track, with 110 turnouts and six reverse loops, of my 24'x24' around the room, garage loft layout. LOL Bob Hahn
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Posted by Fire fighter Mike on Wednesday, May 11, 2011 6:27 PM

i don't know how hair spray will make them hold up. Like I said I used a srpay adhesive for my first go. I've made some new trees and I am trying hair spray out (Alberto Extra Hold) I give them a shot of spray coat them and then spray them again to set them.

The first batch I did in the shaker with the adhesive are holding up quite well. they made it rhough my first layout got boxed for a year or so and are now on my second layout and holding up quite well.

 

Thats a pic (sorry it a little blurry) of the previous trees after one layout storage and then making it on to my second layout. the evergreens are store bought in this picture.

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Posted by MisterBeasley on Wednesday, May 11, 2011 4:42 PM

Wow, I tried Mike's idea of using a shaker, and it works great.  I put just a small amount of Noch leaves into a Woodland Scenics ballast shaker I'd emptied.  I took a small block of pink foam and carved a circle the size of the top of the shaker, and punched a small hole in the center for the tree trunk.  I sprayed on the hair spray, put the tree into the shaker with the cap, and shook it.  Instant tree.

Now, how durable is this stuff?  It's not going to get rough handling or be moved around.  It's just going to sit on the layout and get looked at.  Can I expect the hair spray to pretty much hold up, or would it be better to give it a shot of Dul-Coat or something else more permanent?  Thanks again.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by MisterBeasley on Wednesday, May 11, 2011 7:07 AM

Please don't take this out of context, but, well, which hair spray do you guys use?

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by superbe on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 4:14 PM

For any one near a Dollar Tree store they have unscented extra hold hair spray and surprise surprise it costs $1.00

Happy Railroading

Bob

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Posted by BATMAN on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 3:43 PM

My success came with hairspray and then just burying the tree with shear volume of foliage.  I used a rubber made tub so I could easily reclaim the left overs. I then hit it again with hairspray but from a little further away. I found just sprinkling it on did not work very well.

Some hair sprays are much stickier than others. I got funny looks sampling them all in Walmart on my fingers.Whistling

 

                                                                             Brent

Brent

"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."

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Posted by Fire fighter Mike on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 3:41 PM

AltoonaRailroader

I made some pines with the floral wire and bailing twine and they turned out just like that. Quick easy and not too messy. Now I only need about 500 more of them. Big Smile

Bailing twine Huh???? I have some of that kicking around too I never even thought of that.

500 thats a nice small number I'm hoping thats all I need is around tha, I have a 1.5' X3' area to do and I'm not even sure what I'm doing with the other 8'X3' yet LOLStick out tongue so I will probably need more. Ah well easy and cheap and not to time consumeing  I can sit and watch tv and make trees can't beat that.

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Posted by AltoonaRailroader on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 2:47 PM

I made some pines with the floral wire and bailing twine and they turned out just like that. Quick easy and not too messy. Now I only need about 500 more of them. Big Smile

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Posted by Fire fighter Mike on Monday, May 9, 2011 5:06 PM

it's getting really easy and quick now I'm up to about 20 trees in about 45 minutes now. I love it when I can make lots of something that looks pretty good for cheap.

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Posted by richhotrain on Monday, May 9, 2011 5:03 PM

Fire fighter Mike

 EDZ:

Don't you just hate it when people make stuff look so easy?  I know that I do.  Smile

 

Yes...Yes I do. but in this case it is just that easy. i couldn't find any chenille fibers today so I thought I would try some squirrel tail fur since I tie fly's I had that on hand plus it adds a little more "tree" color to it. Here are a few I did in about 10min. They still need a little trimming but I think they turrned out pretty good.

 

Sweet!  Nice job, FFM.

Rich

Alton Junction

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Posted by Fire fighter Mike on Monday, May 9, 2011 3:17 PM

EDZ

Don't you just hate it when people make stuff look so easy?  I know that I do.  Smile

Yes...Yes I do. but in this case it is just that easy. i couldn't find any chenille fibers today so I thought I would try some squirrel tail fur since I tie fly's I had that on hand plus it adds a little more "tree" color to it. Here are a few I did in about 10min. They still need a little trimming but I think they turrned out pretty good.

 

 

EDZ
  • Member since
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  • From: Salisbury, MA
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Posted by EDZ on Sunday, May 8, 2011 12:27 PM

Don't you just hate it when people make stuff look so easy?  I know that I do.  Smile

"We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."  -Aristotle

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Posted by Fire fighter Mike on Sunday, May 8, 2011 10:12 AM

EDZ

If a picture is worth a thousand, how much is a video?

This guy is really good.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rf_bejdO8g&feature=related

I would say thats worth about a million thoes look great

EDZ
  • Member since
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  • From: Salisbury, MA
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Posted by EDZ on Sunday, May 8, 2011 10:04 AM

If a picture is worth a thousand, how much is a video?

This guy is really good.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rf_bejdO8g&feature=related

"We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."  -Aristotle

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Posted by gandydancer19 on Saturday, May 7, 2011 3:15 PM

I glue Lichen on my tree armatures.  Apply glue to it (usually spray it), then sprinkle on fine ground foam.  The Lichen acts to fill in the tree, and the ground foam acts as the leaves.

Elmer.

The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.

(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.

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Posted by Fire fighter Mike on Saturday, May 7, 2011 2:52 PM

try that again

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Posted by Fire fighter Mike on Saturday, May 7, 2011 2:32 PM

Here is what I do and it seems to suit me well.

I take an empty shaker and mix some differnt colors of Woodland Scenics corse turf together to form about a half of a shaker worth of mix. The I get my tree and spray it with a spray adhesive I "dunk" it upside down in the mix shaker and then shake it a bit to get the mix up in and around the tree. It also helps cut down on clean up as all the unused mix stay pretty much in the shaker except for whatever falls of after the fact. Just don't let go of the tree it's hard to get it out if you drop it, without making a mess.

here is a photo of what the finished product looks like. I'm still fine tuning it but I think it looks alright so far

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk12/traxrs18/DSCF3398.jpg

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Another botanical question on tree making
Posted by MisterBeasley on Saturday, May 7, 2011 1:47 PM

I've just started to make trees, too.  I went out in the yard and recovered some dried tops of Pampas Grass for my armatures.  I've avoided these in the past because they are not symmetrical, but for my swamp they will be ideal as "overhanging" trees that are kind of lopsided anyway.

I've got a couple of packages of Noch foliage.  At first, I tried "painting" the armatures with watered-down white glue and sprinkling on the foliage.  It's OK, but very little sticks to the armatures, and I find myself repeating the process many times to get decent results.

Today, I tried the hair-spray technique.  It worked better, but again, not much of the foliage stuck each time.

I can live with this, but I'd be interested in other methods, or just hints on better ways to apply the foliage.  Right now, I'm catching the foliage that doesn't stick on a piece of white paper and just recycling it.

And, as always, a picture is worth a thousand words.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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