# What twigs for trees?



## c&nwman (Dec 30, 2009)

Now I know some of you railees make your own decidious and pine trees. We all know if you start buying armatures, it adds up. Looking to see what kind of bush/tree twigs you have used for trunks/trees with nice branch spread and also able to hold clump foliage once its glued on. Does natural twigs and such last? Trying for about the 3 to 6 inch area in height. The wire twisting thing for trunks etc looks like a pain in the tuckiss.


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*Check out Model Railroader!*

I'm making trees out of Sedum which is nothing more than a filler weed for gardens. The mature plants grow stalks that are staight and tall,also hollow) that can be cut in log length for forrest floors. I have over 125 trees right now and though the process is a bit tedious...the results are spectacular and cost saving. So check out model railroader(Nov. 2009 I believe) and give it a whirl.:thumbsup:


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## c&nwman (Dec 30, 2009)

MacDaddy, just googled sedum, ouch 400 varieties! Can you narrow it down any? Don't recall seeing that around but will have to keep my eyes open. Do you hobby tack and dip these stems? May have to do some planting this spring!


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## alcoman (Nov 4, 2009)

For the wire armature pine trees, lots of people use cheap Christmas trees. Clip them to the desired length, trim into a pine shape, spray with cheap hairspray and dust with ground foam. There should be a how-to with photos around somewhere. It's a recuring theme in model magazines. And the trees can be had for nearly nothing, just check yard sales. I have a half dozen or so that people gave me so they would not have to store them.


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## subwayaz (Dec 26, 2009)

Whie I walk my Pups I break off dry Sage Brush for trees out SOuthwest here.
Makes for some neat trees. 
Natural always better if possible. Much cheaper also. Use along with some fish tanker filter material works for me. Will post pics later so you can see


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Been meaning to ask you, Sub....what subway is in AZ?


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## subwayaz (Dec 26, 2009)

Reckers said:


> Been meaning to ask you, Sub....what subway is in AZ?


Well Icame from NYC now in AZ


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*How many varieties!!*

Now thats a lot of Sedum!!:laugh: I saw the article in Modelrailroader and went right to my wife with "What the Heck is Sedum"? She just said its a Flower garden filler that starts small and as it matures gets about 2-3 Ft high. the best time to cultivate is after the first frost of autumn or just before the first smow of November.....its naturally dryer. I have two connects, one is my next door neighbor and the other is a Nature center here in town. My eyes popped out at the size of the plants and the tops. Cut the plants long with prunning shears or hand cutter. You'll get a butt load of logs and forrest floor stuff from the trimmings. All told I cut 4 out of six mature plants and I have 125 usable trees of all shapes and sizes(every part of the plant is usable. I dipped the entire stalk in a pickle bucket with a 4-1 water to Matte medium(you can use elmers glue but it doesnt feel right) probably double the amount to get the entire stalk dunked for about 15-20 seconds. Then you take a sheet of insulation (2inch is fine with pre puched holes) stick the trees in and let them dry overnight. The article said upside down but I had them both upside down and rightside up. Go to Walmart and get some stick pins or sewing needles 250 for $1.75 cut the heads off and they will fit in the hollow centers of the stalks.use gorilla glue..makes a great handle for the next step. Spray paint them with Primer grey, dry them overnight then your ready for the foliage. Take any colored course and fine ground turf....put into a icecream bucket...then take another bucket with 1 part elmers glue and 1 water, dunk the canopy tops then take a paint brush to wip away any residue on the trunks, dunk the heads in the foliage and sprinle fine turf to fill in any open spaces. Dry them overnight and you have one heck of a tree. You can also use treated stalks for dead trees during autumn. My daughter is taking an African Life studies cours and wants me to make a diorama of the Veldt with lions ,elephants etc. after adding everything up you still can't find a cheaper way to do this and the results are spectacular. Check out Model Railroader Nov. 2009 its worth it. Hope this helped!:thumbsup: PS. Don't discard the solutions if you cover then tightly you can reuse them...but do strain them or your house will smell like last years garden...ooops


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Where's the pictures, Mac?


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*By the Beard of Alexander Graham Bell...here we go!*



Reckers said:


> Where's the pictures, Mac?


Well I'm attempting to send pictures to this link so here goes nothing er something

HAHAHAH...it worked!!!


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## c&nwman (Dec 30, 2009)

Thanks MacDaddy for the scoop on the article. I can't find the article so you've helped me out quite a bit. Just picked up a tree kit from Hobby Lobby. 30% off WS stuff. Yippe, a dunkin we will go.....


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*No problem!!*

My son goes to the U. of Minnesota and they have a model railroad club.....they spent a day making what looks like FANGORN FORREST!!
I'll try to post the photos but with my ancient gateway it could take an hour or a day!


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*Lets try this again!*

This had better work!! Fangorn Forrest Part 2 from the U of Minnesota!:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## c&nwman (Dec 30, 2009)

MacDaddy55 said:


> This had better work!! Fangorn Forrest Part 2 from the U of Minnesota!:thumbsup::thumbsup:


Mac! Those are really great looking trees! That's what we need an assembly line. Do they work cheap, and do they travel?:laugh:


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*They Would walk a 1,000,000 miles!*

Great bunch of kids and instructors that have dedicated themselves to bringing railroading to the student population and community. the website has a train watching section of all the hotspots arround campus. Before Ian graduates I might have to make a donation of money and materials to the Club. I'll have to post more pictures of what the Lads are up to!:thumbsup:


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Is that your sedum, Mac?


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*No way MAN!*

Dang Reck, I'm not THAT FAST! Those boys can cover more layouts than A Playboy centerfold!:laugh:


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## roger (Jan 12, 2010)

good lookin trees. now how do i make fall trees out of all this you know orange red brown ect?.


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

MacDaddy55 said:


> Dang Reck, I'm not THAT FAST! Those boys can cover more layouts than A Playboy centerfold!:laugh:


Mac, my naive innocence prevents me from responding. *L* My reason for asking was I wanted to know what they were using. Some of those trees looked like perfect minatures of trees on the African veldt. Not that I've been there, but I watch the Discovery Channel.


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

The lads used a combination of course ground turf and ground lichen in a varied green scheme. The only thing that stands out is they Fluffed the trees to look fuller....I'll have to ask how they accomplished that trick.....and I know its not a problem getting the info. I'll try to post more photos.......but again that darn computer of mine!


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Believe me, Mac, I understand. Tankist tries to help me, but every time he says, "You just..." my mind can't seem to wrap around what comes next!


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## roger (Jan 12, 2010)

*leaves*

looks good . now how can i make some ho fallen leaves for ground cover.


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*The Book Says!*

I guess you just mix different colored coarse ground turf outside the radius of the tree....if you do conifers(pine trees) closely cut straw the color of Burnt orange....one guy used shredded wheat.......but forgot the milk and sugar!!


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## roger (Jan 12, 2010)

what about orange and red and yello trees?


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Hi all,

Just jumping in on this post...

As a newbie, I've tackled a fun HO layout for the kids over the past few weeks, including home-made trees. I figured I'd go out into the backyard, quickly snip a few twigs/branches, glue on some lichen, and call it a day. Easier said than done. This (real) tree's branches were too big, that tree's too straight without enough branch-offs, etc. I hunted around the yard (and yes, my neighbor's yard, too!), and finally stumbled on a small "winter berry" bush in our front yard. It's bare this time of year, and the size/bend/breaks of the branches were just about right for a nicely scaled lot of HO trees.

(I had to snip, of course, when my wife wasn't looking!)


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## Mit (Feb 12, 2010)

I use seedum to create trees. I enjoy it for small to medium trees, i take several and cut and glue braches from one to another adding structure to branch network. When finished with one removing the branches i use the left over (dead tree) to make white (paper) birch. Simply paint them white and add lines with a gel pen. Should the skin of the seedum peel, simply give it a quick spray with glue or hairspray and paint the under bottom white and the "peel" a rusty orange. This makes good downed trees as well, since birch decays rapidly. Lie several small pieces in a "line" near a stump for fallen trees. Leaves for trees i use colored lichen stretched over small black wire. light green for spring medium summer and yellow for fall.


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*Great Trees!*

Hey Mit,
I'm glad someone else has found Sedum....and its effect on Model Trees. To look at the plant and come out with a realistic tree is a great feeling. Boy if I had known about this stuff earlier!:thumbsup::thumbsup::laugh:


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## Mit (Feb 12, 2010)

MacDaddy, do u remove the seed heads from your seedum? I do then crush it for it ground cover, it's a little painful at first but i found an old pair mustaches trimmers at a yard sale to speed up the removal grinding process. This leaves me with blank branches to start with.


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

I use the seed heads as well.....when sprinkling both course and fine ground cover over the glue dipped heads you get some residual brown flex coming through the green tops. looks pretty realistic. Do you use a scale ruler to measure your various trees. Some of my larger trees I put in lower elevations....bottoms of hill near over passes etc. Sedum is a great source of material for ground cover, apple orchards logged out areas. I use every part of the plant and it has saved me alot of cash. Did you read the Nov. issue of Model Railroader(great article on sedum trees).:thumbsup:


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*First Batch of Trees!*

After tweaking some of MR techiques of Sedum Tree Making......The new wave in Cheap Tree Design!:thumbsup:


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*More Trees!*

This computer is a DINOSAUR!:laugh::laugh:


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## Mit (Feb 12, 2010)

Wow Mac those are nice:thumbsup:! Have ever trimmed branches from one and glued to othrs for fuller branched trees?


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*Fangorn forrest...lives!*

Yeah Mit,
The next batch has several combined stems and the results are HUGE. I have to spray paint them and wait at least a day for the paint to really set. So I should have them done by Wed. Once you get going its almost assembly line construction!:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Mit (Feb 12, 2010)

Here are a few of my attempts: From pine cone bushes and cedar trees, to fall color and ill trees. The twisted birch is sunflower root, the "fallen tree" is seedum (red seedum) as is the birch. the what will become a "beauty bush or dogwood" shrub is from fetch grass. The cat tails are .010 fish line and artificial tree leaves.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Mit said:


> Here are a few of my attempts: From pine cone bushes and cedar trees, to fall color and ill trees. The twisted birch is sunflower root, the "fallen tree" is seedum (red seedum) as is the birch. the what will become a "beauty bush or dogwood" shrub is from fetch grass. The cat tails are .010 fish line and artificial tree leaves.


They look great.:thumbsup:
Put me down for three birch trees and ten clumps of the cattails.

But make them in O gauge please.
Do you take PayPal?


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*Outstanding!*

Hey Mit 
Those are some great looking trees/cattails.......I haven't started my birch project yet but i WILL use your photos as a model. Great work!:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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