Hand made trees...

Over the years I've built model railways for myself, as an adult, I have been using up and reusing a stock of trees my Dad built in the 1980s...

Trees under construction. Single wires twisted in to pairs, then again and again until the structure of a tree is formed. Then a mix of white glue, acrylic paint and interior filler is used to create the trunk and hide the form of the twists - several layers produce a passable trunk. These were destined for last Christmas's 006.5 Peat Micro layout, which wasn't finished.

However, it is a skill I remember him trying to teach me, where he used twisted braided cable and unwound it into single strands forming the branches of the tree before gluing and covering in miliput, paint and scenic material...

Well Gordon Gravett's book on Deciduous trees I got last Christmas was a revelation. Here was a technique I thought I new, but in reverse. Instead of starting with a bundle and unravelling, you start with single strands and build up... this makes sense, it means the tree can take on bulk in it's trunk, and you can be more artistic in it's make up, easier to copy shapes and branch length from prototypes. I use copper wire cut from a length of car battery wiring sourced on eBay. I spent the winter studying trees and began making my own and really enjoyed it. 

During Covid I've let this lapse, but I plan on picking the box of parts up and continuing over Christmas. There is a real beauty in these naked trees, it will be quite difficult to pluck up the courage to dress them in foliage. More soon...