Extending LION' thought on natural sources, take a look at Bill Wright's article on Twisted/Living Tree Trunks in the NOV/DEC 1983 issue of Model Railroading. Keep reading for the article on twisted steel wire armature and auto body putty trees.
Co-owner of the proposed CT River Valley RR (HO scale) http://home.comcast.net/~docinct/CTRiverValleyRR/
LION goes out into the fields either in mid fall or early spring (just so the snow is gone) and collects things that look like trees. I cannot tell you of what plant kind they are: the LION doesn't care. They LOOK like tree trunks, and when I bring them in, I make trees out of them. I have used both WS nets and WS clumps, but am open to any substance that looks like vegetation.
YOu get what you pay (or work) for.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Rangerover1944 has the right idea: Go to Wal-Mart, Michaels, or similar and get a large bag of Poly-Fill. It's the same stuff as the hobby companies sell, except that it's white. Spray paint it black or dark gray with a rattle can and immediately sprinkle it with ground foam. The paint will serve as your adhesive.
If you need more foliage, spray with dilute matte medium, hairspray, or spray adhesive and recoat.
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
I have recently seen what I consider a good tip or technique for puffball trees.
If you can't get the black Polly-fiber, use the white, but paint it black with a spray can and 'put on / dip it in' the ground foam. In other words, use the wet paint as the adhesive for the ground foam.
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.
I have made about 75 trees from a little bag of WS polyfiber. I have a couple of bags of the M-M fiber that I have not started to use, but by the looks I should be able to get over 1000 from a bag, if not more. The problem with poly fiber fill from Wally or elsewhere is that it is white, requiring painting before you add your ground foam.
Have seen in a magazine a distant background done using a batt of white poly fiber, then small puffs were teased up from the batt, painted and ground foam added. Maybe for a large area it would look OK, but I think my puff ball trees look fine.
For evergreen trees I use floral wire, baler twine, paint, ground foam and hair spray, twist them with my drill, shape them with scissors. See the recent WPF for the idea shown there. Very similar to what I do.
Good luck,
Richard .
I have to confess, I like Scenic Express SuperTrees. I am modeling the N&W in the fall of 1957-58 and love the autumn colors. I have more than 600 trees on the layout. I use Woodlandic Scenes for pine trees. So, I guess that does not help with "local pick up". As I finish my 2nd box of SuperTrees, I am ordering the next box.
Craig North Carolina
Go to Walmart and buy a bag of polyfil pillow stuffing, a giant bag for a few bucks.
JIm
You might want to read Trees on a Budget by Lee Weldon; he works in N-scale but the concept should scale up to HO
I liked the idea of multiple puff ball trees in the April 12 issue (on PG 55) but my question is this; can something else be substituted for the micro mark poly fiber? I was initially thinking cotton balls, but I wasn't sure about how the white would show through, or how it would look.
Is there some other generic base that I could use, and who might have it? IE I'm looking for something I can pick up locally and avoid mail order.
Thanks
Modeling the N&W freelanced at the height of their steam era in HO.
Daniel G.