I've been playing around trying to make reasonably acceptable trees.
I have made some before but have never been completely happy with the results.
This is today's example which seems, to me, to be fairly acceptable :
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/32868764227_2f9058ae74_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/S5v1tv)5FF2410E-6BC4-4E8A-B21F-CC3FC9D3905F (https://flic.kr/p/S5v1tv) by martin scane (https://www.flickr.com/photos/162836309@N02/), on Flickr
I'd be happy with any feedback or suggestions, good or bad?
Well it certainly looks like a tree. :). Actually, it don't look bad at all. :thumbsup:
Looks ideal; very tree-like.
Best wishes.
John
Looks very good to me, Martin.
Maybe the branch far left might sag more with the foliage? :hmmm:
There has been quite an interesting exchange of ideas on the N gauge Facebook page in the last couple of days. Bob Tidbury for example was pointing out that in general we N-gaugers tend to make our trees too small. An average mature oak at 18 metres tall would be 120mm in N scale.
What height have you made this one and what was your method? (It looks great by the way).
Thanks.
Alec.
Quote from: Invicta Alec on May 09, 2019, 09:46:00 PMThere has been quite an interesting exchange of ideas on the N gauge Facebook page in the last couple of days. Bob Tidbury for example was pointing out that in general we N-gaugers tend to make our trees too small. An average mature oak at 18 metres tall would be 120mm in N scale.
Very true.
I need some large trees, with plenty of overhang to conceal the curve around to the fiddle yard on Coniston so I ordered a variety ranging from 8cm up to 12cm high. Wen the big ones arrived I looked at them and thought "Oh heck, what have I done?"
Then I though about it and realised that's only around 60' and mature beeches range from 80-115', occasionally up to 160' - I'm much happier now.
Hope the trees are positioned to your liking. It does in my opinion placing trees and standing back then re positioning makes the difference, then when satisfied glueing fixing then work on the ground cover
Mature trees are indeed massive things, but you have to be careful though when it comes to model railways. A scale tree will often make the trains look too small!
There has been discussion of this before, and I think selective compression is a valid technique here.
As Martin himself says, if it looks right, it is right.
Quote from: Invicta Alec on May 09, 2019, 09:46:00 PM
There has been quite an interesting exchange of ideas on the N gauge Facebook page in the last couple of days. Bob Tidbury for example was pointing out that in general we N-gaugers tend to make our trees too small. An average mature oak at 18 metres tall would be 120mm in N scale.
What height have you made this one and what was your method? (It looks great by the way).
Thanks.
Alec.
Thanks Alec
As George says, i work on the basis that looking right is more important to getting the size inch perfect.
This tree is 6cm tall or about twice the height of a locomotive from the ground (not the rails) which I think is fine for a medium height tree.
It is, by the way, supposed to be a sycamore.
It's made using grape stalks of which I have a goodly supply.
I dry them thoroughly then roughly cut to the shape I want. I then give the whole thing a couple of coats of PVA to seal it then add any paint as necessary.
The greenery is small pieces of Woodland Scenics clump foliage painstakingly stuck onto the branches as individual pieces with fairly thick PVA.
Once dry, I fill in any gaps and then spray with Hobbycraft aerosol positioning spray to fix everything.
I finish off by finally filling in any remaining gaps then spray again.
Hope that helps.
Martin
PS
This was a first attempt and I feel that it looks ok so I'll press on with a few more (hopefully different tree types).
I'm also working on some much smaller flowering cherries using twisted wire. We'll see how they turn out later.
Oh and by the way Mick, I don't think that I can make that bough sag any more without snapping it!
Looks fine to me, Martin. At first I thought the green was a bit light, but then I remembered it's a British tree. Dark trunks, light leaves.
Over here with the eucalyptus trees, it's the other way round!
Been here too long, maybe! ;)
Yeah looks really good. I will have to borrow the grape stalks idea, we seem to eat quite a lot of them!
I Like your static grass treatment too, good use of colours.
Quote from: port perran on May 10, 2019, 08:20:22 AM
Thanks Alec
As George says, i work on the basis that looking right is more important to getting the size inch perfect....
It is, by the way, supposed to be a sycamore........
It's made using grape stalks ...........
I'm also working on some much smaller flowering cherries using twisted wire......
Martin,
Interesting isn't it that in a few other areas we talk about trying not to make things over scale!? In the case of trees "looking right" does seem to be more important. I think @Bealman (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=profile;u=255) 's comment "I think selective compression is a valid technique here." is priceless and a maxim I intend to follow more in my modelling.
I don't know the difference between a sycamore and a sequoia ...... your tree looks great :)
Your grape stalk idea........genius!
I'm really looking forward to see what you come up with on the flowering cherry. I've had the idea for a while of having a line of these as a contrast against too many green trees. Any commercially available ones I've found looked less than convincing.
Alec.
So...I've now finished a second tree, slightly larger and a different shape.
I'm actually making the trees as an experiment for a club layout so they are "planted" near the canal on Trepol Bay just to see what they look like.
However, I'm quite pleased so they might be staying where they are!
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/32874219417_d6642e5466_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/S5YY7v)0B12ED69-8264-40AF-9DD3-2D36E13ECF32 (https://flic.kr/p/S5YY7v) by martin scane (https://www.flickr.com/photos/162836309@N02/), on Flickr
I'm less happy with my "cherry tree". In reality it should be pink so it's now an apple tree in blossom I think.
It is ok but could, I think, be better – still, it is a first attempt with wire so I can probably do better next time. I need to try to find some pink scatter type material or flock (I shall have a browse on line).
Again, this tree is only propped up here on Trepol Bay to see what it looks like.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/32874219057_2dbb0fc4e9_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/S5YY1i)56FE5F7A-3A1F-4F5D-A65F-FEB1C0324651 (https://flic.kr/p/S5YY1i) by martin scane (https://www.flickr.com/photos/162836309@N02/), on Flickr
Hi Martin,
They look great. If I can offer one opinion to hopefully help with the realism. Tree trunks are seldom brown but usually shades of grey.
Keep up the good work.
Dennis.
Quote from: Delboy on May 10, 2019, 03:17:16 PM
Hi Martin,
They look great. If I can offer one opinion to hopefully help with the realism. Tree trunks are seldom brown but usually shades of grey.
Keep up the good work.
Dennis.
Thanks Dennis. You are indeed quite correct. I had intended to do that but completely forgot. It's easy enough to go back and repaint though.
Stunning. Thanks for the photos. Agree grey brown tree shade trunk
Hi Martin,
Think the trees look great and that you should keep them.
Found this....
https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/401556859112?chn=ps (https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/401556859112?chn=ps)
Might not be any good but not a great expense.
Also, being picky, sorry, but apple blossom is usually pinky white turning white.
Anyway, great stuff. I haven't made a bush yet, let alone a tree so I'll shut up.
Cheers weave :beers:
Just found this treemendously useful and interesting thread. Thank you Martin for setting it going and to the other contributors to date.
My own efforts have been poor to date. Not worthy of photos. However, who knows what the future might hold... 🌲
It's always a bit funny when someone insists that trees should be scale height when we built layouts that are almost never scale length - stations are compressed, trains are too, curves on the line have to be sharper to get them round before they fall off the board... Why shouldn't trees be compressed too.
Quote from: CarriageShed on May 29, 2019, 12:46:33 PM
It's always a bit funny when someone insists that trees should be scale height when we built layouts that are almost never scale length - stations are compressed, trains are too, curves on the line have to be sharper to get them round before they fall off the board... Why shouldn't trees be compressed too.
Because then they'd be called cardboard :laugh:
Continuing on with this thread, I've had a go at creating a copper beech using the same grape stalk and green bush clusters technique.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48005939107_3be6970a0a_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2g97Zci)08C1EFA7-8275-4C58-8973-CCBE0827C052 (https://flic.kr/p/2g97Zci) by martin scane (https://www.flickr.com/photos/162836309@N02/), on Flickr
I've painted the finished tree with a browny/red mix to try to recreate a copper beech colour with a tinge of green. Hopefully it works reasonably well.
Here it is on Trepol Bay but it will be going to our club layout if we are all happy with it. In which case, no doubt, I'll be tasked with making a few more.
I noticed a while ago that when you take the grapes from the stalks they have a tree-like appearance and although I haven't used them yet I have been stocking up on them for use in the future. Good to see how they can look when used as the tree structure.
Is it me, or is it the photo - but is it a bit too glossy? :hmmm:
Hope that you don't mind the criticism Martin, it's way better than anything I've achieved.
Quote from: keithbythe sea on June 05, 2019, 08:24:21 PM
Is it me, or is it the photo - but is it a bit too glossy? :hmmm:
Hope that you don't mind the criticism Martin, it's way better than anything I've achieved.
Thanks Keith, comments are always most welcome.
I agree, it does seem to be little glossy but I based that on real ones which do seem to have waxy leaves.
Plus the light makes it look worse I think. The sun was shining directly in from outside plus I had ceiling spotlights on and I did purposely use acrylic gloss. I've now placed it on our Club layout (it's much darker there) and it looks ok.
However, I think I'll try another and finish it with a clear matt wash next time and see how that looks.