How to Make Trees and Shrubs


Hello Dave,

I couldn't find the text: "made in ..." but here is a picture of the "piece de resistance":
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I think you could buy these extensions in shops where the sell theaterstuff or : waiting 'till the end of this year: Halloween! I think they sell these kind of "extensions" too in black!
Overhere it is almost "Carnaval" so shops are overdone with these things!

btw:
Next we'll be asking for the barbor to save the cut hair from the floor for us. :)
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In Great Brittain, in the Pendonmuseum they use indeed real human hair for scenery! and the results are awesome, like real! I think they use the hair to modell the roofs of the cottages!! Have a look overhere! : http://www.pendonmuseum.com/about/vale.php
Jos
 
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Dollar Stores

Dollar Stores might also have them. I've been using some to make grass tufts and bullrushes. A light brushing of a green you want will adhere and give you various colours as well.

Roy
 
Very Impressive Jos and others who contributed.

I plan to make my own HO trees a soon.
I've saved some scrap copper cable from a place I worked at and planed to use, but may be too fine of wire, I practiced a little with it. It's from Welding cable, probbly about 5/8" thick (15cm) total but has several smaller wound cables within to make the one larger. Each single one has the correct size for a trunk to start with.
 
Excellent tutorial Jos. Just read through all 35 pages. I'm just starting out with my tree-making, but it's good fun. For speed most of my trees will be sea foam, which I'll replace as time permits

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Looking forward to seeing more of your trees

Jon
 
Jos, I am wondering how you make the base of your trees thicker from the top down? Are you wrapping more wire at the base or are you increasing the thickness with layers of glue and saw dust until you have the desired thickness?

Also did anyone find a suitable equivalent to the Deco Twister fiber here in North America yet? Like Ned I also contacted the shop that Jos is talking about but the shipping from Europe to Canada kind of ruins the idea.

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Here is one that I twisted up the other night just to give it a try. Sorry for the bad picture. I am a little lost as to how Jos is increasing the trunk thickness at the base as mentioned above. I have unlimited saw dust and glue and I am also able to get 2, 4 and 6mm fibers. The issue seems to be the Deco Twister fiber.
 
Hi Brad,

the shipping from Europe to Canada kind of ruins the idea.
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Isn't it possible to post the fibers in a( or 2) strong envelope(s)? the shipping will be less than 6 dollars per envelope!
The idea about this is to get/make the "package" with fibers vacuum( air out of it)....so they will be very flat!

I am a little lost as to how Jos is increasing the trunk thickness at the base as mentioned above
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For the base of the trunk I use mostly a wire that is stronger( 0,6 mm) than the ones I use for the branches/twigs!( 0,4 mm)
Besides this I use on the (base of the) trunk mostly 2 ore more layers of sawdust!
For strong branches also twice with sawdust and for the small branches tall twigs only one layer of very fine sawdust.
Let each layer of sawdust dry when starting a new layer. Also add some dishdetergent to the deluted whiteglue.
For the first layer I use white glue that is just slighly deluted ...for the next layers I use strong deluted whiteglue( about 1/2 whiteglue- 1/2 water+ drops detergent)
To immitate the bark I use fine turf"soil"from woodland as the final layer and only on the lower parts of the tree= trunkbase- trunk and lower strong branches....
let it dry for one night( in summer in the sun= 1 hour...;-))
finaly the frame will be dipped in a can with latexwallpaint in a treetrunklike color= mostly greygreenbrown....( just watch nature!)

If you need more info just ask/write !

Jos

ps: picture isn't bad at all
 
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Hello

Hello Grove den

I was watching your post and i really wanted to make tress to look like yours.Well, i still have a lot to learn, but i think i made a pretty one.

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What do you think?
 
Hello "Zooladi"(?),

What I think about your trees??
What do you realy think about your own trees... I mean what do you think you could expect in the future when your skills will increase??...Are you satisfied with this result or is it that you too want to increase the "look'of the tree, like a more transparant foliage or trying to make that special specimen of a tree like fir or beech or larch etc?
I realy find it very difficult to tell people what I think/people have to do to improve their modelltrees....there are so many factors involved ....
Well I give it a try anyway about what I think about this tree you made:
The foliage looks to vaste/dence and the branches/twigs could be a litlle bit more visable and shaped more natural/ like real
I am glad you choosed a more grey color for the bark of the trunk! =)
What kind( large/long or small/short) of grasfibers did you used before adding the fine turf??
Hope to see more trees in the future!=)

Jos
 
Hello,

Now i am at beginning and test my hand to improve my technique.The biggest problem is to find the right colour for the bark.The fiber i use is from a filter for the kitchen hood.i found it very good.Of course, it has to be modeled for loosen up the fiber, not to be so dense.For grassfibers i used parsley dust.i found it very cheap, useful, natural coloured.I hope in the future that i would improve my technique.I asked you what do you think about it because i needed another opinion.

Thank you.
 
Hello Zooladi,

I think first of all is to improve the frame of the tree. I mean the shape of the branches and the amount of the twigs...
You can't make enough twigs! because when to many...just cutt them away just like in real....
Of course after some trees you'll have some experience about the amount of branches and twigs but for the start just make as many as you think that are necessary....
When making a frame with many twigs you have to use the ( kitchen)fibers very spars! Do not forget , before adding the fine turf/corse turf, to glue some very fine grassfibrs over the perifery of the tree...these grassfibers are like the very small twigs on wich the leaves( = particals of fine turf/corse turrf) are placed in a irregular way ...just like in real!....
I do not use filterfibers used in kitchenhoods...they are to small/fine! But when stratching them out as far as youcan as it looks like there are almost no fibers glued on the frame I think you will get better results!
Just try and post the results= pictures too overhere!=)


Jos
 
Hello Grove den,

It is funny that you call me "zooladi" since my nickname is "zolaadi".
Well, since the real trees doesn't have a particular shape, they just grow without a certain way, i find that i can do the same thing as nature does: random growing.I'm really trying to imitate nature, using materials that could imitate the most our mother nature.As i said earlyer, my technique improves the more trees i make.I hope it will improve good enough, so when you look at a model picture, you will not realise it isn't real.

I give you some examples of that:

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Of course, without a photographic skill, it is hard to make a model look real.
 
Hello Adi,

Great modellingskills and nice building......but isn.t this a , sort of, modellTREEthread? So... discusing how to make trees and try to make them as if they look like ( almost) real?

Jos
 
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