Large Scale Central

Lunatic Question/Idea/Hope/Possibility....

General Discussion
#21

Thanks for all the responses. 1. I had tried hair spray and it was a disaster. 2. I definitely am trying to avoid all the dowel-and individual-branch approaches no matter what the material is. 3. I looked up the the glycerin that Mark Hadler suggests, and to be honest, it’s a little spooky…it seems like the process an undertaker would use to embalm a body! Also it seems to take a very long time to work.4. Doc’s flocking approach is a possibility if my idea doesn’t work.

I believe the first thing I’ll try is “Mrs. Diesel’s Super Surface Sealer”; it seems closest to my original idea and I had no idea such a product exists, so I thank Kevin for that. If it doesn’t work, I’ll go to the upside down and spray with acrylic medium route. We’ll see.

Thanks again. I shall keep you posted on the results. Right now I’m weathering ties, rusting rail, installing ballast and retaining walls, and generally working the yard up, but trees and foliage are next, or should I say inevitable.

#22

Glycerin and Pine Needles:

My wife, Ann, makes pine needle baskets. In the hobby, glycerin is a common additive used to soften the needles so they can be easily bent. It also preserves. They are soaked overnight and then laid on towels to dry.

The product is “Vegetable Glycerin - 99.7% Pure USP Food Grade” It apparently is used as a skin moisturizer.

#23

Wendell, would you mind asking your wife, or maybe you know, how long the pine stays green? Thanks.

#24

Here’s the full Glycerin story - from Ann Hanks:

The following procedure makes the pine needles flexible and changes their color. As to staying green as with a Christmas tree, once the needles are removed from the tree they turn tan or light brown and are not particularly flexible and can easily break. The needle color can be controlled during the “baking” process as the oven heating time determines the coloration. Once “baked” they also can be dyed.

1 - Obtain pine needles that have dried from being off the tree and sun exposed - parks are a good source.

2 - Wash the needles with soap and water to remove any “critters” and other organisms. Dry them with a towel.

3 - After drying, soak them in a solution of 1 part glycerin to 3 parts water. Placing them, and the solution, in a disposable aluminum roasting pan, put a cake rack on top of them to hold them down in the solution. Don’t use a good glass casserole pan – too much baking residue to clean.

4 - Bake them at 350 degree for one to two hours. Notice that the color of the needles will change – from a dark reddish color to black based on the amount of baking time. If the color is an issue, they can be dyed after the process is completed.

#25

John:

Have you seen the Realistic Conifers article in June issue of Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine? I’m thinking of trying it and believe that this technique should scale-up. It does, however, use furnace filter or similar type material which sort of violates one of your criteria.

#26

John,

You can make some pretty realistic looking conifers from furnace filter material. Take a look at the clinic I gave about fifteen years ago on the subject. The conifers on the cover of the handout are about 24 inches tall. These were for an Sn3 layout. you can make them as large as you need. Note: the contact info e-mail address for me in the handout is no longer valid.

clinic handout

Bob

#27

A few years ago I had some miniature evergreens which I very successfully neglected to death. I believe they were miniature cypress or juniper, more or less conical in shape & could be trimmed. These little trees ranged in height from 12-18". Susprisingly their needles stayed in place post mortem; their little corpses just turned a pale straw color.

I hit 'em with a rattle can of shiny green paint because that was the only color I had around here at the time. They still look the same as when I first painted them; they haven’t lost a single needle. If I were building an indoor pike they’d be very OK indeed, except for the colour.

I doubt that you could spray light over dark, but I dunno… If I were to do it again I’d start with a pale green, let that dry, then decide whether or not to hit them with some darker color for variety…

They are brittle, 'tho. I’d place them where they wouldn’t get knocked around…

#28

Hey John,

I have been making trees for my Indoor layout and modular. I have about 30 so far and they are holding up and look great to me. They are made with a preserved blueberry Juniper. There are several places to buy the Juniper. It take about 3 hours per tree.

Ty

http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y405/fockewulf37/20140730_201546_zpsp2iogsfh.jpg

#29

The tallest is about 24" tall there … But i have made them up to 36" tall…Oh the Juniper comes already preserved

and I have some that are about 4 years old and still look great… You just have to make the Trunks and I use a drill to install the branches…

Ty

#30

Here are a couple 32" trees. The trunks are made the same way but the foliage is a MING fern . You can’t buy it anymore. It make great pine trees. It is fragile and can’t be moved too much…

Ty

#31

Those are some very impressive trees.

#32

OK Damn. I second Steves comment. Those are nice trees. How are you doing the trunks?

#33

http://www.silkflowersandmore.com/dried-fern.html

They have preserved ming fern and the juniper. Also other interesting bushes. I am motivated. I have a yew bush that would make some nice trunks me thinks.

#34

Devon Sinsley said:

http://www.silkflowersandmore.com/dried-fern.html

They have preserved ming fern and the juniper. Also other interesting bushes. I am motivated. I have a yew bush that would make some nice trunks me thinks.

I like it Devon. They are very expensive. I would like to find out how they preserve the stuff they sell…then I think we might be on to something. Maybe they use Mrs. Dieseldude’s method, or a commercial version of it.

#35

Landrel Brown said:

Hey John,

I have been making trees for my Indoor layout and modular. I have about 30 so far and they are holding up and look great to me. They are made with a preserved blueberry Juniper. There are several places to buy the Juniper. It take about 3 hours per tree.

http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y405/fockewulf37/20140730_201546_zpsp2iogsfh.jpg

I see what you are doing I think. You make the trunk, which could actually be something you make or a real branch painted, then you insert the preserved juniper branches individually.

They are very good, very good looking, trees indeed.

I’m still holding out for something like what John LeF. described above here.

#36

John Le Forestier said:

-snip-

I doubt that you could spray light over dark, but I dunno… If I were to do it again I’d start with a pale green, let that dry, then decide whether or not to hit them with some darker color for variety…

-snip-

Don’t shake the can of lighter color very much and use a dirty tip so it splatters more than sprays, you can get nice effects and the thicker splats are bolder.

Experiment on scrap…

John

#37

Hey Guys,

I would do some calling about the ming fern . I bought the last bit in the country about a year and a half ago. The lady that imported and distributed it in the Us was getting it out of Europe . She said that it had gotten so bad that she would no longer import it… So maybe they have started back. I have about 15 buldles for myself to make trees with…

The Blueberry Juniper is easy to come by and its about $7-$10 a lbs and you can get about 2 .5 trees per pound if your doing well… I have tried to Preserve it myself and it just did not work out…

The tree trunks start out as 1"x4"x8’ boards. I glue 2 boards together. I then figure out hown tall I was the tree and cut the board to that length. I then cut the board lengthwise fro say 1.5" at base to .25" at the top. you can usually get 3 trunks per cut board. I then go to the belt sander with 36 Grit Belt on it and sand it into a round shape. I then take a board filled with sharp nails and drag the trunks over lengthwise it to really scare up the trunk. once this is done it then take bondo and mix it up and with a Popsicle stick i pull it down the sides all around the trunk. before it sets up I take an exacto blade an drag it length wise toward the base making lines and also the bondo will bead up in places and generally look like a tree. Once this is dry i take more bondo and use it just around the base to make the feet of the tree…

This is then spray painted black. Then I use several colors to dry brush the color of the bark into the trunk.

I then start adding the Juniper or ming fern to the tree by drilling small holes and using CA o glue the branches in…

The great thing about the Juniper is that the larger pieces of juniper have natural colored limbs…

Ty

Feel free to call me with questions

tysplanes.com

#38

Just spoke to the company that use to import the Ming fern again . It is no longer available in the States. She said she could get it again but it would be over $20 a bunch her cost. I paid about $4 a bunch the last time I bought it…

Ty

#39

John Passaro said:

Devon Sinsley said:

http://www.silkflowersandmore.com/dried-fern.html

They have preserved ming fern and the juniper. Also other interesting bushes. I am motivated. I have a yew bush that would make some nice trunks me thinks.

I like it Devon. They are very expensive. I would like to find out how they preserve the stuff they sell…then I think we might be on to something. Maybe they use Mrs. Dieseldude’s method, or a commercial version of it.

I didn’t even look at prices. I have blue berry juniper all over the place and preserving it shouldn’t be to hard. I know there is some crystalline stuff you can use to dry flowers.

I also found where you can buy live ming fern

#40

I read closer and thepage I linked to is dead. They have a new site and ming is not on it. Maybe growing our own. If not I still love the juniper idea.