TREES

Most of us are not modeling the Bonneville Salt Flats or Death Valley, so we appreciate trees on our model railroads. Deciduous or evergreen; whatever fits our modeled locale. This project is about creating very realistic deciduous trees. In the past, I have used Woodland Scenics’ plastic molded armatures modified as described by Luke Towan from across the big ocean on YouTube. But this time, I am starting with a real wood branch from mother nature: sage brush trimmings.

RAW MATERIALS

The available sage brush trimmings I ran across ranged in length from just under 5-inches to just over 12-inches. I am confident longer ones are out there. The color is a nature perfect grey and there is even appropriately sized bark. Who knew Mother Nature was into HO?

To flesh out the sage bush, I used Scenic Express (SE) SuperTrees’ (ST). Once assembled onto the sage brush, they will be covered with appropriate SuperLeaf (SL) materials also from SE. I use a spray aerosol such as Aleene's Tacky Spray from Michael’s and Hobby Lobby.

PREPARATIONS

The sage pieces need to be trimmed into the desired shape of a tree and this can vary by its intended location on the railroad. Fingers usually work but plastic trim snips used on styrene also work. To achieve a smooth flat cut at the base, I use a fine tooth hobby saw. To locate and attach the finished tree to the railroad, I insert a .0625 dia. brad (with head removed) into a hand drilled hole in the trunk. I secure the brad into the sage with Gorilla Super Glue Gel.

The initial step is selecting the proper limb pieces from the ST to build the branch structure. I collect a group and insert them into floral foam for painting with a cheap aerosol light grey. Primers can also work but many are too dark, in my opinion.

After the paint has dried, I apply a mist coat of the spray adhesive from about 12 inches away. I then lightly sprinkle the first layer of SL using my finger tips. This helps visualize the finished shape of the tree more easily than just bare ST branch pieces. After all branches have been applied, another light coat of SL will be applied to fill in any gaps or leaves lost in the handling.

BUILDING THE TREE

I start at the top of the sage brush armature as it is easier to progress down the trunk and lateral branches moving downward. It also avoids possibly breaking already applied branches from having to bend them out of the way. I use small alligator clips to hold the ST pieces in position while the super glue sets.

I bond the ST pieces using Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue (which goes on white but dries clear). I use a tooth pick to apply small dabs to the junctions of the ST branch and the sage brush. If needed another light application of SL can be made. My goal is the airy openness of a tree rather than the density of an evergreen shrub.

When done, as leaves do not grow directly on branches and tree trunks, I remove any errant leaf material with a  #11 Xacto blade using very light pressure in a dragging motion.