Does anyone know how the wonderful bare trees on the cover of Realistic Layouts by C. J. Riley were made? They are by far the best I've ever seen. Any information, or even possible leads, will be grately appreciated.
Hi Dennis. Those trees look like they were made using twisted florist's wire covered with clay. This is a technique that has been around longer than Amtrak.
Start by grouping several strands of solid florist's wire together and twisting them together. Use groups of longer strands for taller trees and groups of shorter strands for short trees. Then fray the wires out at one end to create branches. You can also make branches off of branches if you use enough wire strands. The smaller diameter wire the better, as you'll be able to get more detailed branches.
After you have a decent branch structure, you can cover the wire trunk and limbs with a thin layer of clay. Add some paint and weathering and boom you're done.
Matt
The very best I have seen used real roots.
The best bare trees I have made were constructed using a core of 4/0 welding cable. I use a technique similar to what Matt descibed above.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I have never gotten to that level of detail of the scenery stage. If I were to make my own trees from dead plants or something needing covered, I'm thinking about covering the trees with that automotive spray product PlastiDip (or the Rustoleum knockoff) that is essentially liquid rubber in a can. Should hold paint pretty well. Then cover with leaves or leave bare.
- Douglas
I like to scrape the hardened clay with a razor saw to add wood grain texture to simulate bark.
best,
rrebellThe very best I have seen used real roots.
That's what I use. Anytime I pull up a tree in the yard I (nearly) always scrounge through the root ball to look for potential "tree" material.
IMG_9436_fix_web by Edmund, on Flickr
IMG_9437_fix_web by Edmund, on Flickr
IMG_9434_fix_web by Edmund, on Flickr
IMG_9430_fix_web by Edmund, on Flickr
IMG_9428_fix_web by Edmund, on Flickr
Good Luck, Ed
gmpullmanThat's what I use. Anytime I pull up a tree in the yard I (nearly) always scrounge through the root ball to look for potential "tree" material.
I might need to pull up a few trees as I drive around in June.
Nearly all my trees are Palm Trees, and their roots just look like snakes and earthworms.
Oops Nevermind
Good morning
Is there any specific kind of small trees that have good roots to make trees?
TF
I think it would be really cool to have an O scale layout with real bonsai trees. I don't think they drop their leaves in the fall and become bare so it wouldn't be too messy.
Track fiddlerI think it would be really cool to have an O scale layout with real bonsai trees. I don't think they drop their leaves in the fall and become bare so it wouldn't be too messy.
I read what I believe tp be the last letter to the editor about this idea nearly forty years ago as I was getting started.
The poster pointed out that Bonasi requires lots of light, and high humidity to thrive. He felt that this would not be good for the rest of a layout, warping benchwork, mold, etc. For this reason he felt it to be a bad idea. And listed his qualification as being a past president of the American Bonasi Association.
I know nothing special, but think three times.
I belong to a club that uses Hydrangea stems, Woodland Scenics, and Super Trees material to get a leafed-out tree. We had mice move in one winter and they like the fake leaves and hairspray. It turns out they make a pretty nice bare tree with their little gnaw marks. But I wouldn't recommend the process.
Jim Ford
www.emrrc.com