Make a tree for 10p

Peter Marriott describes a novel way of making good-looking trees on a very tight budget.

Peter Marriott describes a novel way of making good-looking trees on a budget.

Today, we modellers have plenty of choice in terms of the huge range of available trees – some are ready-assembled, others require a little work to improve their appearance, while others need a substantial amount of work to make them acceptable to the modeller’s eye. In addition to these ready-toplant trees, we can buy tree components and even miniature leaves.

My wife recently presented me with the stalk from a bunch of grapes with the statement “why not make a tree from this, it looks pretty realistic to me!”. So, indeed, we are making a tree that cost less that 10p but looks jolly good indeed. I simply had to trim off the ends of the stalks, paint the trunk, fix some pieces of poly fibre to the branches then finally add a little leaf effect.

Whichever method you use for the tree bark material (the cheapest is brown acrylic paint) it can be brushed onto the trunk and main branches using an old paintbrush. It is not necessary to get a perfectly smooth finish – tree bark is never like that! Leave the tree bark to dry for at least 24 hours.

Once the paint is dry, you will be ready to add the foliage. There are various options for this: Heki or Woodland Scenics foliage mat – these can be teased out from the main piece to form clumps of foliage. Alternatively, Woodland Scenics Poly Fibre is a light and airy material that can be teased out from the main ball.

When you are content that the foliage looks right, use a couple of quick bursts of supermarket extra-hold unscented hairspray or 3M Spray Mount to secure the foliage. While the surface is tacky, sprinkle on some leaf scatter material. Don’t apply too much scatter material or you may obscure the foliage base layer. The intention is to add texture and variety to the foliage rather than a solid mass. Allow the hairspray to dry before deciding whether any more scatter is required, spraying a little more hairspray as needed.

1 After enjoying a bunch of black grapes, we were left with this 8cm grape stalk which was just too good to throw in the green bin. The first step is to trim the branches using a pair of sprue cutters.

2 I used an old paintbrush to apply a thick coat of MIG Muddy Ground acrylic to the tree trunk. Cheap brown acrylic paint would probably work just as well, although it may need a few coats.

10 Sprinkle on a little of the Fine Turf mix. Work gradually – you can always repeat this step – until the tree looks right, without being overloaded. A little more hairspray will seal it.

5 I brushed Woodland Scenics Scenic Glue on to the tops of the branches using a paintbrush and left the tree aside for a few minutes while the glue turned tacky.

6 After gently pushing the poly fibre into the wet glue, it was left to dry. To tidy up the tree, I used the scissors again to trim away the excess poly fibre material.

7 Two shades of Woodland Scenics Fine Turf was to be used for the foliage – Burnt grass and Yellow Grass. Using two colours adds visual variety, even on small plants and trees.

9 The two shades of Woodland Scenics Fine Turf were mixed together in equal quantities. Mix in a bowl with a teaspoon to ensure that they’re blended evenly.

3 The dried paint produced a realistic bark effect texture. I trimmed off the excess branches and put them aside to use as standalone smaller plants.

4 After teasing out small pieces of Micromark poly fibre very thinly, I trimmed them with a small pair of scissors to remove a few straggly ends (www.micromark.com).

8 Give the poly fibre a light spray of extra-hold unscented hairspray, being careful to avoid getting it on the trunk if possible.