I made a couple packs of polyfiber into puff ball trees, coated them with different shades of fine green turf. Though they haven't been installed on the layout yet, they look as I expected and I think they will be fine.
My question is that I want to make some early fall shades also. WS doesn't seem to make a fine turf in fall colors. Any suggestions for a brand to use or other substitute? Will coarse turf work for this type of tree?
In the same vein, if I streach polyfiber over a tree armature, natural or man made, is fine or coarse turf the better product to use?
Thank you,
Richard
Noch makes a leaf product that I think is better than the fine foam It comes in three fall colors. To mix the leaf product with foam makes for a more varied forest. I think Scenic Express sells the Noch product as does Walthers. I use the green and fall colors most of the time. I put it on with Hair spray.
http://www.scenicexpress.com/ You'll like these guys
ratled
Modeling the Klamath River area in HO on a proto-lanced sub of the SP “The State of Jefferson Line”
Art,
Thank you for the ideas.
When you say mix the leaf product with foam, do you mean similar colors mixed together, then applied to the trees? If so, do you use fine or coarse turf?
Have you gotten to AZ yet? We had a major Thunder Snow Storm last night. Never have seen such a strong one.
Ratled,
Thanks for the link. Have seen the products advertised, but have never worked with them. Looks like a good selection of colors and textures.
Thank you both,
Hi Richard.
I use WS coarse ground foam for my trees. Stretch the polyfiber wispy thin over the tree armature, spray generously with cheap hairspray and sprinkle on the ground foam. Shake off the excess and spray again. Don't sprinkle the foam so heavily that you end up with a big green foam lollipop. The look is much more convincing if some of the branch structure remains visible.
Not aa great photo, but you get the idea. The trees are quite passable, and one bag of green polyfiber and a couple bags of ground foam will make a heck of a lot of them.
Jim
"I am lapidary but not eristic when I use big words." - William F. Buckley
I haven't been sleeping. I'm afraid I'll dream I'm in a coma and then wake up unconscious. -Stephen Wright
When I say mix, I mean only one product per tree, but different trees in the same forest. One color per tree, but mix the variety of trees. I use only the fine foam when I use foam. For fancy trees up front I will use a dark or medium leaf material and then sprinkle a few ligher leaves on the top and one side to simulate sunlight. The one time I mixed colors was trying to do a fall maple with orange on top, yellow in the middle and green on the bottom the way they are in Minnesota for a few days each year. I was only parcially successful and have not tried again.
Yes we made AZ.
At a pinch you could use paint to give some early colour. I prefer oil paint for the job because it has a bit more body than acrylic
Mike
Modelling the UK in 00, and New England - MEC, B&M, D&H and Guilford - in H0
I model mid to late fall and on my puff ball background trees trees, on my mountains. I spray the fiber black, use hair spray to adhere the WS course ground foam. i do mix colors though. I use one main color say red and add some green and rust , when viewed from a 3-4 feet distance they look natural with a mix of the green with rust added to the orange,, red and yellow base colors.I don't care for the look of one solid color, but others may.
floridaflyer,
Do you attach the coarse foam to the balls before or after you put your trees in place? I have heard of it being done both ways. The ones I did with fine turf, I did before. I take it you start with white polyfiber.
Scenic Express as several different fall colors. Check out their website.
Craig North Carolina
Another question. When do you spray your fiber black, before you seperate it, when it is streched thin or after you make the puff balls?
Art or floridaflyer,
I have some cheap hairspray, but haven't tried it yet. When you spray the balls do you drop them in a container of foam and shake or just liberally sprinkle the foam over the balls?
Art, glad you made it to AZ, no fun being caught in between and unable to keep going. They overforcast the storm here, but in a way it's best to be prepared for the worst. Yesterday warmed up and the roads turned to a mealy mess, cooling off today, cold tomorrow.
Jim,
Photo is fine. Foreground trees are on the list of "to do" soon. Knew to streach the fiber thin, but wasn't sure which foam to use. Hope mine look as good as yours.
Mike,
I have noticed in the real world that sometimes the trees look like they had had a light spray of the approaching color. Some sunny days it is almost like flourscent orange. Do yu use rattle can or airbrush to accent your trees?
Craig,
They do have a nice assortment of fall colors.
Thank you all for your responses.
I just dab the paint on with a small brush.
I like to shake it on over a tub, so I can reuse it. I can control how much and where. I think a tree has more leaves facing up than out, so to shake the leaf material or foam from the top gives a better impression in my opinion.