Looks great. I made mine from Sedum "Autumn Joy" flowers that I harvested after they finished blooming. I dried them and after that it was a simple task to paint the trunks white, accented wit black, and painted the tops with different green colours. They look pretty good too.
I have watched loads of videos on making trees, but this is one of the easiest methods I have seen for creating really good looking trees. Its also not the usual green fir tree that everybody seems to do. Thanks for sharing your skills and knowledge with us all, it's very much appreciated.
I like your style with all of the trees you have made, simple and clear tutorials with step by step instructions. These trees are a great improvement over your previous 3000 trees. I would find it very difficult to redo the old ones but that’s why your layout looks so good and we are watching.
Thanks Derek. The trees I will be replacing are 20+ years old, were built in a different style and have been on several different layouts. I feel a layout is never done. Techniques change for the better and our expectations grow along with them. Cheers! -grant
Hi Grant - This video is an excellent tutorial for anyone desiring to make their own Aspen/Birch trees. Your overall explanation is crystal clear and the end result is fantastic. Thanks so much for this well done video. Mike
I model on the cheap. I make all my own ground scatter (flocking) out of either sawdust that gets coloured in the electric coffee grinder my wife gave me for modeling, or foam rubber done same way in the coffee grinder. That way you can control the colours and the granularity of your finished product. I also make my own iron oxide (rust) by soaking about 4 pieces of 0000 steel wool in a quart jar with white vinegar. After about a month sitting in the window, I pour the mixture into a large pan (I use my old 11" x 14" stainless steel photo fixer trays when I had a darkroom) or baking dish and wait for the mixture to completely dry (usually about 2 to 3 weeks). Then I take a single edge razor blade and pulverize the contents into a fine powder and store it in little tins. Each batch I've done comes out a little different in colour. Then you use the rust as you would any weathering powder or chalk. It looks real, 'cause it IS real rust! I also colour my own chalk with acrylic paint and food colouring. I never buy weathering powders. Instead, I go to the dollar store and buy women's makeup in the little plastic containers. For $1.00 you can get quite a collection of different colours and they adhere better than weathering powders. For trees, I use the Nandena bush after the little red berries fall off, it leaves a perfect tree trunk (armature). I also have a TON of lichen growing out back on the hill behind my house. When using the Nandena bush tree armatures, you can paint them whatever colour you want--even grey for aspen trees. Cover the armatures with lichen, seafoam or whatever you want, then add your own home-made flocking and you're done. For pine trees, I use florist wire (wrapped) doubled and bits of jute cut in1 to 1 1/2" laid in the wire, then using a drill, twist the wire while holding the other end in a pair of pliers.. I also use barbeque bamboo skewers with pig hair (horse hair) furnace filters (they're already green); have to paint the skewers first. And I never use spray paint since I use my airbrush for all my painting. I can use either acrylic or oil base paints; I usually use one airbrush for acrylic and the other one for oil base paints. Cheers from W Rusty Lane K9POW in eastern Tennessee
I think your forestry techniques are fabulous. A substitute for the propane bottle torch might be a butane torch lighter. It's not as big and only costs about $3-$4 dollars. I use them for shrink wrapping on electrical wiring connections. Don't know if the fuel is going to last for 💯 trees? But they are refillable.
Thanks Ron, great suggestion. One of those wee butane torches has been on my list of things to pick up for a long time.... unfortunately it's a mental list and is quite unreliable!! I do love my propane torch though. The number of birthday cakes it's lit is quite impressive. Thanks for watching and reminding me to check the mental list a wee touch more often!! Cheers. -grant
Wow! . . . another brilliant tree tutorial! How many trees on the layout is that now Grant? This is also a great method for HO Scale if one needs trees for depth as well. Thanks for taking the time to share it. Cheers ~ Boomer.
Thanks Boomer. 3000 Fir and 100 Birch since I started back up. There are another 3000 or so on the layout that that I will likely be replacing. Fortunately as I move east on the layout I need less and less! Cheers. -grant
Thanks for this - hugely appreciated - and completely outclasses the10 or so different batches of natural based lash ups I have been playing with! Just what was needed as a follow on to your pine technique which works brilliantly btw.
Thanks Nick, glad you like the vid. You'll have blast with these ones. A little more artistry involved and much more exciting than turning out a steady stream of green. Cheers. -grant
Great tree making technique Grant, really enjoyed that and the those Aspen trees look so good, thanks for sharing. I guess you wear thick jumpers in the summer🤔😂 Cheers Grant, John
Great work, those trees look sooooo much better than the woodland scenics ones I’ve been using! Don’t like the idea of using the torch myself, but other than that, I’m fairly sure I’ll probably make some of these to replace the ones I’m currently using.
Thanks so much, they are a blast to make. You could skip the torch and try a heat gun... It would likely have the same effect just not as quick. Cheers! -grant
Amazing! Great tutorial. Lots of birch and pine in my prototype area so these tutorials will come in handy. I've previously used a similar technique for pine, (using stranded wire), and although the results were great, it was very time consuming. This will simplyfy things
Thanks, I appreciate the tip. I've tried Gesso before and it doesn't give the result I'm after. The wax is an almost instant dry and can be manipulated afterwards with heat. Cheers!
@@SouthernAlbertaRail just don’t get the gloss. Matte is best. It also ( when tinted) takes marker really well. I use brush calligraphy markers to add detail. It gives a very unique and randomness feel . It’s also cheaper, less messy and is more uniform. The bark on trees looks hyper realistic when used straight from the bottle And for aspen and smoother barked trees you can dilute it with water or paint to give to smooth texture. There’s hundreds of different varieties of molding pastes. I used them on base water features to build up ( using the gloss version to add depth, so when you add the water resin you only need a top coat. Saving possibly hundreds or thousands of dollars when used :) It also doesn’t crack or yellow since it’s meant for fine art painting
Hello. Your model train is beautiful!!! Thank you very much for your great tutorial, I used your technique for the trees, they are magnificent. I made them a little bushier than yours. (I made a Japan-type N scale train, the fir trees are bushier there) Sorry for my bad English, I'm French and I use google to translate. Thank you again 1000 times Mr. 🙏
That was an excellent tutorial Grant, I would imagine it could be adapted to other tree types. Isn't the wax hot on your fingers, and using the blowtorch, didn't you hands get hot? Course you were working outside, so I guess it might of felt good ;-)
You have come a long way, with the layout, very nice, I have a question for you about your rubber band technic, to eliminate the lag on the n scale rolling stock, any help will be appreciated, thanks 😊
Hi Grant, Thanks for the tutorial. I've made some really authentic looking trees. Just a little bare; what would you recommend for the leaves? I'm colour blind so something from say Woodland Scenics; which I can get in Wales. Thank you. Also I would sign up; but the subscription is showing as £4.99p. Robin.
Hi Robin. Woodland Scenics makes a leaf material called Fine Leaf Foliage. Depending on the time of year you're modelling will depend on the colour you need. They have an autumn blend as well as a light and medium green. The medium green looks pretty good to me for summer leaves. Cheers. -grant
One of my subscribers is using white shrink tube. Depending on how many you need to do that could be a good alternative. I use the wax because I can pass the torch over it to get a good finish quickly and if it doesn't turn out.... Just re-wax and pass the torch over it until you're satisfied. Cheers. -grant
@@SouthernAlbertaRail Thanks, I know you make thousands of trees but I don't need more then 200 and a spool of 18ga. Copper is prohibitive. All the same beautiful trees, and fantastic job on the layout.
