How to Make Trees and Shrubs


Cika tetreb,

This whole thread has a wealth of information about making realistic looking trees. It is a long read, but well worth it if you are interested in making fantastic trees.

As far as making leaves goes, you can make your own flock using the following tutorial that I found:
http://www.dansresincasting.com/Ground foam.htm

I have tried it myself and it works really well. You can use a series of kitchen sieves of varying screen sizes to produce several levels of granularity.
 
Thanks for the tip ill try it ,i just need to find that cine of sponge....,anyhow i am making a diorama of little mountain stream that becomes a small lake , iv used the paper clishe technique to make the ground(levels, texture,the body of a diorama, im not sure how you call it) and painted it iv also made a trench ,and two holes where the solders can hide like an ambushing position , in it i wanted to really make it realistic(that way its more fun :D) so i need to make some short grass,some high (long) grass, some bushes and tress (for them im using the back of an sponge,and copper wire ,now il try to use the sawdust,and some other techniques that will make the log look more realictic) .
For grass iv tried using saw gust(too short,and not realistic) ,iv tried using the back of an sponge 9good to make bushes and moss,but not that good for grass) , the newest way iv tried is painting a rope and cutting and spreading it into smaller pieces , but its not like static grass you cant blow it into the diorama, and it wont stand up when you turn your diorama upside down or blow (maiby it will bu just a bit) i don't know which glue to use iv tried mixing wood glue9white0 with water , and it just falls off ,iv tried only wood glue but its aider wherry small (it doesn't stand up weary much) or it has lots of holes and places without grass(it stands up, but not good),i cant use super glue or something similar , it would cost a fourteen.
SO DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEAS???
And of course thanks!:)
 
Hi everyone , i see nobody answered to my past post , what a bummer.... :(
Anyhow does anyone know is moss good to make grass and tall grass ,and will it eventually rotten or day-out , i know if i cloud make it with static grass there would be no problem , and it would stay like that forever, and iv heart that if you put glycerin (so it doesn't change the color) and than put hare spray it will be protected, but how long????
And the essential question how can i make tall grass without the specialized materials and which glue should i use???????????
Thanks!!!:)
 
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actually I did answer your post about making grass... some people like artificial fur died green. Model Railroad had an article about a Tokyo layout where they used green fur to make grass.
You can also use ground foam (see two posts above) for grass cover as well...
Try both approaches and see what you like best!
 
Thanks OCN Guy ! :)

But i was wondering ,you guys have solved my problem about short grass and moss (can i use the flock for tree levees ? ) ,but what would be the best chose for long grass (i want to make it so my 1:72 solders can stealth and make an ambush) :

1.should i use a rope ,speed it , cut it into smaller pieces,the grass would be very thin and it would get in a bunch
2.should i use the top of an brush ,the grass would be a bit fatter and it would be able to fall separately(i think )
3.to use natural moss
4.to to use something else
And of course THANKS! :D
 
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If someone was wondering Cika(Čika) miens mister but like when a child speaks to an or about an man who he doesn't know well but hes parents know him (mister Jack) tetreb is a cine of bird from the chicken family exact it is an wild animal.
this is a tetreb:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrao
you call it tetrao :D
 
Thanks OCN Guy ! :)

But i was wondering ,you guys have solved my problem about short grass and moss (can i use the flock for tree levees ? ) ,but what would be the best chose for long grass (i want to make it so my 1:72 solders can stealth and make an ambush) :

You can cut the fur as long or as short as you need... I've seen people use pet combs to pull the fibers and cut and glue the fibers. Some people like white glue, others swear by the spray adhesives.

I personally use Woodland Scenics for all my grass items, but others prefer the fur. What about the rest of you?
 
The problem is that i cant find fur, i can bud than i would aider need to buy furry clothes (too expensive) or to buy a deed stuff animal (that wot work).
Iv seen a good idea on this website
http://www.modelhut.com/
it looks nice and realistic(atliest on the photo and he says its good) , but i don't quite understand what is it and where in the couch did he find it can someone post a photo or explain it to me ,
 
Can anyone show me a technique to put long grass,iv seen lots of vies to do that, but noting works, the blow the grass and hold the diorama almost doesn't have any effect, the idea to make small holes and use a needle to put the the grass in doesn't work i just get the grass all around the room,the technique to strait the grass with a brush works halfly, i manage to straiten the grass but i get lots of gaps.
I used wood glue(two kinds) but i need to put a lot of it , it takes a long time to dry,and it just wets all the grass and i get a mixture of grass and glue, iv tried universal glue , non colored , but it only a nit better than the wood glue ,it straitens the grass more ,but it makes bigger gaps, the last iv tried is the revel pro modeling glue , the one with a needle , its good but the cardboard iv tried to experiment on just sucked almost all of the glue , and it would cost me rely a lot because i would need to buy about 30 bottles!:(
So does anyone know a way to make long grass , how to glue it , and what glue should i sue????
Always thanks! :)
 
tall grass - hair clips

Can anyone show me a technique to put long grass,i

1) You can use static grass. There are videos on YouTube on how to make a static grass applictor. Model Railroad Hobiest magazine (online for free) had an artiicle in the last two years about static grass and making an applicator.

2) The March 2005 Model Railroad Craftsman magazine had an article on modeling grass with fake fur and other techniques.

3) Woodland Scenics grass (dyed hair). I saw an article about using hair clips to hold the grass vertical while the glue is drying. The author would do several rows of grass with the hair clips, then fill in between by hand when the first rows were dry. Mainline Modeler magazine had an article about Making grass in Jan 2005. This may be the article I saw.

4) Woodland Scenics green poly fiber does an OK job modeling grass from a distance. Not for a whole field but in small clumps.

Good Luck, - Ned

PS: Since this thread is mainly about trees you may want to ask a new question in the main Scenery Forum.
 
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Hy everyone , its me , who would a fought.....:D
I had fount, developed and created a enchant way to make grass for dioramas completely by your own ,and it looks good :D
Okay pretend you didn't reed that :rolleyes: , anyhow iv toke a peace of stiropolm (iv didn't spell it correctly, sorry) and put some wood glue (white glue) and left it for a few minutes so it got stickier and a lot better, the next ting iv done is that i took the green rope that i made and cut it in size of long grass, the main trick is not to cut all of it and then to put it on glue , but to cut pieces of it , you first cut a longer part , about 4com, ( i think that about 2 inches) and you bend it in half , and cut it whit scissors, than repeat that until you have have cut the whole piece of the rope and you take the bunch of grass looking threads and put them on the glue (do not throw them gently press the ends to the glue ) next you can use a tooth pick to put the grass that is not glued nice in place ,and you can tap it a bit with the tooth pick ,next you can add some other tings to make the grass look more realistic(iv used some kind of a grass that gas weary small flowers or seeds ) next you tap it with a tooth pick (more precise) , or with your finger, that way you make the grass became smaller because when you push it it dives more and more into the glue. <- this is the stage im in now so ill just let the glue to settle .
What il do next is im gonna use a comb to get the unwanted, and unglued grass out, and then im gonna use water colors to paint the ends( the light green if you want spring and summer grass, the light brown if you want autumn , and yellow if you want the hot summer days, or again autumn, and if you want to make a dark fores grass you can use a bit of black, please everyone correct me if i am wrong im not that good with colors).

This is something iv discovered this evening, and im still experimenting with it, but it seams quite good so ill let you know how is it.

So what do you think about it?????
 
A BIG Thank You

Thank you to all but especially Jos as I know English is not your first language and you have to translate. You have been very generous with your time and techniques.

I have read this thread about trees several times and have learned a lot.

I found this thread by searching for furnace filter trees! But Jos has me anxious to try wire armatures.

I am experimenting with some different techniques and will post results - hopefully soon. - Ned Carey
 
Thanks Ned Carey!
I am very patient ;) and will wait 'till I see your interpretation of trees and what kind of thechniques you use (or combine....)

Hello Cika tetreb,
as Ned carey already wrote:

PS: Since this thread is mainly about trees you may want to ask a new question in the main Scenery Forum.
so please open a new thread in the "SCENERY " part of this big forum!:)
It is very close....just 2 or 3 "clicks" away;)

Jos
 
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Halo , its me again but this time im asking about trees .:)
Iv been making trees before , i used a copper wire and i just separate it more and more until i get nice branches and used the back of an sponge for the treetop , now iv learned that i can mix the sawdust with glue and put it on the wire to make the tree trunk look more realistic , and that i can use some cine of filterfibers and glue on them something that will look like leafs .

So i wanted to ask , can i use fibers from a fish filter that iv bought (for my fishes , there's some left over ) in a pet shop , and do i use hair spray to glue the leafs.


And of course THANKS!
 
First trees

Here are some pic. of my first serious attempt at tree Making.

The left two trees are "Jack Work" type trees. (Originally described by Jack in a 1950's Model Railroader Magazine). It is a tapered dowel with Bark texture scribed by dragging a razor saw along the length. I drilled holes and attached dried Caspia branches.

Actually instead of starting with a dowel I used Chopsticks. They are already tapered but generally need final shaping. Don't get bamboo ones - too hard to carve. Also many are square, but I found a pack of cheap wood ones with a nice round taper. I put a point on them with an electric pencil sharpener. (sadly I can't find more)

The 3rd tree from the left is a Furnace Filter type tree.

The last tree which is the best close up in person is a combination of Jos' techniques with the "Jack Work" style. Instead of building up a wire armature from scratch I drilled holes in a dowel and added the wire branches.

While this is not a flexible as Jos' techniques, there is a LOT less wire twisting!:) I also found it faster than the "jack Work" type trees. I found the drilling and insertion of wires went much faster because the wires are flexible and mush less delicate than dried Caspia.
View attachment 23186

Some of the Caspia trees did not come out very well. Because of the variation of each piece, some had a very ragged appearance. However in a group even the bad ones look OK See below.
View attachment 23185

I will post more pics techniques and questions soon. - Ned
 
Thank for the tips , the trees look very nice ,i would show my earlier trees , but i don't know where to upload them , but you still didnt answer my question:

So i wanted to ask , can i use fibers from a fish filter that iv bought (for my fishes , there's some left over ) in a pet shop , and do i use hair spray to glue the leafs.


And of course THANKS! :)
 



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