I’ve covered making trees here before but I’m always on the look out for new techniques.
I recently came across this approach and have been impressed by initial results.
It’s from a scratch build modelling buddy on Instagram — find him at Instagram/timecapsulescratchbuilder — and although his technique is simple it creates tremendous looking model trees.
In a nutshell, the trunk and branches are made from twisted florist wire (see photo below). This is then covered in Milliput (an epoxy putty) before painting.
Finally, foliage is added with multiple layers of flock from Woodland Scenics glued with PVA or similar.
Work in progress. The first step is to make the trunk and branches.
As you can see it creates wonderful trees and by using flock rather than a sponge, suggested in a previous tip, the finished look is far more realistic.
Alternatively, If you don’t have the time to make your own trees or are artistically challenged you can get ready made trees here. The quality and variety is better than ever before.
I’d love to see any trees you make, feel free to share them with me and others on the ModelRailwayEngineer Facebook page or link up with me on Instagram and Twitter.
Andy is a lifelong modeler, writer, and founder of modelrailwayengineer.com. He has been building model railways, dioramas, and miniatures for over 20 years. His passion for model making and railways began when he was a child, building his first layout at the age of seven.
Andy’s particular passion is making scenery and structures in 4mm scale, which he sells commercially. He is particularly interested in modelling the railways of South West England during the late Victorian/early Edwardian era, although he also enjoys making sci-fi and fantasy figures and dioramas. His website has won several awards, and he is a member of MERG (Model Railway Electronics Group) and the 009 Society.
When not making models, Andy lives in Surrey with his wife and teenage son. Other interests include history, science fiction, photography, and programming. Read more about Andy.
Hi
I use florist wire to make my trees as you do but instead of Milliput I use clear Liquid Laytex (Body Paint bought on ebay), brushed on.
Apply 1,2 or 3 coats, allow to dry between coats, then paint. The wire when covered and painted looks like bark.
I then, for the foliage, spray hair spray when still wet dip into or sprinkle on static grasses and repeat, when dry, until desired effect is reached using different shades.
Works for me, give it a try