Trees the hard way!

[Tyson Rayles]

First off there will be 10 posts so please hold off on a response till it's done if you can. These are too large for N or Z, the smaller ones are O.K. for HO and the medium and large are excellent for S, O and G. These are not cheap ( by my standards ), I can here Pete or Mike or Vic saying that guy ain't never had no standards! . The cost is about $3 each when you get used to making em'.The main parts are "Forest in a Flash" and caulking (any kind that's not 100% silicone).

 

[Tyson Rayles]

You are good for 3-5 trees outta that package, depending on what size you want, The next thing to do is to remove the regular leaves, be sure to get as many of the smaller ones on higher up as you can.

 

[Tyson Rayles]

After you get a half dozen or so (depending on the size tree you want) cleaned, bunch em' together with a toothpick sticking down lower than the stalks and wire em' together with thin wire, thread or floral tape. Then take a caulking gun and apply up and down the trunk. Take a toothpick and do the final speading around. This will leave the caulking somewhat rough which is good cause it resembles bark somewhat. After it has cured for a few hours you can use the back of a exacto blade to carve on it some more if you want more bark detail.

 

[Tyson Rayles]

BTW I stick the tree thru a small square of wax paper so I have a way to hold it without the paint or caulking getting all over me.

 

[Tyson Rayles]

After it has cured overnite paint the base coat on it ( use water based paints as the other will attack the caulk ), making sure to also paint the branches that are the most noticeable. Let dry for at least 1 hour.

 

[Tyson Rayles]

At this point take a single edge razor blade (be very careful here folks, hard to model if you are missing fingers ) and carfully cut between the roots and the wax paper. Yes some wax paper willend up on the bottom of the tree and vice versa, but it won't be enough to matter. The reason you do this now is so if you end up exposing any of the snow white caulk you can paint over it when you do the highlighting. Also when you are done get you will probably need a fresh square of wax paper.

 

[Tyson Rayles]

When you were appying the caulking with the toothpick you can drag some out onto the wax paper from the trunk to create roots. This is where the caulk is handy cause it doesn't harden anytime soon so the roots are flexible, which lets you mold em' to the terrain when you plant em'.

 

[Tyson Rayles]

Now you can put on the final paint. I usually mix some burnt sennia and sepia and cadium orange to make a med. reddish orangeish color which using the dry brush technique I "dab" onto the trunk, kinda splocthing it on. Be careful you can overdo this you want the effect to be subtle. If you over do it don't fret. Just paint the base coat on again and start over. After that is done give it at least 1 hour to dry. Then using a med. gray dry brush all the tops of the ridges etc.

 

[Tyson Rayles]

You can "fluff" up the tree by putting the branches where you want em' to a certain extent. The branches have a certain amount of memory. Don't kill yourself trying to make the perfect tree. Once its on the layout you will be able to see it from only a couple of angles so if it has a "bad" side put it towards the back!

 

[Tyson Rayles]

This is a "medium" as you can see it's way to big for N-Scale!

 

[Tyson Rayles]

They tend to be a spring green, if you want you can spray a med. dark green (flat of course) straight down from the top to darken em' if you want. Not counting time for caulk or paint to dry the actual working time when you get used to doing em' is about 30 min. per tree. O.K. I'm done now, everybody have a good laugh?