Chad trees

[FJ and G]

I was reading a very old model RR book last night. It specified a method of making trees using chads from paychecks. Has anyone used this method. It would be nice to try but first I'd need to find some chads. Might have to make a trip to Florida later this year?

Dave Vergun

[ndbprr]

When that article came out I tried using teletype punches. They are round and more leaf like. A dated procedure at this point that can't compare with foam today but a way to build up a tree that could be covered with some foam to minimize foam costs.

[FJ and G]

As I understand it, ndb, the chads have the advantage of being more leaflike in shape than ground foam and additionally, give the tree an airier feel than the more dense groundfoam.

dav

[orsonroy]

The only problem I see with this technique is the size of the chads. They'd be HUGE in HO scale, considering most tree leaves are no larger than my hand (and most are smaller).

Noch makes some stuff called Lindenblatter, which is quite nice. I've got a jar or two of it lying around, but I haven't used it yet. It's basically smaller chads and sold in various colors (not sure if the stuff is paper or not). Scenic Express sells it with their Supertrees sets as a top layer, to be added over ground foam (probably because of cost). I've seen the Noch stuff used in various MR photos, as well as something similar to make absolutely stunning trees in a Field Museum exhibit.

I'll eventually use it for bushes and forground stuff, but probably won't use it for trees. I need too many, and a few models with individual leaves will make the rest of my trees look REALLY bad!

[FJ and G]

I have O scale so a hanging chads tree would be about right scale.

[cacole]

Wow! That must really be an old article from the days when IBM punch cards were still in use. From what I heard, there's no computer in the world today that can read those old punch cards because the card readers have all been scrapped. So why is the U.S. Government Census Bureau storing millions of punch cards?

[FJ and G]

In 1970s, my paychecks had chad holes in them. I recall my first check in 1975 from the Marine Corps for $149 for 1/2 month's worth of pay.

I don't know if checks are still done with chad holes; but in the 80s we all went on direct deposit.

It would be nice if there were something similar in shape to leaves besides chads. Last night I went into the woods and fields looking for something similar but couldn't find anything. I even deflowered a ragweed, but the seeds are too fat and roundish, although you could use ragweed seeds to represent oranges or grapefruits by painting them for appropriate colors.

[orsonroy]

FJ,

Here's a trick: build your own paper punch. Take a suitable piece of brass tubing (shaped to size and shape if needed), file the inside of the tube to a sharp edge, and then start cutting out little leaves in colored paper. (this is a trick I picked up in MR a few years ago, on how to make water lillies) You might drive yourself insane punching out enough leaves to fill more than a tree or two, but it'll definitely work!

Either that, or take another walk in the woods. Pick a few nice green leaves, and leave them in the sun to dry. Once dry, they'll stay green. Crumble them up and sift out the big chunks, and you'll end up with a bucketload of dandomly-shaped little flat leaves in no time!