Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Categories
- 955 All Categories
- 3 Picture Posting and Resizing
- 56 New Member Introductions
- 115 Off-Topic Forum
- 4 Photography
- 2 Resources
- 16 New Product Information
- 167 The SierraWest Forum
- 9 Brett's Blog
- 119 General News & Ramblings
- 3 Re-Release Information
- 6 Q & A about SierraWest
- 9 What Would You Like to See?
- 384 Builds
- 140 HO Scale Builds
- 165 O Scale Builds
- 60 Finished SW Build Pics
- 14 Miscellaneous Builds
- 190 Techniques
- 19 Working with Wood
- 20 Painting Castings
- 5 Masonry
- 23 Scenery
- 37 Tools and Supplies
- 21 Layout Planning & Building
- 40 Miscellaneous
- 24 Prototype Information
- 22 Reference and Research
Trees
In am hoping that some one out there can tall me how to stop ground foam from sticking to the trees trunk.
The entire tree from top to bottom gets covered with spray adhesive and is then dusted with foam ( woodland scenics green blend T49 ). As I am not using furnace filter type material, rather individual branches the trunk is very exposed. I have been able to brush off some of the foam but it still shows.
I have thought about dribbling some indian ink stain down the trunk to darken the green foam that is still there but this could run into the branches/foliage and ruin the tree.
Any suggestions would be most welcome. Apologies for the bad quality pictures.
Thanks.
John.
The entire tree from top to bottom gets covered with spray adhesive and is then dusted with foam ( woodland scenics green blend T49 ). As I am not using furnace filter type material, rather individual branches the trunk is very exposed. I have been able to brush off some of the foam but it still shows.
I have thought about dribbling some indian ink stain down the trunk to darken the green foam that is still there but this could run into the branches/foliage and ruin the tree.
Any suggestions would be most welcome. Apologies for the bad quality pictures.
Thanks.
John.
Comments
There are a couple things I would suggest. Some people will flock the branches first, then glue them into the dowel. You eliminate the cloud of ground foam that inevitably sticks to the trunk.
You also may want to use hairspray instead of the spray glue. I've found that cheap aerosol hair spray is more than sufficient to hold the foam; yet not so strong as to prevent stray foam particles from being dusted off the trunk with a stiff brush.
Another idea is to avoid getting the spray on the trunk prior to flocking. After gluing the branches into the trunk, hold the tree horizontally and lower it down into a mist of hairspray. Then, flock while the spray is still wet. You'll still have some foam to brush off but hopefully not as much. And, it won't stick as securely as if you'd used the spray glue. That's basically how I make mine.
Try it out and repost your results.
Hope that helps!
Bill
Alternatively one method I have used is to spray the bare tree with glue/hairspray and then dip or roll it horizontally into a large container with a thin layer of foam, thereby only letting the branch ends get foamed. This should give you more control of coverage as opposed to sprinkling the foam over the armature.
Karl.A
When I work on mine, I look at a silhouette of the type of tree I'm trying to model. For example, Google "Pine tree silhouette" and you'll find tons of b&w images of the shape of the trees that are a nice reference to work off of:
See how skinny the trunks are and how pointy it gets at the top in those 2 examples? It also gives you a good idea how far out the branches should extend.
I can't find the silhouette file I used for these, but I pretty much copied the shape diretcly from that b&w image. I used balsa and caspia branches flocked with T49:
I will take it all on board.
Bill; In have trying to find a source for the correct branch length to trunk diameter to tree height to no avail. Can you shed any light on this, as I would have to agree that the trunks are to thick.
These two trees have been an experiment with trunks that I had laying around, the branches came from a false plastic tree topiary that In found in the hardware store. I have got artificial Caspia coming in the mail.
Hopefully I will make another tree with a thinner trunk to night and post some photos tonight.
Take a look at your bottle brush tree on the right (which is VERY nice). That, to me, looks like a reasonable ratio of trunk thickness to branch length.
Paul Scoles has a chapter on building these types of trees in his first scenery building DVD which is worth checking out.
The trunk is a smaller diameter and a little shorter, in HO by the way. Some of the glue still shows as it was only completed a few minutes ago and some of the plastic shows with a shine that a coat of dull coat would fix.
The photos are not showing ?? why not ??
So here is a tree with branches individually flocked prior to being inserted into the trunk, the trunk is possibly to dark, still experimenting.
The trunk is a smaller diameter and a little shorter, in HO by the way. Some of the glue still shows as it was only completed a few minutes ago and some of the plastic shows with a shine that a coat of dull coat would fix.
No need for a lathe. Take a look at this guy's video. He chucks the dowel into a drill then runs it against a disc sander. I think he's got a very fast and effective method for making the trunks:
Tell us about your foliage. Are those the caspia branches or are you using something else?
Bill
There is artificial Caspia coming in the mail soon............
The branches are from a false plastic tree topiary that I found at the hardware store.
The branches are plucked of its frame,
and ironed flat,
depending how long you apply heat and steam as to how straight they become,5 seconds and you have a nice drooping branch
There are four branches on very "thingy" and you can use one thingy with three branches at a time, sticking the stub into the trunk. Or cut them to what ever you need.
A bit of HO perspective
Question now is with what do go with.
A. Fern
B. Plastic tree topiary
C. Capsia.
All together. Capsia on the left, Topiary centre, Fern on the right.
As the American/Califorian pine trees don't grow around here, we have palms, any suggestion would be most welcome.
Your middle tree looks the best. Nice color and shape...very convincing.
The fern branches look too big to me (mostly the bottom third--they look too wide). Maybe you can trim the larger pieces down a bit. I think unaltered fern branches are easily recognized by viewers as "pieces of fern" and can spoil the illusion from the start.
You said "artificial caspia". Can you get real dried caspia in Australia? It may go by the name "Blue Statice" or something similar to that. The artificial stuff you used seems to be lacking that intricate branch structure found with caspia.
I wouldn't abandon using the artificial material, I just think you'd like the look of the real stuff much better (if you can get it).
Bill
Karl.A
Agreed that the centre effort is the best one of the three. I like the branching structure better, and I think the foliage cover is better too. I think Bill is right in calling caspia "Blue statice" that name rings a bell as a garden plant. You may be able to get it from the larger nurseries...I am thinking of GardenWorld in Keysborough, Victoria. Then you could grow and harvest your own!
Great trees by the way- always hard to make a prototype from far away.
Greg in Australia.
I followed your link and went to look at canyon creek scenics.....
To be honest, the trees were no better than average commercial quality. I did like the sales pitch on the home page though......
" From time to time Tree Maker Pete works at creating DeepWoods trees as the inspiration strikes him. " ..... "They range in height from approximately 12 to 24 inches and range in price from $150 to $350 each".
A little too rich for my wallet...
Karl.A