# making trees



## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

Another newbie question........I've put off placing any trees on my HO layout because of the outrageous cost of packaged, pre-assembled units.
$2.50 to $3.00 EACH  :thumbsdown:, are you kidding me?
So I've ordered all the stuff to create my own with plastic "trees", WS green stuff, and the appropriate adhesives.
Do any of you experienced guys have any tips to pass along to make this job turn out good? I've got 48 "trees" on order. Should be enough for my layout.
Many thanks,
Bob


----------



## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

I used clumps of lichen for the leaves, real twigs cut from bushes in my yard for the branches (intact, with "forked" branches), and a few dabs of hot glue. Worked OK for me.

TJ


----------



## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

TJ,
I've seen your layout and you're so right, the trees look pretty darned good.
I'm going to give the plastic jobbies a shot then, if they bomb out, I'll try your system.
Thanks,
Bob


----------



## gc53dfgc (Apr 13, 2010)

I have made a few test trees with the green rubber stuff and the metal branches that you can bend and they turned out ok, but I am doing a winter themed layout so pine trees were more appropriate. I went to Saers and the have this big bag with something like 30 pine trees from small HO scale Christmas trees to regualr and old tall trees and they look really good and fit the layout nicely. They cost something like 10-20 for the bag so that is less than a dollar a tree. I plan on buying most of the trees for my new layout because they look much better and more realistic and it is helping out my local shop. I will be attempting to make some of my own trees as well.


----------



## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

Yep, I've got a big bunch of Christmas trees with snow on them that we use for our annual Christmas village, but since I'm playing with model trains as an "escape" for the bloody Michigan winters, I have NO intention of reminding myself there's snow outside by looking at snow-covered trees on my layout :laugh:
I'm going to try my hand at making them from the WS products. If they turn out crappy I'll probably bite the bullet and buy them locally. The price, however, gags me :thumbsdown:!
Another option is buying the Hong Kong specials on eBay. Since they're so cheap the risk would be fairly small, but it takes about 3 weeks to get anything from China via eBay.
Many thanks for your input 
Bob


----------



## Xnats (Dec 5, 2010)

The WS tree kit makes OK looking trees. I picked up a bunch of tree frames at my LHS for a good price. I had already bought a ton of brush, ground cover and turf online. I wish they looked better but they still look better then the ones I made from scratch. The best ones I made from scratch were from tooth picks and green scour pads but my son has broken most of them . I still think trees are the hardest thing to do on a limited budget. The next layout I do is going to be a desert theme made with play sand and have only one cacti :laugh:









never mind the folks who crashed into the pond and the excavator that tore up the grass getting there hwell: I keep telling myself it is better then trains crashing into cars  :laugh:


----------



## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

I have all three types 
Complete Premade, Ready made, and scratch made.
They all have their up and downs.
When doing the ready made or put together ones don't over think them or try to overdue them, once they are on the layout with other things around they will look better.
I've gone with more premade ones lately, I have at least 10,000 yep that many, and the ready made or scratch built ones just take way too much time away from other aspects of the trains. One day I'll get top planting those suckers.


----------



## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

Gentlemen, the three wise men have now become FOUR with the addition of Sean....and, that's in no way a put-down, it's a HIGH compliment:thumbsup:!
With years and years of experience, he knows of what he speaks !
But, Sean, seriously, HOW MANY TREES do you have .....cowabunga, that's a whole bunch of leaves to rake every Fall 
Anywho, my dinky, kinky little HO layout will not require nearly the pruning as yours :laugh:, so I'll see what happens this weekend with my "tree creations" on-the-cheap 
Have fun, 
Bob


----------



## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

I use lichen that I collected from the forest for about a 1/8 of the trees I have. Free material is always the best! Moss also makes some killer shrubs. I started collecting bags of pine trees years ago when I found them on sale. I ended up losing a whole box of trees in my divorce, or at least I thought I did till she moved out of the house and low and behold there was the long lost box just sitting in the garage for me to pick up.
I will end up using all the trees as my next layout is slated to be 25' x 55' or larger, and it's 90% northwest mountains. 
You souls see the pile of plaster rocks that I've made over the years! I have 4 commercial molds and 6 home made molds that I can make rock faces up to 12" x 12" in one shot.


----------



## concretepumper (Jan 2, 2011)

NIMT said:


> I use lichen that I collected from the forest for about a 1/8 of the trees I have. Free material is always the best! Moss also makes some killer shrubs. I started collecting bags of pine trees years ago when I found them on sale. I ended up losing a whole box of trees in my divorce, or at least I thought I did till she moved out of the house and low and behold there was the long lost box just sitting in the garage for me to pick up.
> I will end up using all the trees as my next layout is slated to be 25' x 55' or larger, and it's 90% northwest mountains.
> You souls see the pile of plaster rocks that I've made over the years! I have 4 commercial molds and 6 home made molds that I can make rock faces up to 12" x 12" in one shot.


Hey Sean, Is that the lichen you sent to me? 

Man bummer the Ex didn't want your box of trees! :laugh: I bet she kicked the box on her way out! :laugh::laugh:


----------



## humbleboy (Mar 3, 2011)

Hi all,
I make all my trees/shrubs/greenery by my own hand. I tried the suggestion of putting glue on the brances and rolling it in stuff. This does not work for me. I roll my own I get the "stuff" at train shows. I can pretty much finiggle a better deal on most every thing at a show. My favorite so far is the one in Tampa. Lots & lots & lots more choices.
The trick is to stay married. Then no ex


----------



## humbleboy (Mar 3, 2011)

I forgot, another inexpensive place to get tree material is a place like Michaels. Other types of lanscaping materials available there also.


----------



## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

CP, She kicked me enough over the years.:sly:
humbleboy, My wife now is so into the train thing! She supports me 100% YEA!!


----------



## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

After reading some of your posts about making homemade trees, my confidence level is sinking like a rock ......but, since I'm not all that bamboozeled over total authenticity, I'm still gonna give it a shot :thumbsup: and see what happens. 
I guess, if I understand this model RR thing correctly, the scenery is just the cherry on the sundae while the trains are the stars ......would that be pretty accurate?
So, if that's the case, I should be so mesmorized by watching my trains go 'round and 'round that the realism of the trees becomes a non-issue.
Whew! Now I feel a whole bunch better :laugh:
Bob


----------



## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

You can make some nice pine trees using dowel rods sharpened at one end and skewering on furnace insulation material spray painted green. Sprinkle on a little green ground foam, etc for an even better appearance.

This site looked interesting - I haven't had any time to really dig into it yet.

http://sceneryexpert.com/2010/04/15/how-to-make-model-trees-part-3/


----------



## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

Scott,
Many thanks! I viewed the video and making pine trees sure looked pretty straight forward simple.
Amazing how creative these guys can be :thumbsup:
Bob


----------



## jzrouterman (Nov 27, 2010)

I like the way pre made trees look, only I think that most are too short. I mean, ever notice how most store bought trees either stand just above the height of a train, and some look more like shrubs than they do trees? I once addressed this this problem by placing medium height O scale trees on an HO layout I had. I mixed them up with the HO trees I had. The end result, I think, looked much more real. I'm thinking about maybe doing that again.

Though making trees myself would be much more ecconomical, I've always preferred the store bought ones. Like I say, the only issue I've had with most, is the height. 

Routerman


----------



## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

Thanks for chiming in.
I received my tree making stuff from Hobbylinc today so I'll be giving it a go this evening. I may require some liquid courage and reinforcement before the night's over :laugh:
Next time maybe I'll do a desert theme 
Bob


----------



## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

OK, guys, I'm back in from the garage and my maiden voyage of creating "trees" from WS kits.
Man, that glue they suggest (and I bought) is some STICKY stuff ....
I made three trees in about an hour. I guess, for my first dance, they turned out "not too shabby", but far from perfect 
As WS suggested, I sprayed them with their glue after assembly and they're now drying overnight. Can't hardly wait to see if they still look decent, or like a "phoney tree" when I check 'em out in the morning.
Are we havin' fun yet? :laugh:
Bob


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Well, we'll need pictures.

:ttiwwop:


----------



## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

As promised, pictures will be coming along in about a week 
I want to get a few trees on the layout first, then some pictures, I promise
Bob


----------



## swiggy (Jan 25, 2010)

along with the WS trees, I glued different colors of clump foliage to toothpicks with LOW TEMP hot glue. They dry quick and just poke em onto your layout. imitates shrubs pretty well.

have fun and please get some pics goin' --------- we wanna see


----------



## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

Swiggy,
Thanks for the idea. It certainly sounds simple. I'll give it a try 
As for pictures, I've got a decent digital camera but I'm technically challenged at posting them on the internet. Thankfully, my wife is pretty sharp with the computer and has agreed to give me a hand.
I plan to take some pictures this weekend AFTER I've planted a few trees 
Have fun,
Bob


----------

