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Here's how I have built foreground trees. It's cheap, not difficult but a bit time-consuming. Hey, ya' can't have everything. I am very happy with the result. Start with dowels of various diameters, 5/16", 1/4", 3/16", 1/8". Cut them to the height you prefer. Taper them so that they are narrower at the top (I use a rasp). Paint them various colors. I use several shades of grey, some black, some rust and some browns, and even a little red and green. Just combine and overlay the colors, don't be neat and don't wipe your brush as you change from color to color. From a craft store you will need some air fern or something like that. Any greenish very finely detailed artificial foliage will do. For $5.00, I got enough to make dozens of trees. With your pin vise and bits, drill an individual hole in the dowels for each piece of the artificial foliage. Use white glue to hold the foliage in the holes. Use smaller pieces at the top and larger pieces at the bottom. Spray the foliage with a cheap hairspray and sprinkle various shades of ground foam very lightly. This gets rid of the uniformity of color and adds a natural randomness that looks right. I run the base of the dowel through a pencil sharpener, dip it into white glue and push it into my plaster cloth or foam terrain. I do about 12 dowels of varying diameters at once. Then, while sitting in front of the TV with the family, I can finish several trees in a typical evening. Hope that helps, George in New Castle, PA
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