Cheep Fir Trees

They may be cheap to make, but there's nothing cheap looking about them, nice work. I would really like to see them posted in the ModelRailroadForums http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/index.php? I'm sure many others would appreciate this work, Nicely done, thanks for posting
Willis

How-to requested by viewer: From article in RMC, somewhat altered by me. Trunks are carved/whittled from cedar scraps sold for kindling at Alberstons in US, from a mill in Canada, no less. I make sure they go right down to a point on the top, many modelers don't bother getting the top right. It does take a lot more whittling to produce a suitable tapered trunk. I don't try to get it exactly round either, the branches disguise that later. Then I paint the trunk with cheap flat brown latex house paint I got as a wrong mixed paint at a local store for $5 a gallon. After that is dry, I dry brush on some grayish paint purchased same way. The branches are Woodland Scenics Foliage #F53 dark green. It is a fibrous mat with foam glued to it. Cut the mat into tapered strips and then cut those into roughly square pieces. Pull on the corners of each piece to stretch the fabric making it light and airy looking and not a dense square. If the piece tears in two, use it for a smaller branch. The wide end of the tapered strip can be around 1.5" tapering to around .5". Then apply a bit of glue (I use white, which dries transparent) to the bottom of the trunk (about 1/3 up from the bottom of a taller tree), and skewer a larger branch piece down from the top. Put another dab of glue about 1/2 to 3/4 inch above and skewer another branch slightly smaller than the first. Stagger the corners so they are not in line with the branch below. Work your way up to the tip of the tree. The last branch or two can be made from bits of material torn off during the stretching process. For the last little bit at the very tip, I use just a small bit of glue and touch the tip against a tiny bit of foam/fabric scrap.