Another run at it ...

  I am also still thinking in HO sizes, and not really getting the "fineness" of branch detail that I should have for N scale.  I ripped the Caspia bits off the armature and dug out some filter material that we had leftover at work.  First I tried twisting and bunching them to glue them on, but it still didn't look quite right. So I tried just sticking a couple of loose tufts of the material.

Hmmm... That might have merit.. continue!

WOW!  That  is one fully blown out tree!  Ummm - maybe you should have painted the armature -BEFORE- sticking all that to it?   Such is the nature of experimenting!  Can it be painted afterwards?

I think it still needs a "tiny" amount of pruning and trimming, texture and coloration of the trunk and "leaves".

A step in the right direction though..

Letting the paint dry .. I guess I can twist some more trees up while I wait!

Toni

Try a little Handle Dip...

Love the concept for the 'branches', I'll probably be trying it soon myself. After you twist your trunk, but before you add any 'leaves' to the branches, try dipping the trunk into some of the thick, rubbery dipping stuff used to coat tool handles. It hides the twisted look of the trunk, and gives it a bit more 'meat.' Then just paint it 'trunk' colored when you're done.

I've made similar armatures to simulate Saguaro cacti, which requires two layers of the thick goo, and it works great. The only problem I've found... it slows the process as you need to wait some time for the handle dip stuff to dry.

Stucco paste

If you don't want to wait for sawdust-and-glue or the rubber to dry/cure, then try some Liquitex Ceramic Stucco paste.

A $5 jar from Michaels last a long time, it dries in about 15-20 minutes and gives a nice slightly-bumpy texture.

That's what I used for my grape vine plants:

And I'm going to go back and add it & repaint all the trunks of all those pines.
The stucco is simple, easy, and looks okie dokie.

Tree trunks

I have used super trees and joined 2 or 3 together with shrink tube and painted that with ceramic stucco...nice results...twisting wire has never worked well for me and makes my hair and hands hurt...

Wire armature trees

I've used twisted wire to make trees and although time consuming you can make some nice trees.  If I use this method again I will coat the trees with the Liquitex Ceramic Stucco paste as suggest by M.C. in this thread.  Here's a link to my website that shows some of the trees and a couple of pictures:

http://richlawnrailroad.com/?page_id=138

Building up tree trunks

If you want something that is fast, cheap and relatively idiot proof ( I know 'cause I can do it) try using hot glue.

Here's a link to the the blog discussing this.

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/10198

Detailed instructions

M.C. made some very detailed videos on his N scale Oak Tree making techniques:

YouTube titles:

N Scale Oak Trees: Part I (9 1/4 minutes)
N Scale Oak Trees: Part II (9 1/2 minutes)
Oak Trees: Part III.mov (almost 10 minutes)
 

There is a SIX-MINUTE "abridged" video:

https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/twistedwire-oak-trees-12189944

Also, the vineyard making:

https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/how-to-plant-an-nscale-vineyard-12191421

Little Luck with Stucco Paste

Perhaps its just my dry climate, but I've had trouble with Stucco Paste. It looks great for a few months, but then it begins to flake off. I find myself having to deal with humidity in the single digits for weeks at a time, followed by humidity hovering around a constant 60% for several more months. Perhaps THIS is why I've had no success using this method.

Handle dip, however, has never let me down, despite my troublesome climate. I haven't tried hot glue, but it seems like it would be ready for paint and foliage in a matter of minutes. I have also tried paintable latex caulking with some degree of success, but I still prefer the handle dip rubber, even with the extended dry time... does anybody else have a different technique?

Dipping hot glue?

Where Can I Get a Hot Glue Pot?

I can think of a great many uses for a hot glue pot... imagine planting trees using a dipping method. Or placing small trackside details. Since so many brands of glue stick are now 'low temp,' I wonder if an electric drink warmer and a small tin or aluminum cup wouldn't do the trick.

Anybody out there have experience in this area?

WOW! Glue pots!

  Just Google "hot glue pot" - there are a TON of them out there!  Why have I never seen one of them while I am wandering around the craft shop looking at everything?

  When AZ mentioned the "Dip It" method - I thought "Cool - I have some of that", but then I remembered the excellent results I had seen using hot glue.  The biggest advantage to that method is that it can be sculpted with the tip of the glue gun, and it cures fast, and curing can be sped up by sticking it in the freezer for a minute.  I also thought that I could "plant" the tree into some foam with a small square of foil at the base and pull out some of the glue before it sets into a root system.

  Once I get a free hour or two I'll be back out there trying the hot glue method