Sagebrush for tree armatures.


montanan

montanan

Whiskey Merchant
Here are a couple of pictures showing how well sagebrush works for making trees. After trimming the sagebrush to the desired shape, I either use clump ground foam (woodland Scenics) and a glue gun. It is a little time consuming, but works well. You can also use polyfiber. Stretch it over the sagebrush in small areas. I then I use the finer ground foam. What works for me as an adhesive is the cheapest hair spray, I have used Spary Net, and after spraying, I shake the desired color of foam onto the poly fiber. Spray again and add more foam is needed, and after the tree looks the way you want it, a final spray to seal it all up. To set the tree, I use a short piece of brass rod. I drill a hole in the center of the bottom and super glue about a half to five eights length of rod into the base (trunk) of the tree, and then drill a hole into the scenery where I want the tree. I prefer the brass rod because if you accidentally bump the tree, the rod will not snap off. If you need to get into an area to do work, the trees are easily pick up and moved out of the way, and then replaced when the work is done with no damage to the trees. The sagebrush give a great impression of bark on the tree. They're a bit of work, but worth the trouble. Fortunately we have an abundance of sagebrush here in Montana. I have shipped it to friends all over the country.
 
I've always been amazed at the realistic texture of sagebrush trees. It makes the ideal tree armature. Sadly for me, there's not a lot of sagebrush floating around here in the Hoosier state. :(

Jim
 
Nice work! I use to live in Livingston and had an abundance of sagebrush just driving minutes away from my house. I'm a few hours away from any of that since I moved to Oregon. Perhaps when I'm stuck in a siding meeting the fleet I could step off and get a big bag of it and take it home with me.

Does it get brittle over time or does it hold up well?

Joel
 
h8_1601 said:
Nice work! I use to live in Livingston and had an abundance of sagebrush just driving minutes away from my house. I'm a few hours away from any of that since I moved to Oregon. Perhaps when I'm stuck in a siding meeting the fleet I could step off and get a big bag of it and take it home with me.

Does it get brittle over time or does it hold up well?

Joel
Click to expand...

I had a good friend who used to be maintenence supervisor for Burlington Northern in Livingston. It can get a little brittle over time, but nothing I can't live with. A few years back I had two big requests for sagebrush, one from the owner of a large layout, and the other was a large model railroad club. No problem finding sagebrush out here. Filled up a 30 gallon trash bag in no time.
 
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I have a pretty much unlimited supply of it. It makes great kindling. I will have to try some out to see how it works.


Buzz.
 
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For us non-westerners, we have ScenicExpress.com. They offer the stuff in bulk at a fairly reasonable price. For added variety, try varying the material you use for the leaf canopy. Finer grades of ground foam work, but try using Noch leaf foliage for a more-defined leaf structure.

Here are some helpful links:

SuperTree brand sagebrush - bulk
http://www.sceneryexpress.com/products.asp?dept=1007

The Noch foliage can be viewed here
http://www.sceneryexpress.com/prodinfo.asp?number=NH07151

I have had very good results using these products.

Here is a shot from the layout which has some trees and vines made using both of these materials -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pa-archives/7807492362/in/photostream/lightbox/
 
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PApat said:
For us non-westerners, we have ScenicExpress.com. They offer the stuff in bulk at a fairly reasonable price. For added variety, try varying the material you use for the leaf canopy. Finer grades of ground foam work, but try using Noch leaf foliage for a more-defined leaf structure.

Here are some helpful links:

SuperTree brand sagebrush - bulk
http://www.sceneryexpress.com/products.asp?dept=1007

The Noch foliage can be viewed here
http://www.sceneryexpress.com/prodinfo.asp?number=NH07151

I have had very good results using these products.

Here is a shot from the layout which has some trees and vines made using both of these materials -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pa-archives/7807492362/in/photostream/lightbox/
Click to expand...

I do vary what I use for foliage, and have used some of these products. I just wish that I had a decent hobby shop close by. Nothing for hundreds of miles that is decent. I had a pretty good stock of Woodland Scenics products, but do order some items from internet hobby shops when I can find one source that can supply everything that I need.
 
I recommend the ScenicExpress.com site. I was referred by others, and they have worked out well for me.

-bill
 
I have used bare sagebrush as a winter tree thusly:

Crandells-snow.png
 
What I show above is HO. That is an HO Atlas Master Series Fairbanks-Morse H24-66 "Trainmaster". The sage piece is very slightly pared down, but hardly at all. The bush makes all sorts of suitable armatures, although I can't honestly say I have appraised it for N scale. O Scale would also be quite doable, but more for large bushes than for outright trees, say an elm or a large maple.
 
I use it in N, but it takes a little selective pruning to get a chunk that's the right size. I haven't found much of anything that's 'perfect' for N, but many things are okay with a little work. It also makes good deadfall/driftwood/whatever.
 
I know the topic is sagebush but i live in upper michigan, im not sure if this grows around me or not???

Is there a different type of bush i can use if i cant get ahold of sagebush??? I like the idea of going outside and finding what i need for my layout, since i like to consider myself a budget modeler.
 
joed2323 said:
I know the topic is sagebush but i live in upper michigan, im not sure if this grows around me or not???

Is there a different type of bush i can use if i cant get ahold of sagebush??? I like the idea of going outside and finding what i need for my layout, since i like to consider myself a budget modeler.
Click to expand...

I live in sagebrush-deprived Indiana. The best natural tree armatures I've found are the dead bloom stems from a Spirea bush in my front yard. Do a Google search to see what the bush looks like. If they grow here in the Hoosier state, I'd say it's a good bet you have some there in Michigan as well.

DSC02014.jpg


It's not sagebrush or Supertree quality, but with some selective pruning and adding green polyfiber and coarse ground foam held in place with cheap hairspray, they're passable. And the total cost per tree is probably fractions of a penny.

Now, if some westerner just felt like gathering up a bunch of sagebrush and mailing it to me, I'd let them.... ;)

Jim
 
Jim,
They look great. As stated above, you can also vary the material you use for your leaves. Noch makes some great foliage material that is spot-on for HO and O sized trees.

This image shows the material pretty well and it's available in at least three shades of green, ranging from light green to dark olive colors.

index.php


-bill
 
I looked all over the Texas hill country last week and couldn't find any sagebrush.
 
Next time I go to my ranch I will have to bring some home...I have about 80 acres of the stuff.
 
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