I take trimmings from my bushes in my yard for the trunks, use bake clay for the bases then add linchen for foliage. I paint the clay base to look like the trunks, then sprinkle grass in the still wet paint. Certain foliage like spirea looks like trees with the foliage on, you just need to paint if you want something other than brown. I cut a bunch of "tree trunks" this time of the year, then finish the rest of the tree as I'm ready for them. Inexpensive and look real nice I think.
Jim
Different trees need different materials. Michaels has several dried weeds that make armatures. I use Queen of the Praire for birch and poplar. Astilbe makes small balsam trees. Tumble weeds make good oak and maple. There are many other flowers and weeds that make the basic tree. I use mostle spray paint and varios Woodlad Scenic ground foamsd and micro fibers to fill them out. I use dowels and Caspia twigs for pine and fir trees.
Aggro makes great Christmas trees out of furnace filter and skewers.
That is a start. There is no end to what creativity can create, This is a good time of year to look at trees without leaves to see what twigs will work.
Might I suggest pages 3 & 7 on this scenery clinic thread: http://siskiyou-railfan.net/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?1270.0
It's very good!
Scenic Express offers very fine "thin" trees in their SuperTrees line:
http://www.sceneryexpress.com/departments.asp?dept=1001
Colin ---------- There's just no end to cabooseless trains.
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