# Best way to get inexpensive trees



## tkruger (Jan 18, 2009)

My new layout has allot more square footage and more rural area. For this reason I do not have enough trees. I am tired or pine trees. What is the best / least expensive way to get a variety of non pine trees? Leaning twords going with an early autumn look to add some color. They do not need to be 100% authentic but not toy like. Does anyone sell then in bulk?


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*Make your own!!*

Hey tkruger, you might be better off making your own trees as the expense is just astronomical. You can look for deals on Walthers and Ebay but spending the Winter hours knocking out Maple, Birch and Oak trees can be very satisfying. I just went over to my neighbors and cut down all their Sedum which makes great trees. Theres a Model Railroader article on how to do it from a November 2009 issue I believe. I have been making thse things for 6 yrs now and you can't make them cheaper then this,,,once you create an assembly line you can just crank them out!! Also in the How-To section I have an article that helps...Good Luck!!:thumbsup:


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*Take a look!*

Here's an older Pics of my Meat Packing Plant with some trees going into fall. Like I said its cheap and fun!!


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Ive used dried out plants from outside, dipped them in polyurethane , they hold up good on the layout. That is untill the cat got in the basement and ate them!


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

Check this Ebay item...390196263666...from the picture shown,they look quite decent.They may not be perfect for up close,but can fill a forest for a decent price.I haven't tried them yet but am planning to order some...at 12 cents a tree,not worthed the trouble and leaves time for other layout chores.

These are for N scale but same seller has a wide choice of colors and sizes for other scales also.


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## The New Guy (Mar 11, 2012)

MacDaddy55 said:


> Hey tkruger, you might be better off making your own trees...spending the Winter hours knocking out Maple, Birch and Oak trees... Sedum makes great trees.:thumbsup:


Here, here!

Dried Sedum make nice looking trees indeed. Cheap, and easy.

Varying the tone slightly from tree to tree makes a nicely realistic canopy.


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## tkruger (Jan 18, 2009)

Brakeman Jake said:


> Check this Ebay item...390196263666...from the picture shown,they look quite decent.They may not be perfect for up close,but can fill a forest for a decent price.I haven't tried them yet but am planning to order some...at 12 cents a tree,not worthed the trouble and leaves time for other layout chores.
> 
> These are for N scale but same seller has a wide choice of colors and sizes for other scales also.


I have many of those in use. They look good for small trees and a filler but are not great for the ones that are seen up-close or in 'main' areas. Something 'cookie cutter' about them in large groups. 

I do see they have other types though. The rounder ones may work better. Might have to get a pack and see.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

The New Guy;30162I said:


> Here, here!
> 
> Dried Sedum make nice looking trees indeed. Cheap, and easy.
> 
> Varying the tone slightly from tree to tree makes a nicely realistic canopy.


Is this sedum? Its what i used for trees.


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## Chet (Aug 15, 2014)

Too bad you're on the east coast. Here in the western states we have sage brush and they are perfect for trees. I figure that by making these myself, the cost is about 50 cents per tree.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Those are nice!


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## MtRR75 (Nov 27, 2013)

sjm9911 said:


> Is this sedum? Its what i used for trees.
> View attachment 39530


Looks like sedum to me. If it is not sedum it is something quite similar.


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## The New Guy (Mar 11, 2012)

Chet said:


>





sjm9911 said:


> Those are nice!


That entire scene is top shelf.

Good work.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Sjm9911 -- yes, that's sedum. I have tons of it in my garden.

For the OP, there really is no commercial tree that's going to be cheap. Here is what I did for a heavily forested area. Surround the area with 2-3 rows of nice trees, either commercial ones or your best hand-made work. Then raise the height of the terrain in the center to just below the tops of your trees. Foam, poly fiber, sticks, dowels, screen, or whatever works. Then, cut tufts of green polyfiber of varying sizes, dunk in diluted glue or matte medium, and sprinkle with ground foam in various shades. When dry, glue on the the forest center. This technique is quite inexpensive, and reproduces the look of the top of a forest canopy very convincingly.


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

You might get lucky and score some trees at the Dollar Tree. Every so often they have stuff in their crafting or toys section that isn't too bad, and with a little work can be made to look pretty good. And they're usually $1 for a package of two.


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

I probably have around 80 pine trees from Dollar Tree on my layout. They were initially very cheap. To "tweak" them a little bit I used various shades of cheap green spray paint so that there was some variety, just like in a real forest.
I also have at least 200 trees (various types) from China that I bought on eBay. The vendor was "We Honest" and their trees are not only decent, but cheap.
I'll admit to buying a few of the pricier trees by Woodland Scenics, just to add some peak realism, but most of mine were "bargain basement".
Remember, when used in groups, cheaper trees look pretty danged good!
Have fun,
Bob


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

That's the real takeaway here: Only your foreground trees need to be real lookers. In the background, you can get away with garbage (or as I show in my earlier post, things that aren't even trees).


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## tr1 (Mar 9, 2013)

*Cool Forest*

LICHEN works OK


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## tr1 (Mar 9, 2013)

*Deciduos tress on the cheep? LICHEN*

1.)Poly fiber2.)Saw dust 3.)LICHEN Food & fabric DYE w/s 
I had mentioned this earlier, If you have a Michaels Craft store in your area, they may sell
pre- dried out armatures similar to what Chet uses to make his great representations of the bigger deciduous trees 30,40 to 50(+)feet tall. Michaels also sells bags of greens with several shades of green lichen material. Well, anyway, Michaels craft store will have all the ingredients to make realistic deciduous trees. It will of-course take some trials and errors. May be cheaper also. Good luck,tr1


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

tr1 said:


> LICHEN works OK


My only problem with lichen is that it tends to dry out and become brittle over time. It does make good trees, though, especially low, scrubby ones.


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## tkruger (Jan 18, 2009)

Thanks for all of the ideas. Allot to consider. I recently found packages of 10 good trees for $4 each at AC Moore. There are 4 available colors (one color per pack). Each pack has 4 sizes varying from 1.5 - 3 inches tall. Also purchased a few sample packs from EBay on the cheep. At a recent train show bought 2, 1 gallon bags of misc trees for $3. Once I have sorted all that out will see where I go.


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