Arboretum Valley - Invasion of the Daleks

[Jaz]

one to show off the seagulls

rmweb485trees88

 

if you look carefully at the trunk you can see i am painting on detail

rmweb486trees89

 

more detailing

rmweb487trees90

I took as it was an old tree it could have reference from several trees, so I flicked between reference material looking for details to copy

[Andrew P]

Great Jaz, just caught up with the Tree making saga after a day out and its been fascinating so say the least, excellent tutorial just like Al's buildings on Bakewell.

 

Thanks.

Andy

[Jaz]

Thank you AndrewP, I love act_mr / Als building work and instructions. I do think sharing the ideas is a nice way to go forward, thats why I like so many of the modellers here on RMweb, and especially a number of those who post here on our own thread. Looking at such great work is very inspiring. 

[Jaz]

when I came across pictures on fungi I just could not resist, and although three of four examples were good I went with the largest ones, hoping to get the scale ok

the first piece of fungi

rmweb488trees91

 

showing how i made itrmweb489trees92

DAS a flat top and a rounded underneath then mark the underneath for the fungi, as the DAS is so small I use copydex to attach it, press the DAS in place then put a lick ogflexi-bark around it to help seal it into position (another good use for flex-bark)

 

A dodgy side on...sorry didn't notice it wasn't well focused

rmweb490trees93

 

The fungi tends t grow one on top of another

rmweb491trees94

[Brass0four]

Being (very, very) picky, Jaz, the root tips could do with burying but I expect that will happen when embedded on site. 

 

I'm trying to recall the season on Pempoul(?) On recollection it might be late Spring as there is a lot of light in the foliage but I could well be wrong.

 

Similarly - from senile recollection - *Woodland Scenics do a light, hair/fibre-based leaf foliage which looks very good for maintaining clarity when significant work is done with branch/twig structure as you have with this example. If I had more night/life left I'd investigate both properly...

 

*OK, p24 in current catalogue: just listed as Foliage. I have a small amount and it really can be stretched very lightly. Sorry, no photographic/scanner source, but I'm sure you are well familiar with it anyway.

 

Tony.

 

Later. I haven't seen the Tree book by the Pempoul guys (Wild Swan) but it is supposed to be cutting edge/bloody marvellous!

Edited January 29, 2014 by Brass0four

[Jaz]

Oh I must look out for that book, thank you for pointing it out,  I would be really interest I saw it live at Peterborough the year before last, and was very impressed, I did take some photos of my own. The trees she did are brilliant, and i like their water o that layout i.e. Pempoul, I think they bought their ripple sheet, but I think Allan Downes PVA and a toothpick has the edge for ripple work.

[Jaz]

colouring starts after giving the copydex and the flex bark a little while to dry

rmweb492trees95

 

initially I just hope to get a pale brown / beige top and a very pale almost white underneath on the fungi

rmweb493trees96

 

As the paint starts to dry I add some extra colour

rmweb495trees98

 

another side on, apologies the pictures could be better but as i was working quickly i didn't check them close enough

one one side we have moss, another we have the fungi, so on the third I add a little ivy

rmweb496trees99

 

one t oshow how it looks from a distance

rmweb497trees100

 

rmweb498trees101

when I am all finished i will go rephoto the fungi for a more focused finish, although it does get a touch more weathering as i continue, so it won't be completely redo.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Jaz

[@Jc]

Jaz, this really is a tree-mendous bit of modelling. It just keeps looking better and better. 

Edited January 29, 2014 by @Jc

[David Todd]

Ah..!........so that's where my Dover,Black Headed seagull's are....................

 

Fungii,Connoissuers', now.

[Jaz]

an instance where a house is dwarfed by the trees

Edited for clarification = this house is not ours i just googled house with large trees and found this one. As Kal points out below we have a bungalow.Which is why we have a large loft. Usually houses are 4 up 4 down, we have all our rooms on the ground floor so a large roof space by comparison.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Jaz

[Brass0four]

Oh I must look out for that book, thank you for pointing it out,  I would be really interest I saw it live at Peterborough the year before last, and was very impressed, I did take some photos of my own. The trees she did are brilliant, and i like their water o that layout i.e. Pempoul, I think they bought their ripple sheet, but I think Allan Downes PVA and a toothpick has the edge for ripple work.

 

I think you and that book would get on very well together. What you've done is superb, but all the crits I've read concerning the Gravit's(?) book have been overwhelming in their praise.

[Brass0four]

It seems nightshift commences early this evening

 

 

nite nite Vicky, everyone.

 

"by the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes... "

[Jaz]

The next detail is a birds nest (as requested)

rmweb499trees102

I start by cutting the grass into small bits, then forming a pile with copydex, then attempting to form a next with a centre for the eggs/bird

I trim off the extra long pits, making it look more rounded, then add a little brown and green in the middle to make it look comfy for the bird

Then I take the balck bird and put it in the nest, so it can make itself comfortable 

I then add some copydex to a split in the ranch and jiggle it until it sits fairly flat and doesn't look as though it wall fall at the first wind, the bird would use spit and mud....I preferred the copydex 

rmweb501trees104

no not chickens in the background....squirrels

 

rmweb502trees105

they must be hungry beech nuts are not usually their favourite food. Walnuts and Hazel nuts are from favourites though, and we have had squirrels in our almond (Prunus dulcis) trees afore now.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Jaz

[Removed a/c]

   

 

WOW !!! I don't know what to say...............................be a love and pop that in the post when it is done though   

[Darwinian]

I have only just come across this thread again. I am seriously impressed, having studied Botany and having a particular liking for microbes and unusual life forms the modelling you are achieving is truly superb.

 

When I saw that red Daz I thought perhaps you were making a model of this fungus.

 

 

I cannot remember what tree species this was on ( I really should keep records not so easy with a dog and two children dragging you along).

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Adrian

 

Edited for typos.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Darwinian

[Andrew P]

an instance where a house is dwarfed by the trees

Nice house Jaz, do you get much wildlife, Foxes, Squirrels etc in the Garden?

 

Andy

[Jaz]

The britfarmer

You know that is three days of a lot of graft, which you would think isn't much, when you compare it to acg_mr and freebs and such who have perfected their buildings over months. But I have built a number of trees, so basically had a whole host of ideas in my head how this was going to pan out. (theres the little thought at the start is this safe to do...... what if I mess up and it looks stupid) but I had the little creatures already painted. A friend of dt / David Todd gave me a few last minute hints on the trees (thank you) and I had used most of the materials previously so basically knew how they were going to pan out. The colouring on the fungi looked bait iffy until it dried. But I am pleased.

I have subsequently put pictures of in on several threads, i.e. the how realistic is your modelling types of thread. We might attract people who are interested, and as I type.....Darwinian puts up a brilliant picture.

I am a great fan of fungi, when we go on walks I am known to carry a plastic bag, into which fungi falls, then I pop it around the Arboretum hoping it wail take. I have even bought Beech fungi from Waitrose and watered it until it looked ready to go out and hopefully drawn....so far I have failed to see it reproduce. But we have some great fungi here. November and March when it is wet is usually a great time, and I could put up literally hundreds of photos on the subject. We have furry brown, yellow, and even violet fungi all happily reproducing.

[7APT7]

Jaz

 

 

Absolutely Superb work mate, that house you have modelled look so real, next to the trees you have made. Doh

 

I'm stuck for words on how great this tree looks... you should a be a tree surgeon

 

 

Jamie

[7APT7]

Do you dread a thunder storm, with trees that near and so high, few tons in weight in those trees...

 

 

Jamie

[Jaz]

AndrewP

We have a green woodpecker, we have magpies, mistle thrush, wrens, occasional squirrels, a munjak or two, this year we had a mum and baby larger deer, they left when the water ran out, they used a couple of spots to sit under dappled canopies. We have blackbirds, as I leave the apples to fall on the floor and feed them throughout the winter, we leave the bugs alone no chemicals, so bees next in the ground, we get wasp galls, and unusual moths, we have had stoats/ or weasels not sure which, Kal and I had a heron who scoffed over a hundred koi from our pond (luckily they came here as favour to someone who wanted to get rid of them as they wanted to reclaim their garden) Our butterfly bushes, and the fact we let our dandelions spread attract a good number of butterflies, white cabbage, peacocks, are recognisable others not so much, we have some stinging nettles and other weeds that are good for the moths, if the water survives in the ponds until late summer we get damselflies and dragonflies; the turquoise mostly but also green and bronze ones. When it was really cold we had some scottish visitors which are related to the blackbirds, I notice we seem to have had some in breeding because we now have a few wit hthe reddish colouring. We have had the odd swan, and we have a regular pair of ducks in the dykes, we did have a regular barn owl for a while, but he has gone, we had a small owl for a while but I have not seen him either for a year or two, and best of all the foxes (we we see fairly often) see off the rabbits, and we have even seen the march hares boxing. We have a sparrow hawk now and then. We have crows from nearby. Thats all I can think of for the moment. But yes we do really well for wildlife, the bees love our land because we don't use chemicals, and we set our dead wood to one side, Oh yeah once our old doberman bought me a hedgehog in his mouth, and he was similarly disgruntled when I made him let a pheasant go, We get a lot of pheasant they clack at night in the trees, We also have collared doves, and pidgeons, and if you sit out side at night pipastrels. And if the summer you might see yellow hammers and blue blue tits. We have two robins, who have their own territory. A male pheasant stays near the house. The cats kill a few unfortunately. The magpies used to sit on the ponies, but Sooty is now deceased. Their faeces attracted flies which atrtacted birds especially swallows, who like the mud if it is wet enough and use the stables to build their nests. Yes basically we get lots!!!!!! And there will be others I just don't remember.

this is not well lit but

rmweb500trees103

the fungi, seagulls,ivy,moss,rabbit, a pair of inconspicuous hedgehogs (I think I have to repaint them they are far too well camouflaged) so small shrubs, the ferret,

I might add a water pool in the roots on the left where it would be hard for the water to drain away.....any excuse

 

the bunny, and the invisible hedgehogs just out from the leaves having finished hibernating

rmweb503trees106

 

if you can see between the two piles of brown leaves you might just see them

rmweb503trees107

they look like dried nuts in this picture

 

the weasel and the underneath of the fungi

rmweb504108

oh along the way I added the acid green for the moss

 

and a side on of the fungi and the weasel standing up look for danger, he has heard there is a hawk nearby (not yet finished being painted) it will stand on a wonky post look for food...and apparently likes stoat meat.!!!!!!!!

rmweb505trees109

Well I have just about finished the detailing.

 

If anyone has any ideas for extra detail please say, the tree will need a few small trees around it and some leaf litter etc, but basically it is a done deal now.

Tomorrow I will add it to the layout and take some photos in situ, lets hope the natural light is kind. I will probably use my better camera to get some decent details, although I may need Kal to return and help me get them transferred to the apple.

[Kal]

Hi

 

Just for clarity, that its not our house in the picture above, we have a long bungalow, hence the ability to have a long layout in the loft.

[Jaz]

Do you dread a thunder storm, with trees that near and so high, few tons in weight in those trees...

 

 

Jamie

We have a eucalyptus that predated our arrival which is a bit close to the house, the last two hard winters have seen it lose about half its top,but it is growing back. We have a monkey puzzle about 50 feet from the house, it is not likely to be a problem. We have ensured that we do not plant poplars or willows within a hundred feet of the house, because they can cause problems, and we ripped a bay tree out that had been in the patio as a hazard to the foundations. Trees are not encouraged around the house, nor shrubs, because they give cover for rats and mice.I have put a Quercus Kewnsis (an oak bred by Kew) probably closer than I should have, and an Abies Koreana which will mean the drive being re routed sometime in the future. But in general we ensured that we were careful about what we grew. We sourced a lot from trees bred i nthe UK, or bought seed in from abroad (no soil so no micro organisms). Even our Buckeyes (American Horsechesnuts) are uk grown.And cross fingers we don't have any nasty diseases. Although there is a touch of blackspot, we get wasp gals, we some coral but burnt the wood, and we have had honey fungus, but the tree died and the honey fungus has not popped up anywhere else. so basically due to careful management we have not got any real issues.

We have grown willows for pollarding and coppicing which we can use for the real fire. Especially useful when I forget to order in our log....oops. We have a bundle of nut trees, we have have one persistent little pecan tree (grown from our Xmas nut s bought from the supermarket). We could make cider with the number of apples we have, but most are allowed t of all to the ground and feed the wildlife. And at the end of the summer the wasps go  gaga for the plums.

[Jaz]

To be honest I suspect that house is from the USA, although there are English / British properties with big trees. I don't think any of ours are much over 30ft, as we have only grown ours over the last decade.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Jaz

[Jaz]

When we first moved here the windows were quite fierce, the winds come in from the SW, but we have now got a lot of protection from the trees. On the outside we grew fast growing natives, then as you move into the centre we have the more fragile trees, so they get shelter.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Jaz

[Jaz]

I will try to make the willow much more simple. I would like people to feel that they can make their own trees. It is not really hard, however I accept that our interest in trees, does make me observe them quite closely which helps when modelling them.