– part 1It always begs the question, What trees can ausschauen a scenery diorama particularly well - flat figures trees or natural?
Here is a off to the natural product. [ Guests cannot view attachments ]
This tutorial will go through a step by step process to create realistic looking miniature trees for use in wargames, dioramas, and train layouts. These steps are very similar to those packaged in the Sweetwater Scenery poly fiber.
Materials
· Sage brush
· Poly fiber
· AquaNet hair spray
· Flock
· Clothes pins or small clamps
· Tweezers
· Straight pins
· Side cutters
Description of Materials
The trickiest part of making this type of tree is finding the correct materials. Sage brush can be found in several places including specialty hobby shops, online shops, and simply out in nature. Note that if you find and prepare the armatures yourself, they should be put in an oven and 'baked' for an hour or so at around 400 degrees to kill off any fungus, bugs, etc. The two vendors that I use are listed below in the links section and do an excellent job of preparing and selecting the highest quality armatures. Since I do not know of any sage growing in my area, I opted for the next easiest (unfortunately the most expensive) method of obtaining this material. A local hobby shop specializing in trains called Hobby Haven carries Sweetwater Scenery (a hobby company) sage brush for $2-3 per armature. The cost is quite a lot considering there is still a lot of work which needs to be done to get a tree out of the deal. I do, however, prefer the look of the finished product over anything that can be bought or of any of the other attempts at tree making I have done.
I also picked up some Sweetwater Poly Fiber since Hobby Haven happened to carry that as well. I prefer it over the Woodland Scenics since it is black vs green. The black seems to give the tree a bit more depth. The bag was under $3 and should make dozens if not hundreds of trees (depending on size - I've made seven trees thus far and haven't made a visible difference in the amount left in the bag).
The cheaper the hair spray the better (usually). What is basically needed is a spray adhesive. Real spray adhesives such as those from Elmers should work as well, but I haven't tried them. I use Unscented AquaNet hair spray which I picked up from K-Mart and have had good results.
As with my other terrain products I use Woodland Scenics flock to add 'leaves' to the trees. I am curious as to how much better (or worse) AMSI ground foam is, but I could not find a good source to get it from. I use Burnt Grass Fine Turf as the foundation for the trees with a touch of Green Grass Fine Turf to add a bit of highlight. Hobby Haven and Hobby Town USA both carry Woodland Scenics products for pretty much the same price. I buy from both.
A pair of clothes pins or a small clamp works well to hold the armature while working with it. When connecting two clothes pins in an L fashion they also serve as a convenient stand to keep the tree upright when drying. Reference some of the photos below for a pictorial description of what I'm trying to say.
A pair of tweezers helps out a lot when trying to pull the fibers over the branchs.
At the base of each tree I poke a straight pin in to help hold the tree in place when 'planted' on the layout. After the pin is stuck in the end is clipped off with a pair of side cutters. Sweetwater also offers more 'finished' armatures which include a pin already in the base of the armature. I have yet to see a 'finished' version of the sage since the hobby shop had only 'bulk' in the smaller sizes - I believe other finishing touches are added to the armature in addition to the pin. In a future revision of this tutorial I will attempt to purchase a 'finished' armature and compare and contrast it with the 'bulk' armatures.
A simple pair of side cutters or anything else which will cut a straight pin will work just fine.
Sagebrush Tree Construction Steps 1. Prepare the armature. Stick a straight pin into the base of the tree to add stability when 'planted'. Clip the pin head off after inserting the pin. [ Guests cannot view attachments ]
2. Pull a very small amount of poly fiber from the bag. About 1/2x1/2x1/4 inch section will do. The sections do not and should not be exactly the same size - just keep them fairly small. [ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ]
3. Pull the piece apart so it is the density of a three dimensional spider web. Be sure to pull the fiber out in all three dimensions rather than making 'sheets'. [ Guests cannot view attachments ]
4. Starting at the bottom of the armature, place the fiber on a single branch of the armature. Try not to span multiple branches - each branch should get its own fiber. Note that I have done three separate branches in this photo: [ Guests cannot view attachments ]
