How do you guys make trees?

[creepingdeth87]

Someone donated the How to Make War Games Terrain book to me a while ago and I flipped through it recently cause I decided to try to make my own board. The process they describe involves twisting some wire to represent the trunk, covering it in masking tape and painting it brown for the bark, and then using cotton over top as leaves.

It looks absolutely atrocious, I was wondering what you guys used to make trees. Do all of you just buy the regular Games Workshop trees or do you have your own method?

[ssgtdude (M.I.A)]

Go to the local hobby store where they sell trains and buy them. Cheaper and much nicer than anything I could make by hand.

[loempiaketzer]

well,.. depending on what kind of trees you want, i have an easy way of making some.
the christmas trees kind of things.
ingredients;
- wire (about 1 mm or so thick)
- rope

- drilling tool
- vice
- a nail bent over 90 degrees

get your rope and unroll it so you get all the fibers loose. and cut it in lenghts off 2 or 3 inches
get the wire and (aprox 10 inches) fold it in half.
clamp the 2 outer edges in the vice
put the fibres between the wire
put your nail into your drilling machine and put the hook trough the loop of your wire.
turn on the machine so the wire rotates
the fibres should go round and round and create a round toiletbrush kind of shape.
just keep turning and the wire will break.
then cut the bush into shape and spraypaint it green and base it on something.
easy as pie and takes about 5 minutes per tree!
let me see if i can get a pic hanging out there somewhere
something like this.... (bad image though)

if you dont understand ill try to take pics sometime

[RedsandRoyals]

Well, first I plant a seed in the ground, then...

Oh, wait. I see.

Trees aren't that easy to make, I find. My friend has met some success with using wire and GS to make the trunk, then using PVA glue and flock on more wire to make branches with foliage, but it's a time consuming method, and can require a lot of GS.

Reds

[Happyorange]

Probably the easiest way is just to go to a model train shop and buy bulk. Last time I went they had something like a forest for £12.

[commissarbob]

Well, it depends on whether you want coniferous, deciduous, or frond type trees as each have their own steps. I have methods primarily for the deciduous trees. You will need the following from your local craft stores floral department:

Floral wire of all guages that they have
Florist tape (the green crepe tape)
paper mache materials (the shredded paper pulp works best)
White glue

Start by taking some strands of the largest wires and twist together to form the trunk leaving sections not twisted together at the base to form roots and longer sections at the top to form the main branches. Wrap the next smaller guage wires onto these branches to form smaller branches and keep working out and branching using the smaller and smaller wires. Once the wires are all together wrap them all together with the florists tape (you can also do this as you go if you like) and this will hide the fact that it is a bunch of wires.
Next take the paper pulp and glue and make a thick paste. Apply this to the trunk of the tree and give it a bark like texture and let it dry. You can press your finger or a tool into areas to create knot holes and other details while it is till wet.

You can either leave it like that if you want dead trees or you can add leaves. A simple way to do this is with lichen, which again is available in the floral department of your local craft store.

[vegna]

I have an easy method to get a jungle style feel, go to a local petshop or fish keeping shop and have a look in the tank decoration area, can often find plastic plants and such. I'm currently using the old stuff my dad no longer uses or have been damaged (of course i boil them to make sure nothings growing on them any more lol)

Generally cheap and quick