Super Hot, Super Trees

overall shot of the super hot, super trees.

close up up the thickened trunk.

How Far We've Come

It just amazes me to see how far trees, shrubbery, weeds, etc. have come from back in the 50s and 60s.  It would be really hard to go back to the dyed sawdust and lichen clumps!

Good looking trees (and weeds).

-Jack

New Technique

Hi,

Great idea and good job. I will have to try this. I am thinking my N scale will make it easier(?) as I won't need too much hot glue. Thanks for the great idea.

Jim

Cool Idea

Looks like a promising technique.

Painting

Great idea!

Write it up as a Q-A-T tip and we can pay you for it! 

As is, I'll be doing this very shortly myself. Thanks!

Painting

Thanks for all the nice comments.

I painted the trees with spray paint. Aspens have white bark with a bit of a green tinge so I started out with an apple green colour and sprayed the whole trunk area. then I lightly misted the trunk with flat white leaving some of the green undercoat to shine through. I used a dark brown colour and sprayed the uppermost part of the tree as well as the tips of the branches, being careful not to get any on the trunk. A little spatter on the trunk is fine, however, it will just look like the dark markings found on Aspen trees. For the rest of the markings I just used a very dark grey acrylic and brushed them on, getting heavier as I reached the base of the trunk. The dark grey is also used to touch up the lower branches where they join up with the trunk.

Hope this helps.

Looks really really nice, but

Looks really really nice, but I have two questions.

One what do you use for leaves (and how big are they/will they work in HO?) and 

Two, what do you use for the ground cover.?

-Doug

Leaves and ground cover

I use Selkirk Scenery Company's Deciduous Foliage for the leaves. This is a product I designed and started marketing under the Selkirk name. I've since sold the company. Unfortunately the new owner has been plagued with health problems so the future of the Selkirk line is uncertain. I have been unable to contact him lately.

I sold the foliage in both standard grade (O scale) and fine grade (S, HO scale).

To answer your second question, take a look at this video of me applying the grass and weeds.

Can you do a short how-to video

I'm interested in this technique, but having a difficult time visualizing the process.  Any chance you could do a short how-to video and post it to YouTube and link it here?!

Ken L.

Wow!

Now those are some impressively realistic trees!

Outstanding work - I can't wait to see more!

Hot Glue video

Here's a quick video of the hot glue method for thickening up the trunks of Super Trees.

This is . . .

. . . a really nice little video.  Thanks for showing your technique.

-Jack

Fantastic!

Rick,

These are some of the best looking trees I have ever seen!  I haven't gotten to the point of making trees yet for my layout. But I have eagerly been following most of the posts dealing with this subject in anticipation of that task. I liked Super trees, but like you, thought their trunks looked a little skimpy. What a great idea with the hot glue gun! It's one of those simple ideas that makes you think "Well duh! Why didn't I think of that?" Thanks too for the great little video. I really hope those "leaves" you came up with are still available when I start modeling my trees. If they're not, I'm not sure what I'll do then. Let's just say, I hate to see a grown man cry! I think any thing else will leave me disappointed after seeing your trees! 

Great job!

Paul Krentz

Norfolk & Western Pokey District, Sub 1 3/4

Thumbs up

Great idea!  Nice video.

Thanks.

Molten Hot Trees

Beautiful trees! some of the most realistic aspens I've seen. Now if you can figure out how to simulate kids carving their initials into the trunks.

Scott Haycock

Modeling Tarheel country in the Land of Enchantment 

Ain't THAT the truth.

Ain't THAT the truth about not going back to sawdust and lichen clumps.

Great work on the trees! 

Leaves for those Super looking trees

Scenic Express has a variety of leaves - I think the Noch brand is one of them.  I'm sure there are more that would be suitable.  Their catalog is a treasure trove of stuff, including the Super Trees.

Well done trees.  Another must have in my collection of techniques to use.

Thanks for sharing,

Rob Morrison

Aspen trees

When I was making aspen trees using the Woodland Scenics plastic tree forms a friend gave me the perfect way to apply the dark splotches on the white trunks.

I took an old toothbrush, dipped in in black paint and, wearing rubber gloves, used my thumb to splatter the trunks.

This results in an uneven totally random of various sizes of spltches. With the foliage applied, the trees look great.

This technique is not scale specific and is very fast. Just be sure to have a backdrop to catch the overspray. I did mine on the back porch.

Super Hot, Super Trees

Your technique appeals to me for the artistic results. I have a box of Super Trees that I have never

used because the trunks were too skinny even in H0n3.  The Aspens on the western slope here in

Colorado are not twigcs.  Nice work.

Video - straightening trunks

Your technique to straighten the trunks sure makes them look a lot better than the "dip 'em and hang 'em" process that Super Trees suggests. I've been using lead fishing weights and even three of them don't always straighten the trunk.

Tnx for a great suggestion.

Joe in SC

Is it worth it?

Considering the CONSIDERABLE amount of work you have to do to get SuperTrees to this point ... is is really worth their fairly high cost? Even by the gross, they still cost over $.75 each. Then you add all the material cost, ruined trees, trees that dont fit the HO scale, an excessive amount of labor and patience well over $2.50 each. I'd rather buy them ready made from someone like WLScenic or someone like them.

I am disabled with HD, a disease similar to MS and Parkinson, and Alzheimer's all combined. just dont have the patients, muscle control,NOR the money to make these. I used to LOVE modeling so much, now it really frustrates and makes me feel worse about having this disease, when I am reminded of WHAT I USED TO BE ABLE TO DO. I have track, models and scenery still in their boxes as I am afraid of what might become of them once I try to put them together. I  would love to see it all together and running, but I am so afraid to work on it.

What do you do when you have a desire to finish and operate ... but don't have the patience? I have the plywood, track, many of the models made, design and much of the scenery to make an 8' x 8' L-shaped layout, but no patience. I wanted to have a 1948-1950 scenery with Souther Railways (when they still had the steam AND new diesels). So I just look at the models in the MRH magazine and envy them.

Steve

Straightening trunks

My method of straightening the trunks was just pure dumb luck. I had just opened up my first box of Supertrees and was staring at the big bushy lump inside and pondering their instructions with the diluted matte medium and so on, wondering just what the hell I had gotten myself into...Then the kettle started to whistle. I had almost forgotten that I had put the kettle on for tea. So there I was, holding a Supertree and staring at the steaming kettle and thinking... Hmmmm. The rest, as they say, is history.

What happened to Herb's trees?

Hi Rick, I am also now an O scale guy!   N-scale is ALL done and gone replaced by a O scale standard gauge switching RR.  Also 2 modules of On30 RR   My wife of 50 years just like Herbs wife Trudy died 3 years ago from alzheimer's..  So to keep busy I changed scales and away we go..  I am using some trees that we made in Herbs garage on cold night..(I heard about his passing from Carl V  Bummer, GREAT GUY)  But I need about 2 dozen more!  So I thought maybe you might know what happened to ALL the trees that were on Herb's RR??   I would sure like to buy a few of them and I would also love to get one of Herb's cabooses!  I thought if anyone would know you would..  My E-Mail address is :  billp.mmre@comcast.net   Please let me know and say Hi to DALE and anyone else I might know!!    Have FUN    RETIRED CPR Signal Foreman   Bill