The Ultimate Guide to Building 100 Model Trees in a Weekend

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

See more about model trees and other scenery techniques here: tinyurl.com/btur555p

[@Bigdog5899]

I'm from Utah and I'm totally new at all this. I made a bunch of trees from sage brush by simply finding tree shapes from the branches then I just put on different colors of foam. It made what I think are really awesome trees.

[@Bigdog5899]

I don't know how to add photos to this to show my trees sorry.

[@Bigdog5899]

I would be glad to send anyone some sage brush when you need more.

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

I make deciduous trees exactly like that...but these are pine trees. 👍🏼👍🏼

[@annaharutyunyan5114]

absolutely genius idea, thank you very much!! now our ski village will finally have a forest :)

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

Awesome!

[@berniehaff]

best pine trees. time well spent. thank you, Ron

[@emilybasham6530]

Came here to get ideas for architectural models. I am in awe!

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

Well welcome and thank you.👍🏼

[@aircooledhead]

Don’t know how you do it: Every time something is rolling around in my head, you post a video that speaks to what I was thinking about. The weird part is, you post the vid, 2-4 days prior to me thinking about it. Great! Thanks!

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

🤣🤣🤣

[@trainfanattic]

Hi Ron, Nice video! Little hint: If you drop the pieces of sisal rope into boiling water, they unwind by themselves and straighten out as well.

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

Good tip!

[@JAnthony-bc6qm]

Beautifully done! Thanks !

[@jaspermaust7125]

Those look amazing! I've been searching for the perfect tree tutorial for months and this is the one. Thank you so much!

[@cncpgreatlakesdiv4896]

hi Ron they look AWESOME GREAT WORK.😊😊👍👍🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲

[@tomg721]

The timing of your video is perfect Ron. I have been trying to decide what to do with a bare mountain on my layout.

[@mikedurhan9941]

Your spirit of helpfulness keeps bleeding through all your videos. I don't know what we're going to do with you, Boy. But, I'll declare this: you are a great helper to the model railroader. The first time I saw you on KZbin, I thought you were perhaps a "snake-oil salesman" (slick talking rascal) due to your claims about NoOxID. But, you were not; you were trying to share with us what you had run across. Now, I know that. And you have become a trusted advisor to me. I appreciate you very much and look forward to each new video.

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

Your kind words are deeply appreciated.

[@chazco]

They are some good looking trees.

[@TheNorthwestWind]

daddy ron for the win. again

[@williamstuessy1611]

You are an inspiration to all of us ' arm - chair ' modelers....great job! Excellent video.

[@discgolfillustrated2640]

I’m up to the painting stage with 30 trees and am very gratified so far. This video has been very helpful. Thank you ! 👍🏼

[@jacko9759]

It still amazes me just how many trees it take to cover a hill side. I guess I'm lucky I'm modeling a desert area but tht too takes a lot of r brush to cover right. Thanks for sharing.

[@Longshadowsmodeltrees]

They look good Ron, I've been making those Pine Trees for years. Keep up the good work. Bob

[@JoeG-firehousewhiskey]

Excellent technique! It definitely seems easier for mass production! Looks great too

[@N-Scale]

Thanks Ron , They look spectacular !!!!!!!

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

Thanks Mike. 👍🏼👍🏼

[@TheyMakeItLikeThat]

Looking good, Ron! You did a good job of capturing the imperfect perfection of real trees

[@kentschod7619]

Ron, in addition to being an N scale guy I am also a living historian. What I saw you do with the bailing string made me think of using something like a flax comb to pull the fibers apart. Don't have a flax comb think dog brush. You may make it easier and faster by securing the comb and pull the end of the string threw it a couple of times. This may give you 2 or 3 cuts from the twine that is combed out and ready for use.

[@grenfellroad8394]

Many years ago I made trees using this method, but instead of all the sisal being the same length, I cut them different lengths before wrapping in the wire, short at the top, longer at the bottom. I also used copper wire, which allowed me to pull against the vice and stretch the wires, keeping them straight. Great work there 👍👍

[@Tigerpaw87]

Those look really good Ron!

[@JohnSmith-qe6fb]

This is an excellent step-by-step guide. I run tabletop games and was looking for some higher elevation trees to put into my scenes. Thank you!

[@gerdeguelle1967]

looking great the trees nice work .

[@Alpenkracher]

Das schaut toll aus. Super Idee. DANKE. Ich werde das auch so machen. 👍👍👍👍👍😍😍😍😍👌👌👌👌

[@AbelG8781]

Ron!! A tip, the trunks of the trees can be detailed with Woodland Scenics fine turf soil, apply white glue to the trunk and sprinkle some soil turf, makes a big difference! Good luck on the next 1400+ trees sir 😆

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

I have a plan for the visible.trunks, but that's another video.

[@AbelG8781]

@RonsTrainsNThings cannot wait good sir! Thanks!!

[@ted.slotcardaddy]

that's awesome Ron

[@discgolfillustrated2640]

I tried the commenter suggestion of boiling the twine…my results were much better using Ron’s original method. Thanks again Ron.

[@David_Musicpro]

Hi Ron, your pine trees look amazing! Thank you for sharing. David

[@jimfisher7324]

I've been making sisal pines for a decade now and love them though I might like to find a fiber even a little stiffer. I untwist 3/8 sisal rope to the individual bundles. I soap it over night which straightens and loosens the fibers. For my HO trees, I try to match the wire for the trunks to the size of the tree. In addition to florist wire usually 18 AWG I have used various wires including stripping the wire from scrap Romex using it both with and without the insulation. I've found it's important to maintain a good tension when spinning the trees. I'm going to be trying your use of static fibers instead of foam.

[@chrisridd9423]

They look great! Do you feel like you need to cover the bottom part of the trunks with something to make them less wire-y?

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

On the ones up front, but that is another video.

[@henkkhrr5306]

Hey Ron Learned this from Grant's video a couple of years ago and have made 3380 trees (no typo) between N scale 20 and 80 feet equal ratio to 20,40,60 and 80 foot . I calculated an average of 5 min per tree doing lots of 20 to 60 at a time. I also used various green colours and some rust to simulate dead pines. An 80 ft N scale tree takes twice as long as a 20 foot. So far I have used 2200 of them on my Kicking Horse River Railway. Lots of trees in the Kicking Horse Pass between Lake Louis Alberta and Field BC. Good luck and just persevere. Henk

[@larrytate5605]

great video,...thanx

[@richardmattingly7000]

If you have or can still buy a spring loaded flour sifter it works beautifully to apply this material since its action does the work without shaking. One way to lose less braches is to spray a bit of Aqua Net or hair laquer on the wire then apply it letting it set up and then fold the wire to spin it. This also allows you to cut the shape first before twisting and even have gaps between layers of branches if desired. Using this method you can have dozens of trees ready to be twisted all at once since and shaped since there tacked down vs building one after another.

[@randydobson1863]

hello ron's it's is randy and i like yours video is cool thanks and 100 tress good ron good friends randy

[@kenshores9900]

Ron: Interesting technique. Good use for floral wire.

[@kenshores9900]

Now you tell me how I could have used that baling twine I use to own. Amazing how many things in our hobby are repetitive. Thinking about hand building N scale turn outs.

[@andrewl9191]

I've been making a lot of sea foam trees to simulate upstate new york in the fall. It's been fun and a good learning experience. I picked up an airbrush recently and have been using that to paint the trees. I'd like to find a different glue though. Something that isn't so nasty to use, but oh well. Then sprinkling with various shades of green, and then selectively adding orange, yellow, or red. The other thing I've done has been adding what look like downed trees on the hill/mountain in my layout. I remember this from when I was camping with the scouts in the winters, but I also saw it on the Virtual Railfan Horseshoe Curve video this last winter. You can see so many downed trees in there, and there's so much other stuff on the ground that isn't just grass.

[@andrewl9191]

I should probably make some pine trees too...

[@randygates364]

I’m also in the process of using Grant’s method. The hardest part is getting the right sisal. I have a hard time getting the curling out of the twine. I found an Etsy store that sells sisal that is not wound. It works good, but there is a lot of waste. I like your idea of using floral wire. I’ve been using copper, but I think the green will work better. Thanks for smother great instructional video!😅

[@warrenholmar1129]

I got 2.4k of baling twine from Farmlands here in NZ. Cost me just under $200nz

[@MosriteCharlie]

What do you treat the trunk of the tree with or do you just leave it as twisted wire?

[@robertlewis7237]

thank you for super detail video hope work out right you because find way make 12inch tall tree in east cost USA about 24 them

[@newgravityfilms]

I love this! Been looking for a way to fill in a dense forrest and this is a great method.. i plant to put some more detailed trees in front and this for the backfill

[@johnschutt9187]

Nice

[@fancymichael6113]

Great tutorial

[@garrettmeadows2273]

Hi Ron! I'm interested in creating landscaping for 12" action figures, such as Creature From the Black Lagoon, Dracula, Frankenstein, etc. What scale size scenery should I use? Perhaps O or G scale?

[@cloverdalerail1093]

Yay Canada!

[@iangerahty3422]

Be aware managed forests have the lower branches lopped but unmanaged/wild forests will often have branches reaching right down to the ground.

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

I will deal with the bottoms when installing.

[@Cowboy_Steve]

Howdy Ron! Wow that looks great! I think I might even be able to pull that off... lol. Really impressive how well they look given the time to make them. I can see once you get a routine going you can zip right along. I'll have to research making trees for HO scale. Thanks for sharing 🤠

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

Many people make larger versions of these same trees for HO. Just cut the sisal longer and make them taller.

[@ironworksmodels]

They look so good in large number! Are you doing anything in the base of the tree to cover the twisted wire?

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

I will in the foreground where they will be seen, but that is an upcoming video.

[@stanleym2679]

Watched your video on upgrade truck wheels, don’t have a gauge, bought new micro train trucks with couplers, what size or number for metal wheels to use

[@williamshepard1916]

I went a little more extreme on my trees. Similar but different. Made a fixture to twist the wire and to lock the wires at the turning end. The turning end used a lazy suzan bearing with a hole in the center. stretch the first wire and lock it down at the twisting end. Apply a coat of Hobby tac to the wire, wait for it to turn clear. Here is another trick to help straighten the fibers. First I used fibers from an old worn out 3/4" Hemp rope. Separate the main wraps, soak them in a can of soapy water in 6' sections. Weight the bottom end and tie off the top,(I hung mine from the rafters of my garage). Let them hang until dry. Then take them down and further separate the fibers. Cut them into lengths for the widest parts of the tree you are going to build. By this time the Tacky Glue should be clear. Lay the fibers on the wire until you have them for the height of tree you want. Put the second wire over the fibers and lock the wire at the twist end, and start twisting the wires. (I put a handle on the plate attached to the lazy suzan bearing with a handle f\to aid in the twisting. Actually my fixture is 2 feet long so I can make up to 5 or 6 trees at a time. Cut them loose and spray a light brown or gray color for the trunk and branch color. Let dry. Then I made a dish using half of a piece of 4" PVC pipe about 2 feet long, ends sealed off with flat pieces of PVC. Use PVC pipe cement to glue the parts together. Put a liquid mix of glue in the bottom half of the pipe. Twirl the tree armature in the glue then apply the foliage. Leave about 3/4" to 1 inch on the bottom for planting. Most evergreen trees only have foliage on the outer ends of the branches and none on the trunk, the treason to only put the glue and foliage on the outside ends of the tree. With my finished trees aftervthey have dried, Put a piece of 1/8" styrene tube on the bottom of the trunk. So you only need 1/8" drill to plant them. I don't glue mine down, makes it easier to move trees and remove them when you want to gain access to the area.

[@Vman7757]

They look great. Thank you For sharing. I love Grants Videos. He is off line for now do to water damage. As a side Note? You can air brush, or spray cans of green to very the color of your trees. I like to spray a little yellow to one side to create sunlight hitting the trees from the same side. But a little goes a long way. For the trees up front? I like to paint coarse modeling past from Golden to thicken and texture the trunk. Then paint a desired color. I do bother doing this to the trees behind. Thank you for sharing. For more ideas on making trees see Boomer Diorama | River Road. He is HO. But he models trees you can have up front. I call them detail trees for next to the building and for signature scenes. Thanks again for sharing.

[@Scary-2U]

Question; what about the tree trunk? Is it left bare wire or is some kind of texture applied?

[@HumancityJunction]

Storytime with Ron, coming soon to a theater near you.

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

😂

[@thecnwmondovilinepaulscota7304]

That's a lot of trees! Looks like a good technique to try. I already have the sisal and the wire. For HO I would probably need to cover the trunks with something, maybe golden paste, before painting.

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

I will be covering how I do trunks in a coming video.

[@thecnwmondovilinepaulscota7304]

@@RonsTrainsNThings Ah, cool. Look forward to it.

[@scottcoleman9570]

I'm right in the middle of adding trees!! Thanks for the video!!

[@mjordan421]

Awesome video! But I’m not thrilled with the twisted trunks. Any ideas on camouflaging those parts?

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

I made a subsequent video on making trunks for the foreground trees. Here is a link. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIK6mJeqn5toiZosi=tAa1bNeyZoZ7J_P7

[@mjordan421]

@@RonsTrainsNThings Outstanding! Watched it; time to start growing my forest. Thanks a million!

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

@@mjordan421 Best of luck.

[@DetroitDiesel671]

Those look great! Much better than the ones on the layout behind you (I don't like the light tan color of the skewer), but you could probably improve those ones with that paint-and-flock method...

[@ChrisSgaraglino]

This is awesome, especially for big mountain scenes! What do you do for trees that are going to be closer up? The twisted wire trunk look obviously unrealistic, and these look great for background trees, but I have some small dioramas that I’d like to build these kind of trees with, but don’t know what to do with that trunk kind of hide it.

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

That is the topic of my next video, coming 10/24.

[@marshacimadevilla9890]

I am very new to this and have G scale. Do you have recommendations for G scale trees? This looks like something I can do but very time consuming. Thank you.

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

For trees that large you will need to start with some sort of dowel and whittle the top down.

[@AugustTheAmputee]

Nice tutorial Ron as always, great looking trees. I would like to suggest another tree tutorial similar to yours from Eric's Hobby Workshop entitled "How to Make a Realistic Miniature Pine Forest! - Terrain for 40k, D&D, Model Train Dioramas". Great video on making pine trees also.

[@sf8178]

Hi Ron, I'm having trouble finding 1 ply twine. Would 2 ply work too?

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

Sure, you just have to spare the 2 strands from one another, then separate the fibers..

[@shawnpowell5876]

Great video and tutorial on making your own trees! The method you use and show us seems very affective. You definitely have to have patience with it. Thanks for sharing your video with us along with your PRICELESS time and effort! Cheers from Laurel, Delaware. Btw, im creating a railroad room in our new home and was wondering if you could donate a sticker to add to a section of wall in there. Im a disabled Delawarian due to a hereditary nerve disease and wanted these stickers of support show of the ones im subscribed to.

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

@shawnpowell5876 Send me an email [e-mail]

[@dougkathydavies3024]

Where did you get the clamp-on table vise?

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

amzn.to/3FyX33T

[@Bigdog5899]

Do you just leave the wire tree trunks as visible wire?

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

For the forest they will not be visible. I have another video coming on how to handle the trunks of those that will be visible.

[@barrysmith8193]

An above average layout needs to have about average trees. My layout is Hon3 based on the north deep woods of British Columbia. Get a picture book on the tree species that represents the area that you are modeling. I’m 80% Douglas Fir and 20% Hemlock Fir. With some imagination it is possible to accomplish this.

[@gusmonster59]

I kept thinking just buy a cheap bottle brush and trim it back. Cheaper and far faster. I may try that to see how it works. I know bottle brush may be too thick, but it's worth a shot. IT may work for bushes rather than trees. Who knows?

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

Definitely not cheaper, especially when you need 1200 to 1500 trees. I shudder to think the cost of $1,500 bottle brushes.

[@peterjackson-cheadleheath1182]

Hi Ron What do you use for the Trunk of the tree? I've seen an idea of using heat shrink over the wire then heated up to 'create' the bark effect, maybe try one as an example. Thanks

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

I will be making a video about the trunks very soon.

[@harryhogenkamp1688]

@@RonsTrainsNThings I just made a few deciduous trees with heat shrink trunks, seemed to work pretty well. I used 6 - 8 LAN wires twisted into a trunk and then the wires separated into individual branches, some with 1, 2, or 3 wires in a branch

[@oldgrumpyhunter]

Okay, I have watched this video a few times in the past couple of weeks including today, and even purchased the supplies needed to do the same. 😁 Then today your video "How To Make Realistic Pine Trees" from 5 years ago popped up in my suggested list of videos I might be interested in. You mentioned in both videos that the Jute (5 years ago) twisted around the tree armature, and in that video, you had to comb the material. The process of making both types (Jute and Sisal) of trees was basically the same, I wonder if using the glue on the wire for the trees made of Jute may have caused the twisting? In the video using the Jute, you cut the fibers to different lengths ranging from about 1/2 inch to about 2 inches, but in this video, you cut the fibers to about 2 inches. Was the change in the lengths more of a convenience factor (easier handling) or was there another reason? In both videos and the furnace filter tree video, the trees look great, but for what it is worth I like the look of the Jute and Sisal trees better. Thanks for putting out your videos.

[@PerandoPula]

Fascinating. Now I have an idea how to make a toilet brush 😅

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

😂

[@berserksamurai]

how tall were your trees on average? 8 inches?

[@gerlandkent6377]

👍

[@kenshores9900]

Ron: Do you think N scale modules will be available again soon?

[@sparky107107]

are you doing more videos

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

Hey Sparky. I've been pretty overwhelmed with family and work stuff for several months, but yes, in fact, I am working on one this weekend.👍🏼👍🏼

[@johnpandolfino8663]

👌👏💪👍🤙💰💰💰💰🦫🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸😎

[@mikereed174]

I use the same technique but instead of scissors I use a small battery powered grooming tool for beards and mustache. Its quicker and cuts better.😁

[@Anon_Omis]

How might you hide the fact the trunk is twisted wire? Or how would you scale it up to say HO? Those trunks look too skinny for that scale.

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

These trunks will be hidden in the Forrest. I will cover making trunks for foreground trees in a soon coming video.

[@Anon_Omis]

@@RonsTrainsNThings awesome. Looking forward to it.

[@themainman2827]

It seems to me that this is exactly how GW makes their little trees

[@ACRR46]

Has anyone thought of using heat shrink tubing for the trunk of the tree and painting brown/grey?

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

Yes, I've heard of people using that. I'm doing a video on how I handle trunks in a couple weeks.

[@centeroftheearthmining4095]

They came out great! Just not a fan of the twisted wire trunk look.

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

I will deal with trunks in an upcoming video.

[@lookup49]

Anybody making birch trees?

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

I've made aspens with super trees.

[@ronsrailroad7176]

What changes would you make for ho scale?

[@RonsTrainsNThings]

Just make them bigger--linger twine, longer wire.