how can i do these 2 items. i don't want to majke the trees of seafoam

http://www.woodlandscenics.com/

http://www.canyoncreekscenics.com/site/frm_prod.htm

http://www.bragdonent.com/

http://www.petitepinesnorthern.com/

For stones/rocks I suggest using... stones and rocks! You can go outside and find plenty.

Vlady,

Why don't you use Seafoam?
After I have used it for the first time I don't think that I ever want to buy a tree, it is more satisfying to make them yourself.

I am trying pine trees next, can't wait to give it a go.

Just my 2 eurocents

#:-)

i don;t use sea foam because i can't find any. poo-poo i'm in romania and i will check those sites

I like the trees that Ti makes:

http://one-step-further.just.nu/

He promissed to do an article about it in some weeks time. Looking forward to that.

For bare tree stumps and stones, the Armand Bayardi resin items are excellent. www.milminwh.com carries this line, though I don't know if he ships to Europe. You might doa search on Armand Bayardi and see what comes up on local retailers or mail order.

I told vlady my methods in the Mess Hall, but thought I should post them for the rest of you, though they are certainly not new ideas.
For trees, I use the seafoam method, but (since I can't find seafoam either) I use a similar looking dried flower I found at Michael's, the craft store. I take a good looking stick to use as the trunk and glue branches of the aforementioned flowers on. Next time, I think I will drill small holes in the trunk to stick the branches into, though. Once all the branches are in, I airbrush it a nice wood colour and then spray the tree with glue. I didn't buy any aerosol adhesive, so I just squirted thinned white glue out of a spray bottle. It works. Then, you simply sprinkle dried parsely, oregeno, or any other thing that looks like leaves, over the tree. You don't have to airbrush the leaves, but I suppose after a while they might change colour.
As for stones, I use Woodland Scenics Talus. This is the stuff model railroad builders use and I buy a few different sizes. For larger stones, I use proper looking pebbles from the back yard. You could also use the debris collected at the bottom of a drainpipe or lare particles of sand.

Nic

k fol. today i will start working on it. :-)

Micro-Mark has a series of landscaping accessories for railroaders that can be useful for dioramas too. There's static grass, foliage, turf, trees and tree trunks (in metal and plastic), hedges, rocks, and even a field grass planting tool.



Does anyone else have interesting links on these subjects ? If there's several more links, I wouldn't mind making an overview feature article.

Vlady,
Living in Romania may have an advantage here : using your imagination may help you make better trees than what you find in commercial stores ! All you need to do is take a pair of scissors next time you walk in the park, in nature or in your own back yard.
Mother nature's supply beats most commercial products.
Especially the ROOTS from dead plants and shrubs can be made to look like excellent trees. Azaleas and conifers look good, but most hard-wood plants have nice roots.
Wash them and leave to dry (you can hang them from the ceiling in dry and windy place for a few days). Add foliage (sawdust, dried grasses and seeds, commercial foliage). One of my own favorites is birch tree seeds : the catkins from silver birches can be dried and broken up into really nice looking mini-leaves. Best way to do this is mix white wood glue with water till you have a milky mixture, and smear this on the "branches" where you want to add the leaves. It may look a bit messy or snotty, but you'll notice it dries nicely and the end result looks excellent. If it looks a bit thin, repeat the process after the first session has dried.
Good luck there !

ok general. after i will translate all your reply because there are some words that i don't understand i will try some of what you told me.

I wrote this earlier today for some other thread;

I have tried to make trees before with 2 different methods.
Both envolve getting a suitable tree trunk. Roots of small trees are usually good for this or else a branch that has loads of smaller branches, buds, etc.
Method 1 is stick a lot of dried moss to each branc´h. Then hang it up side down and spray loads of white glue over it. When it dreis after a few days and you turn it the right way up it looks quite good.
Method 2 is to stick some greem sponge in areas where you want thicker leafage onto the branch. Then paint all the sponge areas with white glue and pour dried herbs over it. Repeat until you have a good coverage. Try different herbs for different trees for some effect.
Spray all black first. Then, when dry, spray dark green from the bottom side and lighter shades from the top to simulate light. The paint also helps keep small parts from falling off.
Dry brush some differnt coulours to lightly to ends etc.
Hopefully this helps. I found these methods on the net and just tried both for some fun. Both look good and a mixture of different trees gives a great effect alone. Method 2 is especially good if you want to make trees where the leaves grow in clumps and trunk/branches can be seen between them.

For stones I use the real thing, cat litter, sand dust, gravel etc.

Yes, those trees are excellent. DigitalDioramas will be publishing this article in their next issue (fifth), so be sure to download it when it's ready. Otherwise you may be able to get it right away from Ti if you ask him. The method Ti used is excellent, and very easy to follow. I will be attempting it very soon.

i know but i need something with out seafoams. thz anyway

If you are referring to my post. Ti's article on how to build these pine trees does not involve using seafoam.

k but i need oak trees and that involves seafom. i thought that u mean the "simple trees" article

Oh, ok. I didn't realize you were looking for a specific kind of tree.

Vlady:

I think you are getting too hung up on the "Sea Foam" thing. Let it go.

Get a small bag and a pair of scissors and go for a walk. Check gardens, the park, the forest, the mountains ... you will find all kinds of plants that you can use in your dioramas. Pull up small plants and shake the soil off the roots -- the roots make good trees, just turn them upsidedown.

Look at small shrubs and bushes -- they have many branches in a small package. Lichens and moss grow in the forest and the mountains -- again, they have many branches in a small bunch.

Pick up sticks and use them for tree trunks and logs in your dioramas.

Use spice leaves, as suggested in other posts, for your foliage. I like parsley and oregano -- I know you have these in Romania. The diorama smells nice, too.

For rocks and stones, check the street in front of your home. After it rains, lots of fine random gravel accumulates and it is great for dioramas. Kitty litter is also good and I use it often on my groundwork.

Use your imagination!

hei Hollowpoint thz a lot. your post got me awke. i asked if i can use roots before but nowbody answered to me

how would I make bushes (trimmed and manicured) the types people use as borders...which are about 3" high to represent tall bushes which act as a natural border?

I would go with lichen and try to get clumps that are bigger than necessary and trim them down. Then use spray glue and parsley. This will give more of natual bush that is 'taken care of'
If you want really super manicured bushes then I would look at the 'green foam' stuff that silk plant arrangements are stuck into. Cut it a bit smaller in size. Cover it with whiteglue/water mix and then sprinkle on some woodland scenic small foliage.

Just my two cents worth.

salut vlady
I apologize to our friends but i'll wrote in romanian
am aceleasi probleme cu seafoam, as ac a am incercat altceva.
Pentru suport nu e mare problema-ramuri, radacini sau poti folosi meteoda cu sirma, arata chiar bine si e reltiv usor - poti gasi articolul cred ca in armorama
pentru frunze am incercat cu muschi, lipit cu aracet si cu rumegus.
baietii recomanda folosirea condimentelor(ex-oregano) dar personal nu am incercat

sebastian

aha...so it's lichens sprayed with adhesive with herbs sprinkled on? I am trying to duplicate 6-7 foot bushy trees so it will be about 3" in scale? I will use smaller bushes to border my buildings...

What is the other name for sea foam in North America? I saw it listed once but can't remember.
HastyP

Hi Vlady,

This seems to be quite a lively topic so I thought I put in my 2 cents worth. I'm definitely nowhere near the work some of the guys do here but I believe the situation in my country is quite similar to yours in that it is very hard to get stuff like Woodlands Scenics locally.
So my one and half dioramas to date had to utilized what was readily available in my place which is nature. GeneralFailure, Plasticbattle and Hollowpoint advice is really useful as I've used them myself and I'm pretty happy with my trees anyway.
Just to addon to their great ideas is to look for shrubs and bushes that are regularly pruned as they tend to branch more. Before painting anything you may want to use wood varnish (clear or brown doesn't matter) to apply over the branch as it strengthens the wood.
Seaform can be replaced with green steel wool. The stuff by 3M is okay. Cut appropriate size and stretch them out a bit before sticking it on the branch. Its good for oak because oak tends to have a layered, clump of leaves. Just look for a thicker branch for your trunk and stick additional smaller ones for more branches.
By the way HellaYella the green steel wool can be shaped into rectangles or spheres to mimic the trimmed bushes you want. Use dried tea leaves and sprinkle over the shaped steel wool that has been coated with good ole PVA. Buy the cheapest tea you can find as the cheaper tea has bits of twigs in it that will give the shrub an illusion of little branches.

Sorry for another lengthy note from me again. Got to really learn to summarize my stuff.