Saint Remy & Atkarton Railroad

Modeling Trees

(photos of only some steps)


Paint with shades of grey and brown. Vary the colors.	Spray the armature with adhesive or dip into diluted matte medium

Quickly dip into the proper shade or shades of foam. Let dry for a moment	Shake off the exess foam. If foliage is too sparse, repeat the last three steps.

Let your finished evergreen trees dry completely before planting.	Make various species by varying the color and texture of the foam.

Background evergreens made from old window screen


Creating a loop in brown painted floral wire. Adjust wire length to about four times the height of the finished tree.	Place loose ends of wire TIGHTLY in a vise. Begin to insert dyed rope fibers. (You will spray paint later for exact colors.)

Continue inserting longer (or shorter) fibers until you have a tree slightly taller than you need. Use random lengths and placements. Do not be too neat!	A taller tree with more defined bundles of fibers. Experiment!

I use a hook chucked in a cordless drill set to lowest gear. Spin very SLOWLY. If you go too fast you will have a twisted mess. The wire should be tightly twisted for best effect. If you go a little too far, the hook will get stuck in the resulting tiny loop.	Make a few trees then trim to tree shape with scissors. Mist with green spraypaint in whatever shades you like. Notice the "thinner' tree at the left and the "fatter" one in the center. Make some with long bare trunks too.

The trees at the right have been sprayed with adhesive and dipped into foam.	Cut off the loop with pliers or dykes, tighten the end twists and fatten the bottom of the trunk with squadron putty. Paint the putty when it's dry.