Trees

Since I'd been working on Walnut Creek lately, I decided to kick things off there so I could finish that scene.  Still not quite done, since I have to add crops in the surrounding fields, but it's getting there.  Here's a prototype view of the area that I've shared previously:

And a layout view with GP9 303 leading an eastbound manifest.

Next up, I moved further west and added more trees to help hide the point where the Hancock Elevator spur disappears under the mainline.  Here's a prototype pic at the elevator facing north, showing a string of loads about to be pulled:

Here's the scene on the layout:

 (To explain that "tunnel":  As the layout was originally designed, that spur stopped just short of the hill. However, on the prototype, it disappears into the trees and continues on for nearly a mile, a remnant of the former RI branch from Avoca. Empties are set out to the south (right, on the layout), and as the elevator loads them, they shove them further up the spur to the north (left), into the trees. When the prototype IAIS pulls the loads, then, they always tie on right at the elevator or just a short distance beyond, as shown in the pic below of power from an IAIS local picking up the cars shown in the previous prototype shot:

Once I started operating, it bothered me that I wasn't able to replicate that practice on the layout, so I tunneled under the main and extended the elevator spur far enough to fit a full unit train behind the backdrop. Empties are spotted to the right of the elevator, and between op sessions I manually roll them out to the left, as though they've been loaded. This allows them to be pulled from the proper location in the next session. Not ideal, but hopefully the trees minimize awareness of the tunnel.  Crews will never shove in there - only pull out - and will never take their power into the hidden trackage, so I'm hoping the effect doesn't detract from the scene.)

Finally, here's a scene near the west siding switch in Atlantic:

...and the beginning of my attempt to model the large grove of trees on both sides of the track just west of there:

Inspirational!

Trees and Water

I've got to say - this is my kind of scenery and I love trees, so you can keep adding them for me - quickest and most effective  bit of all scenery work in my opinion

I am also  looking closely at your bridge and creek work to get pointers for future stuff I want to do.

Great stuff Joe......

Rob Clark
Cornhill & Atherton RR

Some Thoughts

I realize you're still working on things, but had some thoughts to share, which you are certainly free to ignore.

Something that strikes me is how you're running into one of the problems with Supertrees, namely that the shape often looks more like Supertree material than an actual tree.  The individual armatures are frequently tall and narrow, with curving stems and pointed tops.

It's easy to get into the habit of planting widely spaced trunks, creating a see-through effect where nature will more typically fill the intervening space with more branches and/or undergrowth.

For these trees, I combined multiple armatures into groups.  What may look like a single tree (both here and in nature) is frequently a grouping of trunks, and I oriented the Supertree chunks to provide fuller shapes.  In addition, I cut out the pointed tips, leaving the more rounded shapes beneath that have more resemblance to typical trees.  the result is sufficiently dense that you can't see through large areas of it.  Additional material, including from the scraps left from trimming the larger armatures, fills in at ground level here and there.

Here's another example of density - foliage packed in with extra material near the ground.

Let's take a look at one of your prototype locales.  Note how most of the trees have rounded crowns, with multiple large branches spreading outward.  Crowns overlap each other so the tree line functions as a mass and not as individuals.  Single pieces of Supertrees don't convey this well, but groupings can overcome that weakness and look just right.  Also note just how little you can see through the foliage except toward the top margins, and how nearly all the trees here are densely branched all the way to the ground, and/or have undergrowth almost completely filling the space around the trunks.

Try using groups of armatures working together to capture the look in the photo.  Sometimes all it takes is a few extra pieces - for example the groupings around the bridge are only a few chunks away from being much closer to the prototype.  Consider cutting out the tops and using them for underbrush filler.  Create dense masses of rounded shapes.  You can also fake bigger trees by gluing several pieces together wth CA/accelerator or hot glue.  Once you add the undergrowth it's impossible to tell they don't emerge from a single trunk.

When you add leaves to the larger armatures, cover a whole bunch of smaller ones at the same time.  Fill at ground level with these, and use some to jam into the armatures above ground level as needed to yield fuller shapes.  It's not necessary to mount all these extra pieces into their own holes in the scenery base - in many cases you can simply secure them the the surface with glue.  The same applies to the pieces added above ground.  Just glue them in.

Tree foliage density

I have to agree with Rob. The trees are too "thin". More density would do a better job of recreating the mood of the prototype pictures.

I don't have advice on how to do that - I defer to Rob on that right now. I am struggling to make trees I think look good for mid summer on the Great Plains. I'm not there yet. 

Layered blending

Joe first off... excellent work!

I have to agree with my learned colleague from the great state of Utah. His comments are spot on.

One of the great things about SuperTrees is that almost all of the material can be used in some fashion, from the big trees to the scrub, bushes, and undergrowth. All of the smaller branches and low trees in the below picture were made from the SuperTrees material, and all flocked at the same time.

If your experience was anything like mine, I'm sure you had little bits fall off while they were planted or shortly after. Use them! It's also very, very easy to combine multiple armatures together and make a pretty decent tree "in the round".

Even in larger areas (large being a relative term), you can really pack the trees in and make a very convincing forest effect. The below scene is in a corner and, at least on my layout, is rather deep. I lost count of how many individual armatures I made, but am happy with the overall effect.

But don't be afraid to limit to just using leftover SuperTrees materials. You've already mastered the Charlie Duckworth technique of "dusted polyfiber" for the banks of Walnut Creek. That same method makes a really good undergrowth that can help blend SuperTrees into static grass.

Effective scenery, at least in my opinion, is about blending multiple materials together in multiple passes. There's no magic formula, but when you find what works for you, the finished product can be very satisfying.

James

Tree shapes/density

Thank you all for the feedback and guidance.  Rob S., Ken, and James, you're absolutely right about the tree shapes and density.  Sometimes when I'm learning a new phase of layout construction I get so excited about seeing the layout come to life in some new way that I forget that little detail about how it should look like the prototype, and I was definitely guilty of that today.  As I was working on these this morning, I even remember thinking about what I'd read elsewhere about bunching Super Trees together to make fuller forms, just as Rob said, but foolishly blew right by that advice as the desire to add trees grew and patience waned.  

I'll keep plugging away, trimming and filling in as Rob recommended.  Thanks again.

Keep at it

Everything you've done is certainly salvageable.  The photos James posted from his layout illustrate the general idea better than mine as he's modeling your part of the country.  Look closely at his examples.

Is it meant to represent now

Is it meant to represent now or some time ago (10 years)? I can't recall. If the modeling is 10-15 years ago, those trees were different.

Charles

Era

Hi Charles - My layout is set in 2005, and the prototype pics I shared were taken as far back as 2002 or as recently as 2012.  You're right that the trees probably changed a bit over the years, but I think the point that some of the others are making is also correct about their basic shape and density, something I didn't spend enough time considering before now.  I've never been a real student of trees, and like seemingly every other aspect of layout construction, this is forcing me to pay closer attention to the real thing.  

Looks very nice, Joe

And the input from others on creating density is really helpful.

The strategically placed downed branch makes your creek transition very effective.

Downed branch

Thanks Scott.

I'm surprised you noticed that.   It's just a piece of a SuperSage branch.  I didn't attach it yet, as I may replace it with a larger limb that hides the transition point both from normal viewing height and low photo angles.

Thanks for the clarification.

Thanks for the clarification. 10 years can change the density and shape was all I was getting at. If it is a current photo and you want 10 years ago, you might not be so off. I'm modeling circa 1987. I have the photos from then. The area tree-wise looks nothing like it does now. Looking at it now, you'd think those trees had been there generations. The photos I have show a fairly treeless area. It's completely overgrown now with swamp willow and other NE US scrub trees in wet areas.

Second attempt

I took the advice of folks here and on the Yahoo Proto-Layouts list and adjusted my tree techniques, trimming the tall, skinny examples that are common in SuperTrees and using the tops to fill in at ground level.  Here are a few photos of the updated scenes.

Walnut Creek - I still need to fill in more trees on the left once the adjacent scene near the backdrop is complete, as well as near the grade crossing to the right.  However, I don't have a spray booth, and it's too cold to paint tree armatures outside right now.

Proto:

Before:

 After:

Hancock - The thicker foliage did a better job of disguising the tunnel.  The two taller trees in front of the TOFC trailer are just stock SuperTrees armatures, but since they were shaped like Pine trees, and prototype pics showed several pines in this area, I decided to use them for that purpose.  I flocked them with Silflor 2mm late autumn static grass to represent Pine needles.

I plan to fill in with more trees here to gain more height and to better hide the mainline here to disguise the multi-level feel.

Proto:

Before:

 After:

Atlantic - This is another area where I need to add a lot more trees once weather allows more painting.  Jim Norris on the Proto-Layouts group suggested trimming the trees along the backdrop so they didn't exceed the height of the trees in the backdrop pics.  I thought that was good advice and resulted in a more pleasing look for this scene.

Before:

 After:

Thanks again to all who provided guidance.  It was much appreciated, and I learned some valuable lessons.

Much better

That is a nice improvement!

Big Improvement

Those look MUCH better.  You could still use some armatures built up for extra height, but the shapes and density have improved greatly.

I agree....

One other suggestion, Joe, that I learned from the "Ten Mile Creek" series.  You can add density at the ground by leveraging some well placed Reindeer Moss behind your front row of trees and ground cover.  If it is colored properly (dark brown, black) you will be adding to the shadows and adding density.  It works very well.  

Your layout is an inspiration.  The added foliage really blends your photo backdrop into your scenes.  Well done!

-bill

Thank you

Thanks very much Tore, Rob, and Bill for the encouragement.

And Rob, thank you for the very constructive feedback before.  I appreciate you sharing honest opinions in an effort to help me improve.

I'm planning to build up for more tree height in spots once the outdoor temps allow me to paint more armatures - especially in Hancock and in the foreground of that Atlantic scene.  Near any backdrop trees, though, and in the Walnut Creek scene, I think I'll stay with the height I have now to try to match the prototype.

Bill, thanks for the tip on the Reindeer Moss.  Would that be something you could find at craft stores like Hobby Lobby?  I'll have to check it out.  I always have a feeling when I'm in HL that there's a lot of great material there for scenery if we just had the time to look it all over.

Yes!

I like it. A lot better. You are definitely on the "right track:! 

Nice!

Great work Joe, I especially like the improved look at Hancock.

Reindeer moss...

I bought mine online.  I just did a quick check and you can buy 6 pounds for less than $15 dollars.  Hobby Lobby probably has it, because it's used for floral arrangements as a filler...

-bill

Very nice Joe. Keep up the

Very nice Joe. Keep up the good work.

Mark

Thank you

Thank you all very much.  And PAPat/Bill, thanks for the info on reindeer moss.  Six pounds of moss sounds like a lot of moss! 

Trees

They look great.  Have a question about your switch control.  I see the wooden dowels.  What kind of controls are they?  How are they hooked up.

Thanks,

Russ Austin

North Carolina