I need more than a few Pine trees and would like to inquire with all of you a better way to make trees and quicker. The store bought do not look good and I have no problems with making Oaks and Maples but the area that my dio is in has pretty much just pines. no oaks or maples. so what is the best way to make them look real and a nice pine?

Howdy SGT.,

Find yourself some Juniper bush roots. They are the best for look and scale. :-)
You can stain them once they are dried, and if you aren't pressed for time (aren't we all). You can harvest them live, seep them in hot, lightly brewed tea, and not only do you get a 'natural' colouring, but you can also bend and form them to a decent degree to get a more precise 'look' that fits your particular application or dio.
HTH.

Tread.

Another option is to go down to your local floral supply store and purchase caspia basil (should be pre-dried). The branches can be cut from the stem and glued onto a "trunk". It looks pretty good to scale at 1/35. I'll get some pics up in the next couple days.

I know a couple ways to make coniferous trees (pines, firs, spruces and the like). If you want to make small, Chrsitmas tree types, collect some sumac "flowers" -- you have sumac growing on the roadside in Maryland -- pick off the bits that aren't wood, dips the branches in some thinned white glue (i.e., Elmers or Tacky Glue), then dip in green static grass to make the needles.

Another way: get some dowels or relatively straight sticks, drill holes in all sides about 1/4 to 1/2 inch apart, glue in sprigs of "Plumosus Green," which I picked up in the floral section of a craft store (like Hobby Lobby or Ben Franklin). You can see examples at the "Visit My Selected Link" link below the deer in the gunsight in my sig box. When you get to my Yahoo album, check out the first group of photos -- "Bob's Gallery" -- for pics I did of a dio with "pines."

Thanks guys looks like I will have to makw a trip to my local floral shop and the Micheals store.

I went the caspia route and ended up winning second place.


I hot glues the branches onto sticks that I scored at the local park, and it worked.

~Chip :-)

Chip they look great! I will have to get some caspia and give it a shot

Caspia Basil. mmm i dont know if i exactly know what is this or if i can find it here in Greece .. Some more info please. Nice work there Chip