The Tree Modeller

[Revolution Ben]

Hi BWsTrains,

 

I agree that lichen isn't quite right for tree branch representation as it ends up looking more like green sponge once coated with scatter.

 

It is a shame you cannot import sea foam, as this is an excellent resource, but if you can't you can't.

 

One technique I have seen used to good effect is to create the basic wire (or lavender) armature, then paint sticky glue on the ends inch or so of each branch, cut wire wool into short lengths and then sprinkle it on through a sieve. The sieve helps to break apart any clumps. The wire wool creates the impression of fine sprays at the tips of branches.

 

Allow to dry, then spray with aerosol paint to lock together. Once painted, spray adhesive or cheap hairspray can be used to fix the usual scatter, though again you'll need several coats of adhesive on top to prevent the trees shedding constantly.

 

An alternative is to use long , dark brown or green static grass for the same purpose.

 

Cheers

 

Ben A.

Edited January 2, 2017 by Ben A

[hayfield]

I am surprised Sea Foam or similar plants are not available from the gardening suppliers, might be worth a search. No idea what you have to do to preserve them though

 

As well as wire wool you have the rubber horse hair which if not available locally can be obtained mail order as can foliage mats

 

As for using hairspray, plenty of glue products in spray cans. Latest product I have is Evostik (wife bought it in error)

[kandc_au]

Hayfield,

Over here seafoam is supposed to be invasive so it is a No No.

As for wire wool I personally would not have it on the layout with the risk if the wire being attracted to the motors magnets.

Rubberised hair can be bought in and is supposed to be treated, (checked with AQIS here in oz)  although I have had no issues to date through an ebay seller: wws-scenery-manufacturer

 

Khris

[BWsTrains]

Re Seafoam, I'd not heard of this material as you don't see it in modelling shops here in Aus. Now having looked at the Gaugemaster product on-line, the appearance and cost are both impressive! It explains why devotees are keen to "grow their own". I'd not be a buyer at GBP 19 + postage for some modest pieces even if available.

 

I agree with kandc_au on the risks associated with using wire wool but on theme, I'm wondering if my garden has some suitably fibrous plant I might deploy after drying?  Scope for some interesting exploration here.

[BWsTrains]

Hi,

Sorry for the delay with a new posting, it's summer here and so progress has been slow. As I mentioned previously, I was keen to have some Spring Hawthorn in full flower on my layout as hedgerow areas of the farm and track-side. IMO it’s hard to beat the sight of a long line of these beautiful plants.

It does seem I’m in relatively uncharted territory, at least on this site, as a search turned up only 3 hits for “Hawthorn Hedge” or “bush”. None related to modelling, one simply pointing out what a fine security feature they are surrounding the house!

 

Following on from earlier feedback I’ve been keenly searching out useful local plant materials for various plant modelling projects and will have some progress to report later. But first to research on the Hawthorn itself. I’m still keen to receive any photos that any of you can capture for me of Hawthorn hedge in winter and again in flower (April / May in Southern England). All I have as a lead are some limited on-line images and my memory.

 

Groundwork.

Hawthorn is multi-stemmed and when in full flower, the most common variant has long semi weeping branches covered on all sides by flowers in clusters. The overall effect is one of massed flower but the branch structure can be clearly seen as these photos show (BTW I’m restricted in what I can post directly for copyright reasons so please follow the links while I try for permissions elsewhere). Links at:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/habitats/hedge (my favourite inspirational photo)

 https://goo.gl/images/Yq4rSQ

https://goo.gl/images/IsVL03

 

and in Winter

https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-hawthorn-hedge-winter-spikes-buds-form-image58974847

 

I’ve been experimenting with some trial runs and thought I’d start there with a couple of photos, with some early test pieces in situ. The idea is to have mixed hedge including Hawthorn along the farm boundary fences so all the gaps will in time be filled in.

 

[BWsTrains]

Thanks to Peter McSweeney ("wildlifewanderings" Blog and http://www.whentowatchwildlife.org/)I've access to some excellent Hawthorn hedgerow photos to share as these are my primary target in my Hedgerow Project

 

First a full row of mature plants

 

 

and views of mature mixed hedgerow (N Somerset, May) 

 

Edited February 8, 2017 by BWsTrains

[Revolution Ben]

Re Seafoam, I'd not heard of this material as you don't see it in modelling shops here in Aus. Now having looked at the Gaugemaster product on-line, the appearance and cost are both impressive! It explains why devotees are keen to "grow their own". I'd not be a buyer at GBP 19 + postage for some modest pieces even if available.

 

I agree with kandc_au on the risks associated with using wire wool but on theme, I'm wondering if my garden has some suitably fibrous plant I might deploy after drying?  Scope for some interesting exploration here.

 

Hi there BWs Trains,

 

The wire wool is painted and ideally locked into the tree with adhesive too, but I understand if you do not wish to use it.  

 

An alternative is fine aquarium filter material, which (here at least) is a pale blue colour.  it is some kind of fine plasticised material, but can be cut and has a similar appearance once added to the tree as wire wool.

 

An example of its use here: http://www.beastsofwar.com/terrain/terrainscaping-awesome-tabletop-trees/

 

Or try hanging basket liner as here: https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtisanVideos/comments/4i504m/making_a_model_pine_tree_forest_743/

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

[BWsTrains]

Summer here has come and gone and we've moved on into a long hot autumn and so my progress remains slow.

 

I've wanted to use as much natural sourced materials as possible, (see post #1) and I’ve been busy looking for things in the garden to meet my needs to build hedgerows up to mature trees. What I have settled on might be hard to come by in cooler climes but I’ll work thru where I've got to so far.

 

My first goal was to find a convenient plant framework to mimic hedgerows and smaller laterals on more open structured trees. The gently arching structures found in plants work really well and my preferred sources grow well around here. Onion or Guilford weed (Romulea rosea) was the curse in my lawns until I found its dried stems are very useful for hedgerows and laterals. After flowering, by late Spring the leaves dry back to very rigid and gently curved 5-8cm lengths easily pulled out by hand in a clump. As a bonus the nutty corm also comes out so some weeding is done on the side.

 

Trimmed and inserted into Florist’s foam they make a good Hedgerow framework. I covered the foam with Alfoil so the binder I apply will be separable from the base.

This photo shows the native weed and then its dried stems inserted in foam (rather too close together in this trial example).

 

 

I’ve found that using my favorite dark brown acrylic filler makes an excellent ground substrate that when applied ~2mm thick is strong enough to hold all the stems together once everything has set (Day2) and the modelling foam is removed.

My final photo shows a better example with filler applied and with the first part of the upper hedgerow in place. More on these steps in my next post

 

 

 

[70021 Morning Star]

DANGER - DO NOT USE WIRE WOOL AS SCENERY !

 

Wire Wool is Extremely Hazardous. Even the tiniest electrical spark (e.g. off an N gauge locomotive) is enough to ignite it.

 

Wire Wool is also notorious for SPONTANEOUS IGNITION. If it oxidizes (rust) it may well start its own fire! Sometimes it ignites instantaneously, burning with incredible speed, at other times it'll smoulder for hours before surprising you with an intensely hot and rapidly spreading conflagration. In the workshop, it is treated as Extremely Hazardous.

 

Thinking of spreading a layer of highly combustible material -- one that is known to spontaneously combust -- across your wooden layout? DON'T

 

Wire wool must be stored in an airtight container and handled with extreme care.

 

 

Rick

[70021 Morning Star]

See

for a view of how easily Wire Wool will ignite. And, don't forget, you don't need a 9V battery, Wire Wool is well known for Spontaneously Combusting.

 

Note the very high temperature sparks, which will very rapidly spread the conflagration across any area you've got Wire Wool undergrowth, and be aware that the temperature of this fire is in excess of 1,000 °C

 

 

Rick

Edited May 20, 2017 by 70021 Morning Star

[BWsTrains]

DANGER - DO NOT USE WIRE WOOL AS SCENERY !

 

Wire Wool is Extremely Hazardous. Even the tiniest electrical spark (e.g. off an N gauge locomotive) is enough to ignite it.

 

Wire Wool is also notorious for SPONTANEOUS IGNITION. If it oxidizes (rust) it may well start its own fire! Sometimes it ignites instantaneously, burning with incredible speed, at other times it'll smoulder for hours before surprising you with an intensely hot and rapidly spreading conflagration. In the workshop, it is treated as Extremely Hazardous.

 

Thinking of spreading a layer of highly combustible material -- one that is known to spontaneously combust -- across your wooden layout? DON'T

 

Wire wool must be stored in an airtight container and handled with extreme care.

 

 

Rick

 

 

thanks for alerting this. The post originally raising the use of wire wool came from someone offering alternative ideas to mine, not from me.

 

While it did strike me as a rather poor idea at the time, I had no factual basis for making a reply in the negative so just let it lie. I've verified this new input with a very knowledgeable scientist friend and agree with the opinions expressed regarding ignition risk.

Clearly there are far better options available for the tree builder.

Edited May 21, 2017 by BWsTrains

[70021 Morning Star]

Actually (possibly slightly off topic) this raises a more general question about fire safety in the way we construct our layouts.

 

We use wooden baseboard, often use expanded polystyrene to shape hills, etc., etc., then cover the whole thing with various materials to make our scenery and trees/grasses. And then we bury electrical equipment where it can't be seen. Eeek!

 

There are various DIY application fire-retardant and fireproof materials out there. I've been doing a quick Google, and prices are very affordable at around £10. ...I think that's cheap versus the risk of losing your layout or your home/club.

 

Anyway, I'll be phoning the UK's top experts in easy to apply fireproofing materials tomorrow. I'll then pass on their recommendations. My thinking is that dipping a tree in fire-retardant during manufacturing, or spraying a suitable material over the already built parts of the layout (including proofing areas where I've buried electrical components) isn't too onerous compared with the heartache of losing all the work I've put into my layout.

 

I'm looking for products that won't affect the realism of the layout, and will get back to you tomorrow.

 

 

Safety is No Accident, as they say,

Rick