Hello again everyone. This is the second part to the "Realistic Summer Trees" blog. I realized that there were some supplemental pieces of information that were greatly needed in order to fully support the trees in the surrounding scenery. 

I will first start by saying you will see two techniques. One you may have already seen, it is the step-by-step technique for building the trees I described in the original "Realistic Summer Trees" blog. The second is building the edge of the forest. Supertrees are very intricate, but their main trunk structure is not wide enough for me and I am not patient enough to attach the supertree armatures to sagebrush branches. The reason I mention this is because I want to stress that the trees you make from this blog should be short and have a barely visible trunk. The bushes from the "forest-edge technique" that I will describe should accompany the tree line's base. Essentially what I am saying is that the trees in the above image would not look as good without the "forest-edge" beneath them. So please heed the importance of the following technique and enjoy. 

[1] THE FOREST EDGE

The forest edge is usually overgrown with foliage exiting the tree-base everywhere. Often the trunks of the trees are not visible because of the overgrowth. The technique I use is visible in many areas of my layout. It is so versatile as you'll see. Also notice how you can see the heavy layers of vegetation. The following pictures show what I am trying to explain. 

Now I will begin to with the steps of the construction. I will be building what is in the third image above (it is applied in all three). The steps below follow along from left to right with the following images.

1) This is just a picture of the bare workspace from a birds eye view

2) First I use Heki Moorland Green Wild Grass Fiber (Scenic Express #HK1573). I glue a thin strip just in front of where the forest edge will be with Elmer's glue. Since the Wild grass is thin, I bunch it together when I glue it to create a lush grassy look. 

3) I glue small rocks from the backyard to represent random boulders and wall-faces. Although I do not show it, you can elevate the scenery over these rocks too by placing scenery materials on top of them.

4) Behind the wild grass strips, I glue Scenic Express Dark Forest Green Super Turf clusters. to give them some dimension, I then sprinkle Woodland Scenics blended turf green blend to fall into the tiny cells of the material for highlights.

5) I then glue Scenic Express Spring Green Super Turf to the scene.

6) Next I add Woodland Scenics medium green fine-leaf foliage for much needed height behind and on top of the Super Turf clusters. 

7) I then add sprigs of Woodland Scenics Harvest Gold Field Grass within the Heki wildgrass. Also I add vignettes of moss that have been properly sterilized to add interesting texture. More on this technique can be found on one of my older blogs "Fine Weeds For Your Scenery Needs." I also add Scenic Express Siflor late-summer leafy tufts in front of the Heki Wildgrass for color and texture. 

8) The finished forest edge is then completed with placement of trees behind and on top of the forest edge. Note, the trunks of the trees should barely be visible and the tree branches should extend slightly over the forest edge bushes. 

So there you have it. But by request, in case you need some help on the trees here are the steps for those. 

[2] TREES: STEP-BY-STEP

Again the steps follow the pictures from left to right. (An in depth instruction is discussed on the original "Realistic Summer Trees" blog)

1) The Scenic Express Super Tree armature is spray painted flat gray and stained with alcohol and india ink. Note, the tree itself can (and should) be straightened and the ways you can do this are numerous and available online.

2) I then use Woodland Scenics green poly-fiber to place on top of the super-tree branches in small, thin pieces. 

3) I then glob on Woodland Scenics Hob-E-Tac glue to the tree. I wait and let the Hob-E-Tac become clear and tacky before I apply the leaves.

4) I then cover the body of the tree with Woodland Scenics Undrebrush Forest Blend. I then spray the tree with a strong-hold hair spray and let it get tacky.

5) I then sprinkle Scenic Express olive green leaf flake onto the tree for texture

6) I then sprinkle Woodlland Scenics blended turf green blend and yellow grass onto the tree. This image is the final result. 

So thanks for reading. You all made the last scenery post a great success with your comments and questions. I hope you try these techniques out and post your results. I'll be posting other journals soon so stick around but until then I hope this was a helpful article fpr you and I hope it brings some awesome realism to your layout's scenery. 

Good luck and thanks,

Nick