Hey guys! I am working on my first dio right now. It will be of the Battle of the Bulge, so I need lots of tall evergreens, right. Well, I decided to make my own, so with the help of Lynn Kessler's book "How to Build Armor Dioramas" I'm going to try. I just bought some Woodland Scenics lychen and Dark Green coarse turf, which I hope to use to make the branches.

I first used my Dremel to grind some basswood rods to a point. I hope to drill holes in a spiral up the rod, then glue in wire. Next I'll pull apart some lichen and glue it to the wire, and last, I'll mist the lichen with white glue and water and sprinkle on the turf. It might take several applications.

Is this a good idea, and if so, are there any common pitfalls I need to steer clear of?

As I said before, this is my very first dio, so ALL comments are welcome!

Thanks!

Hey Samuel

I have a topic on how to make pine trees on my website (you can find it on the tips and tricks page). It's very easy and gives realistic trees. Check it out and good luck

Grtz Roel

Here are some that I made.....

I made them from 1/4"x1/4" balsa stock. I but them in a drill and tapered them done to a point at one end then. Once this was done then I took caspia a dried plant and used those for the branches and needles. It just happened to be dark green in color as well. In the end all looks great! The only thing is that is took about 5 hrs per tree! Good luck...

Hi Samuel,

I'e just done a pine tree for a small vignette I'm working on.
I second Roel advise : it's a cheap and convincing way to make pine trees or fir. I didn't use a banch of wood as a base, but iron wire put together and cut at the top to make the branch.




Best,
Julien

Google Jack Work trees. Similar to mehods already described using asparagus fern.

Samuel -

Roel, Robert, and Julien have some outstanding examples and advice for 'evergreens'. I'd stay away from the lichen and use dry flower/plant that are available at Craft stores likes 'Michael's',etc. or check your yard. Remember that not all the trees and areas in Ardennes were lined with 'pine trees'. Try this link for one of the best references to 'Bulge', more particularly Peiper's Kampfgruppe sSS PzAbt 501, but has great photos (see below taken from Peiper's 'advance' route:
http://www.ss501panzer.com/index.htm





Blade48mrd

Thanks for the advice!

How would I make deciduous trees? Weed roots? Sticks?

Hi Sam
Here's a few articles that may help:
Simple Trees
Making Tree Stumps
Hybird Tree Creation
Super Tree or Super Nuts?
Making Trees With Wire
Making Palm Trees
and:
Building Young Evergreens

Those were some great articles, especially the last one.