Tutorials

How to Make a Small Bush or Small Tree.

Posted by Beano Boy on 17 Mar 2014, 23:02

(Thank you Vellek this is often the case with the like option.) Mrs B is back,and with some good stuff to make,making Tree`s much more easy for anyone wishing to do so........Image....A pack of 200 ,6 inch Plant Twists at £1.97 & a pack of 200,8 inch Plant Twists at £2.23,and Galvanised Wire size 0.71mm x 0.5kg at a price of £4.14.Now that's a lot of wire for just over £8.34...It would be worthwile looking in the Pound or 99p Shop,for these Plant Twists,however Mrs B was no where near one.ImageI have twisted a sample just to check they are OK to recommend....Imagel thought of Pascal and his Pirates when looking at this.As you can see MayBell is checking it out too...Image.....Image.Above is the little Bush and this splendid Plastic coated Plant Twist,that gives perfect opportunity now to make any size tree possibly that any Modeller would ever wish to make.If they are two long you simply bend them in half,and work on.This Topic has been so far very long with lots to read,which happens with ongoing experimentation.So l thank all who have endured all this reading on updated post`s. BB
Beano Boy  England
Supporting Member (Gold) Supporting Member (Gold)
 
Posts: 8083
Member since:
03 Sep 2013, 14:45


Posted by Beano Boy on 21 Mar 2014, 03:58

ln order to move my tree`s about as l wish l decided to place them not just on a base but within it too.ln the past l made bases using Plaster of Paris,but this time l am using Air Clay. l last used clay when still at school,a million years ago.Image... lt will be interesting to see how this method turns out. So l`ll get back with the result good or bad on my use of this stuff.Image l made a flat place either side of the tree so that l can place a couple of figures on the base too.Image Here l`ve just given this base a dark wash because the clay seemed to me to be rather dry. This wash is nothing special its the dark Water & PVA from my Jar l stand my brushes in.Once this base hardens then l`ll complete this tree,& the little bush too which l`ve fixed to the same type Dry Clay! Image Another update soon.
Beano Boy  England
Supporting Member (Gold) Supporting Member (Gold)
 
Posts: 8083
Member since:
03 Sep 2013, 14:45

Posted by Beano Boy on 21 Mar 2014, 15:36

Here are some pictures that helped me when l decided to make abstract tree`s.Image.....Image.....Image..It is the Silver Birch & other Birch Tree`s that l find delight in making.Image These Birch Tree`s can grow 25m=80ft so one can make them in many sizes on a layout....Image.....Above you can see how twisting wire you can somewhat achieve the look of the trunk of many tree`s. Sweet Chestnut & Oak look great with this method of twisting wire. What must be remembered though is you have no need to make every twig & leaf upon your home made tree.The basic shape is all that is needed,& the stuff stuck on top will give you a good looking tree. My use of the Dry Clay has turned out OK! l made the base yesterday,and dropped the larger tree on the Floor & it did not break,and our floor is made of hard stone tiles. So that's a good enough test as far as l am concerned. The Dry Clay is not cheap to buy,however l used what l hade avalible to me,and l`ve had this stuff for ages.However today l will cast a base using Plaster of Paris with a tree placed into it,because it`s no good making a tree if you cant stand the thing up.
Beano Boy  England
Supporting Member (Gold) Supporting Member (Gold)
 
Posts: 8083
Member since:
03 Sep 2013, 14:45

Posted by Beano Boy on 22 Mar 2014, 10:20

I have based another 3 tree`s today. Image..l`ve kept one tree,because l wish to cast the base in Plaster of Paris.The shape of this base l have formed using Blue tack .The next step is to mix the plaster up and pour it into this simple mould.The mould must be placed somewhere on the flat and level. l will insert the tree into the plaster once l have poured it into the mould.My mould might seem on the large side,but when the whole tree is finished it can be rather top heavy and so a much smaller base will just cause the tree to fall over..............l`m using an upturned plate for the casting up stage. Wow!The Plaster of Paris mix went off so quick that l was unable to have a photo taken because in seconds after mixing it was rock solid.I cast the mould up and just managed to push the tree into it before it set solid.Image....Image A couple of minutes later and it was hard as rock! This is the cheapest way l know of to do bases.Here`s another tree with clay base,and l like just stipple the ground work using an old brush,then l give it a good wash from the stuff in my jar.l don`t wast anything.Image...Image As you can see only the best tools are used,and old brush & an old knife....Image This Silver Birch tree will be cast up soon.
Beano Boy  England
Supporting Member (Gold) Supporting Member (Gold)
 
Posts: 8083
Member since:
03 Sep 2013, 14:45

Posted by Beano Boy on 22 Mar 2014, 20:26

know I must just tell you,that as you know l cast the base up using Plaster of Paris,and it is so strong when l was taking it out of the mould,Yes l dropped it on my stone floor,and as you can see it didn't break and is a perfect base for my little tree.Image.....Image If l`d used builders plaster for plastering walls it would have been smashed to pieces.Thats why l use Plaster of Paris.OK?Image I gave this a dark wash early today about a minute after it had gone hard. l realise the edges are a bit unsitely so l`ll cut and sloop the edges with an old craft knife. The next base l cast l`ll simple form a sloop in the mould so it will cut down on the work......Image...Image.. So the bases for the tree`s have checked out fine and l can recommend the use of the Dry Clay & the Plaster of Paris. If you wish to move your tree`s around then these are very good options for you to concider. The next stage is to stick the stuff on the tree`s,but l will also be doing another base so l`ll show that too,later.
Beano Boy  England
Supporting Member (Gold) Supporting Member (Gold)
 
Posts: 8083
Member since:
03 Sep 2013, 14:45

Posted by SamSagace on 22 Mar 2014, 23:44

Always excellent tutorial !!
many thanks for all what you share with us here !
User avatar
SamSagace  France
Supporting Member (Silver) Supporting Member (Silver)
 
Posts: 2983
Member since:
05 Sep 2010, 22:59

Help keep the forum online!
or become a supporting member

Posted by Beano Boy on 23 Mar 2014, 01:29

Thank`s Pascal for your kind words.It`s always good to receive comments.i am aware lots of people are viewing this Topic. This project has made me much more confident now to remake my tree`s for Hougoumont,and l will also use them for Honeywell the tiny town born from my imagination too.
Beano Boy  England
Supporting Member (Gold) Supporting Member (Gold)
 
Posts: 8083
Member since:
03 Sep 2013, 14:45

Posted by Beano Boy on 23 Mar 2014, 16:49

We all learn by the use of repetition.So let Fred & MayBell take you through these time lapse photo`s.ImageHi MayBell.Hello Fred.What are we going to do today? Well Fred you just watch this and see.........Image.......Image.Beano Boy is going to be so pleased Fred.....ImageCor,this is looking good MayBell.Yip l know Fred.....Image.....Image.....Image.Hang on MayBell,whats going on here?Oh,you just just fold them,and split e`m down the middle Fred.Oh l see.....Image..........Image.....Image......Image.......Image.......Image.....MayBell,MayBell,this is great fun!The thing is Fred,l wanted to eat some of Beano Boys tree stuff,and it`s all been used up.No MayBell have this instead he will never miss it..............ImageOh thank you Fred,this is just the job.A tasty little snack.....Image( Forgive my dirty nails,l`ve been messing around with paint & stuff!OK?) Hi you guys what have you been up too? Well we sort of tried to help those on the Forum by showing just how a tree is made,and it only took 8 minutes to do.Oh did ya Maybell............Now this is a good looking tree guys.Well done you two......Image Has either of you seen that Elastic band l left somewhere?..................lt`s true l took the last two pictures,but In case you are wondering,just who took the other photo`s. Uncle Neddy Eddy Longbottom Beano,has just left with a big grin on his face. " I`m off to 1492,so must rush l have a little Blue Box to catch! " "Bye Neddy," l said,and thought to my self that guy certainly gets around. I wonder what happened in 1492 ?
Beano Boy  England
Supporting Member (Gold) Supporting Member (Gold)
 
Posts: 8083
Member since:
03 Sep 2013, 14:45

Posted by Beano Boy on 24 Mar 2014, 14:15

Here are some shots of how l make my clay base for the tree`s.Image...As l am a rich BB,a FiddleWood Gnome l have the very best of tool`s to do this work.Image So if you have not got one of these in your house try a something else.Image l put it flat down on my cutting board and slice & hack it off.Image This is important seal the clay up again making sure there is not lots of air traped inside.If you don`t then you`ll end up with a solid brick that cost £4.26. This plastic box which came with a model inside it is perfect for my use.l can just pick it up quite easy while l`m working.You will see that l have the mark of the first base that l made on this thing,so l can work to the same mark when doing this one,and then the next and so on. So they all look neat and the same,and not iggerly pickerly in odd shapes & sizes. Some might like odd shapes,but little Wood Land Gnomes don't.This stuff might seem stiff & dry,as you cut it off,but don`t wet it at this stage or you will end up with a big blob of mud! As you begin to work it will become more easy to shape.Image...I Just spread it out and press it down.Image .....Image This is where l will place my tree & how l will plant it.....Image l just press the wire roots into the clay. However l like to put a shaped angle to these roots because this helps to anchor them in.Image.....Image l just push them all in,and then work the clay over them & smooth the base all over with my old & trusty highly efficient tool.Image...Image lt is my intention to place model soldiers within the base and so l am pressing these into the clay using them as pattern. So the platforms will not show when l place the finished models at a later stage.Image....Image...By doing this l make sure that the figures will have a nice flat base to be fixed into.Image Then using my old brush l planish & stipple it all over like so.Image...And the sides too.Image...Job done.Image...Ah,my trusty old glass jar l use for standing all my brushes in with its content being dirty water ,all the paint used on the brushes & the glue which was on other brushes too is all in this black gold. l give it a bit of a sture & blot it on like so.Image...Image..l enjoy this part especially.Image l don`t worry about getting it wet at this stage because all the working of it has been finished.Image...l will place this somewhere to dry & harden .Tomorrow it will be hard as rock with a nice finish. l hope this stage has been helpful to those making their own style tree`s,and interesting to others who just want to look see how l do my bases. As always thanks for taking time out to look............BB
Beano Boy  England
Supporting Member (Gold) Supporting Member (Gold)
 
Posts: 8083
Member since:
03 Sep 2013, 14:45

Posted by Beano Boy on 27 Mar 2014, 21:02

Having taken time out from this Topic to do other stuff that l must do. l saw this Tree and thought of that likeable Hobbit Same Wise.So l am posting it here along with my other tree`s,because young Sam likes odd type Fantasy things.Image
Work will soon resume on finishing tree`s. Oh,them two.Don`t ponder upon what they might well be saying.They have flatly refused totally to speak on Tutorials,but l think a certain something in the picture would prefure to eat the elastic band then that Tree! BB
Beano Boy  England
Supporting Member (Gold) Supporting Member (Gold)
 
Posts: 8083
Member since:
03 Sep 2013, 14:45

Posted by Beano Boy on 30 Mar 2014, 12:27

The small Bush is finished. Here is my tiny model Motorbike & Combination l recently bought placed just to make this picture a bit more interesting for you to look at.Image As for the Tree,l should have one finished soon. As you can see l have made quite a few. These are all Birch Tree`s which are nearly finished. Image The large White ones are three old Oak Tree`s for my Hougoumont Diorama. ImageOf course they are still in the early stages of modelling & will be finished in a few days.
Beano Boy  England
Supporting Member (Gold) Supporting Member (Gold)
 
Posts: 8083
Member since:
03 Sep 2013, 14:45

Posted by Beano Boy on 01 Apr 2014, 11:11

Today l am going to finish some Tree`s with this stuff.Image....ImageNow l want just to say this stuff can kill you, so be careful.l am going to use an old Cardboard Box as a Spray Booth outside in the garden to do this spraying job.Image l`ll be using this stuff too. l have never used this system of finishing off model tree`s before so this is a something completely new for me. So l will show you hopefully a good end result soon.
Beano Boy  England
Supporting Member (Gold) Supporting Member (Gold)
 
Posts: 8083
Member since:
03 Sep 2013, 14:45

Posted by Beano Boy on 01 Apr 2014, 15:29

As you can see l have the State of the Art Spraying Booth!Yippy! Guys it has worked.Just spray it on.Then sprinkle stuff on. Give it a tap if to much is on.Then when satisfied,spray again & let it dry......Image.....Image....Image.....Image......Image.......ImageJob done.I am most pleased with all the tree`s...Image...Image......Image......Imagel realise this has been a long drawn out Toturial but little FiddleWood Gnomes can not be rushed. Thank you for following on. l hope this will be useful for all those who want to make their own Tree`s. Best Regards BB
Beano Boy  England
Supporting Member (Gold) Supporting Member (Gold)
 
Posts: 8083
Member since:
03 Sep 2013, 14:45

Posted by SamSagace on 01 Apr 2014, 21:25

You're an ingenious guy, Paul !!
those trees are perfect ! many thanks !

(I don't know if others have the same problem but the pictures take hours to be showed in the post! tinipic ?)
User avatar
SamSagace  France
Supporting Member (Silver) Supporting Member (Silver)
 
Posts: 2983
Member since:
05 Sep 2010, 22:59

Posted by Beano Boy on 01 Apr 2014, 23:07

Thank you Pascal for your kind words.Yes l have noticed today the pictures were very slow coming on,but maybe that`s because this is rather a large drawn out Topic with tons of writing & pictures to load. What is good though is the fact that its now finished. l would just love to see some tree`s made by other Members. No system is perfect,but this one surprised even me. Well now l intend to make more tree`s with differing colours of green. Where l live,the tree`s are starting to green up with the same type colour l`ve used on my tree`s. Mrs B help me again with the colours because of my impediment. I must now sdmit,that l was dreading using Hair Spray,but Gosh it is so easy,and theres no messing with sticky glue.
Beano Boy  England
Supporting Member (Gold) Supporting Member (Gold)
 
Posts: 8083
Member since:
03 Sep 2013, 14:45

Posted by Beano Boy on 05 Apr 2014, 13:47

Hi guys,just to update you on those tree`s l made. l have just given them another spray outside with the Hairspray just to make them all nice and hard. l also tipped the tree`s upside down in my hand and sprayed underneath all of them getting them wet so they will dry hard enough to stop the stuff falling off. l remember the young girls in the mid 1960`s having Beehive Hairstyles that were as hard as cardboard because they sprayed & sprayed their hair solid.Some Modellers might sprinkle the green stuff underneath too,but l choose not to,because l wanted to retain the different shade of colour to give a better contrast like on real tree`s. l cannot stress enough the health & safety issue with using this stuff or any type Spray.Do it in a well ventilated room ,or do it outside.Ok? Have Fun. BB
Beano Boy  England
Supporting Member (Gold) Supporting Member (Gold)
 
Posts: 8083
Member since:
03 Sep 2013, 14:45

Help keep the forum online!
or become a supporting member

Posted by Dad's Army on 05 Apr 2014, 15:29

Fantastic topic this is.
The trees look suberb, and I also like to see the author of this post in the picture.
Thanks, I am sure I will try this at home someday!!!
User avatar
Dad's Army  Netherlands

Moderator Moderator
 
Posts: 5293
Member since:
18 Nov 2007, 22:53

Posted by Beano Boy on 09 Apr 2014, 11:45

In reply guys,I must say I did go over Budget on these tree`s.It cost another 35pence for the cheapest can of hairspray and I put plenty on.Now Mrs B is getting very odd look`s from people when she buys the cans for me in the dozens.Well I have the Woods at Hougoumont to remake.The first 12 are made 48 more are in the pipeline.Image They look good in Honeywell too.
Beano Boy  England
Supporting Member (Gold) Supporting Member (Gold)
 
Posts: 8083
Member since:
03 Sep 2013, 14:45

Posted by Beano Boy on 20 Apr 2014, 14:16

Hi guys,I`ve been shopping on the Internet & I have just ordered a great big lump of Air Drying Clay and it`s the stuff they use in school`s so there were tons of good review`s on this product.What is amazing is comes in 12.5Kg package and is just what I needed for making Tree bases & Pond`s and it is Reinforced with Nylon Fibre too.The price £11.95 + £2.95 postage.Image I managed to obtain it on Amazon UK. My Tree production is in full swing now & the three Oak Tree`s for Hougoumont are nearly finished.Image These are the remains of the Oak Tree`s at Hougoumont today.Image Above is the early stages of one one of those tree`s for my Diorama. I hope perhaps some might have found interest in this little add on to this Topic...............Always feel so good to make your own stuff! BB
Beano Boy  England
Supporting Member (Gold) Supporting Member (Gold)
 
Posts: 8083
Member since:
03 Sep 2013, 14:45

Posted by Beano Boy on 19 May 2014, 16:35

This is just a follow on tip really to this topic and is aimed to help out those wishing to try out this method. I have found it benificail to spray the hairspry underneath the stuff stuck onto the branches.This stiffens them up nice like for when you spray the top and add your green covering.Image......ImageQuite a few tree`s to prepare this time.....Image
The pictures taken today shows me spraying the underneath of another dozen tree`s outside in my garden. I have held off doing this job for a for quite sometime now because we had Great Tits (Birds!) nesting in the Bird Box directly on the wall over my head ,and both parents have been so busy feeding their young over the past few week`s. They all fleadged this morning so our little tiny friends are away on the wing.

Back to the Tree`s.
( Use the cheapest Hair Spray.This one cost 35pence.)This Tip about spraying will help give a better look to your tree when its finished. BB
Beano Boy  England
Supporting Member (Gold) Supporting Member (Gold)
 
Posts: 8083
Member since:
03 Sep 2013, 14:45

Previous page

Return to Tutorials