whata ya think Val
- Thread starter jim currie
- Start date
Jim, for a 'first' it's a whopping success!
Now I wonder how you'll improve on the second...
Ron
.
Now I wonder how you'll improve on the second...
Ron
.
Jim,
Nice work - I need a whole bunch like that for a winter scene... How about a "How-to"?
Thanks!
Andrew
Nice work - I need a whole bunch like that for a winter scene... How about a "How-to"?
Thanks!
Andrew
Jim,I wish I could have gotten my trees to look that good.My tree making was so bad I gave up and buy ready made trees from Woodland Scenics..Great job. :thumb:
doctorwayne said:
welding cable and acrilic paint they are not too hard to make. will try to get a how to put togather Andrew.
very nice Jim.
I too would love a "how to" on dead trees, all the magazines articles I have seen are on creating live trees.
I too would love a "how to" on dead trees, all the magazines articles I have seen are on creating live trees.
jim currie said:welding cable and acrilic paint they are not too hard to make. will try to get a how to put togather Andrew.
How is the bark detail on the trunk? The detail kind of disappears in the photos. If you need a little more "body" to make bark detail than the paint gives, you might try a bit of Sculptimold on the lower extremities of the trunks.
Russ my diga cam is not good at close ups but the bark texture is there i use Liquitex texture gel its a clear acrilic medium with marble dust mixed in you can tint it with Liquitex tube colors.
Chessie6459
Gauge Oldtimer
jim currie said:
Great! Those trees look great, and you've answered the only question I had about them. Here is a tip for anyone who may not have access to welding cable. You can get "florist's wire" cheap from a craft store. Cut 6-12 pieces an inch or so longer than the height you want your finished trees to stand and twist the wire together to make your trunk. Then as you go up, bend a few strands out of the bundle and twist them together to make your branches. The more wires you start with the bigger around the trunk will be at the bottom. For those in the South who want to do Cypress trees in the swamp or lakes, use the same technique, but start your trunk about 1" from the bottom, and then make your roots the same way you would make branches by twisting together the 1" end pieces two or three strands at a time.
Jim...
Russ mentions up to about a dozen strands of wire, but your trees seem to have many more branch ends than that... but without a huge bulk at the base. What is the secret?
Anxiously awaiting your "how to" thread
Andrew
Russ mentions up to about a dozen strands of wire, but your trees seem to have many more branch ends than that... but without a huge bulk at the base. What is the secret?
Anxiously awaiting your "how to" thread
Andrew
I think it is because he used welding cable which is made up of many very fine copper wires. The problem is that I'm not sure how small a quantity of welding cable you can buy at your local welding supply store. If you can buy a few feet of welding cable, then that would be the best thing to use. If you need to buy the cables in 25 foot lengths, that could get expensive. For anyone who isn't familier with welding cable, the individual wires are probably 1/2 the diameter of the individual wires used in automotive battery cable.
Russ the florest wire is a good tip the diametre of welding strands is .010 battery cable is .025 diameter varies slightely from different makers.the welding cable i'm using i got because some one cooked the jacket with a cutting torch one place you might look is a salvage yard or check at a local welding shop to see if they have damaged cable that they would sell at a cheep price(the reason i say buy is because there is a salvage value to it) two foot of 4/0 cable will make a slug of tree's.
This is a tree I made just like Russ suggested. I don't remember how many strands I used, but it must have been about a dozen. Florist wire is a very soft iron wire. Here you get it 'natural' (bare iron wire) or green (plastic covered). I prefer the bare wire, since after forming the tree you can solder the twisted strands together. This way it won't fall apart later by untwisting itself.
When I had finished the wire skeleton I smeared some spackle compount over the trunk and the thicker branches, then I painted the whole thing a brownisch grey.
For the foliage I worked some dark brown tinted lichen into the tree crown, then added some Woodland Scenic coarse turf.
Ron
When I had finished the wire skeleton I smeared some spackle compount over the trunk and the thicker branches, then I painted the whole thing a brownisch grey.
For the foliage I worked some dark brown tinted lichen into the tree crown, then added some Woodland Scenic coarse turf.
Ron
