Page Updated: Mar 31, 2007

Miniature Gaming WIth Woodland Scenics Trees by Bob Waller After playing several games without much scenery aside from toothpicks standing in for everything from walls to rivers, I quickly realized that I need trees--many trees! Being a model railroader at heart, I instantly thought of Woodland Scenics, a manufacturer of nearly every type of scenery product imaginable. My local model railroad store sells them, which made my decision even easier. Though I didn't intend this article to be step-by-step by instructions for tree making, it eventually turned into that. I hope you enjoy the photos and learn a few tips that can help you create forests of trees in only a few days without breaking your budget. Why did I choose Woodland Scenics trees over making my own from scratch? Basically, I wanted something durable that I could transport and handle without getting damaged. Plus, this would be the first time ever that I built their trees instead of making trees from scratch, as I always have done on my model railroad layouts. Now that I have completed several trees, I know that I made the right decision! Just a note that you can click on many of the images for a much larger photo. Woodland Scenics makes trees in various heights, starting at 3/4". They make what they call "deciduous" and "pine" trees. These really don't represent any one type of tree, such as maples or oaks. Instead, they look more like generic trees, which for my purposes was fine. Wanting to see the different tree sizes that Woodland Scenics offers, I decided to purchase their LK953 Tree Learning Kit. According to the package, the "Trees Learning Kit teaches modelers how easy it is to make and add trees to their layout. The 18 trees included in kit range from 3/4" to 8" tall. The kit also includes Hob-e-Tac® and Clump-Foliage." This all for a retail price of $13.98 USD, plus a 10% discount from my local shop. By the way, Hob-e-Tac is the glue you use to apply the clump foliage to the branches. Assembly: In a nut shell, you superglue the tree trunk to the base and then twist the plastic branches into what you think looks like a "realistic" tree, as you can see in Woodland Scenic's photo to the right. Since the kits come in grey plastic, which isn't all that appealing to me, I decided to prime the trees with black gesso, letting them dry overnight before continuing. The next day I painted the trees using burnt umber, mixed some light tan into the burnt umber, and then dry-brushed this on the trees, following the line of the branches. This made the trees look really nice, though due to the angles I took it doesn't really show in the photos. When you like your tree, apply some Hob-e-Tac to the branches, wait at least 15 minutes for the glue to get clear and tacky, and then dip the tree into a container of the clump foliage. The result is a tree, more or less. The foliage is actually ground foam that sticks together in clumps. You pull the clumps apart to create smaller clumps, though you'll get all sorts of smaller clumps the more you handle the foliage. I suggest that you use a cheap, large plastic container instead of the "shake-and-bake" baggie method that Woodland Scenics' website suggests. The container was just easier to work with. I also suggest that you read the instructions on the Hob-e-Tac bottle. You really must wait at least 15 minutes for the glue to get tacky, otherwise the foliage will fall right off. I thought about using something like Aleene's Tacky Glue, but I feel that the Hob-e-Tac worked better. Just be warned that the bottle is small, but the brush is large and bushy. I do not recommend that you apply additional Hob-e-Tac to areas of the tree that you glued several minutes earlier, thinking that you didn't apply enough the first time. This messes up the glue's drying time, makes for a weaker bond, and causes all sorts of problems with the brush getting stuck in the tacky glue. Hmmmm, I wonder how I know this? Once the glue is tacky, you can apply the foliage. Be careful picking up the trees, otherwise you'll find that even the slightest touch of your arm hair will adhere to nearby glued trees. At one point I had about three trees dangling from my arm. As I tried to remove one tree, my arm would bump another and pick it up. I felt like a character in some Rohld Dahl children's novel, where so much stuff attaches to me that all you can see is a bunch of twisted tree trunks with a pair of eyes peering out. Thankfully, my son came to my rescue and plucked the trees from my arms. Thank goodness he didn't grab the camera and take a photo first! After the glue on the foliage had dried, I felt that the trees looks a bit too scraggly for my tastes, so I applied some additional clump foliage where I felt it was needed, making the trees look a bit fuller for my Gettysburg and Normandy summer scenarios. I used gap filler superglue when attaching new clumps, trimming with scissors where needed. I really enjoyed this part, asking my wife and son what they thought of each tree as I added new clumps. Only when I had my family's stamp of approval did I set aside the tree. Of course, I used more foliage than Woodland Scenics includes in the kit; they assume you'll want your trees to look a bit defoliated. In the future I will make some trees a bit "defoliated" for variety. The three trees in the upper-right photo show the finished products, along with my 1/72 Italeri figure. The tree on the right is 4" tall, though that is not its "best" side. Bases: Since I wanted a sturdy base that would withstand earthquakes when someone bumped the gaming table, I used 2" fender washers regardless of the tree's size. I first washed and dried the washers, removing any oils. I then taped the center hole if needed and then superglued the tree base to the washer. After the glued had set, I opened a 16oz container of Elmer's Carpenter’s Interior/Exterior Wood Filler, applying the filler with a small, plastic trowel I bought for a dollar. A popsicle stick or fingers work just as well, though fingers can get messy. The filler costs several dollars from Wal-Mart and will last forever. Don't worry about smoothing the filler because the next steps will take care of that. As you'll see on one of the bases, I used the rough spots to my advantage! You can also build up the filler for little hills or depressions. You could also tap the filler a bit smooth with your finger and then gently impress tank treads or wheel ruts into it for some neat effects, making sure to leave that area open during the flocking stage. In the upper-left photo, you can see two bases with dried filler. I could have placed two smaller trees on the same base, but I'm planning some special scenes on the open space. The tank is 1:144 scale, giving you a bit of perspective on the tree heights. The other figure is the Italeri 1/72 soldier from the other photos. I still need to touch up the filler around the edges. While the Elmer's filler is drying, get ready for the next step: flocking. Though you can buy all sorts of flocking colors and mixes, from "alpine meadow" to "forest floor," I used Farm Pasture Blend from Scenic Express. This comes with little flecks of brown dirt and other tiny debris that just looks realistic. I like their flocking textures better than Woodland Scenics. Plus, the Scenic Express comes in a 32oz shaker bottle for only $6.98. The Woodland Scenic 32oz flock shakers are $9.49. That's a good savings in my book. Because the little bits of flock settle to the bottom, make sure to shake the bottle well before using. Now that you have your shaker bottle standing at the ready, we can continue. The Elmer's filler dries in two hours, after which you can easily paint it. I suggest brushing on some primer around the washer's edges so that the paint doesn't chip off, or simply spray prime the washer prior to gluing on the tree and applying the filler. I don't think that it really matters how you do it. After the primer has dried, I painted the bases "spice brown" from Ceramcoat. Craft paints are great for scenery! Since the filler tends to absorb some paint, I painted on a normal coat of spice brown to seal the filler. After I had painted the entire base, I was ready to glop on a final coat of spice brown. The trick is to glop it on because the wet paint will act like a glue. When you have glopped the areas you want flocked, in one hand hold the tree over an old plastic container while shaking the flock from the container onto the base. Dump on enough to cover the entire base. Then gently set the tree aside and begin another. When you're sure that the paint has dried, take the trees and dump off the excess flock into the plastic container. The flock should be "glued" right to the base! Matte Medium: When everything has dried, apply some matte medium to the trees, sealing everything in place so that the foliage and flocking doesn't fall off when handled. I purchased a bottle of Scenic Express's Prepared Matte Medium in a 16oz container for only $4.98 retail. This is already thinned so all you have to do is pour it into a sprayer you get from the dollar store and spray away. It was cheaper than buying matte medium at the craft store or buying Woodland Scenics matte medium. I placed the trees on a cardboard box and began lightly spraying them with the matte medium. The matte medium soaks into the foliage, sealing it in place and making the surface a bit more uneven and leaf-like. It also protects the trees from handling. When the trees were dry, I brought them inside. Adding Details: I could have stopped as soon as I matted the trees, but I wanted to experiment with some details. I gathered some small twigs outside, brought them in the house, and then gave them a washing, making sure to get rid of the dirt but not too much bark. I then broke them into pieces and superglued them to the flocked bases. Some look like logs, others like fallen branches. Some even look like large roots attached to the tree trunks. I also glued on some small rocks made from Woodland Scenics' Talus. Any rocks would work just as well. I also glued some Woodland Scenics tall grass in some spots, though I came to hate the stuff because it got everywhere. Making Mud: The best part was making mud on one of the stands. The area was really rough where I had messed up the wood filler, so I decided to make use of that "mistake." Before painting the entire base, I painted the "muddy" area burnt umber. When that dried, I then dry brushed on a lighter shade of tan so that it looked like the tops of the mud had dried. When I had finished, my son walked in and said that he really liked the mud I had made. Success! Without me telling him, he realized it was mud. It was so easy to do. When the mud area had dried, I then painted the rest of the base as above and flocked it. After I sprayed this tree with matte medium and the medium had dried, I brushed the mud area with some gloss varnish, keeping the outside mud areas dry. When the gloss varnish had dried, I lightly dry brushed some matte varnish across the tops of the mud. This really brought out the "dried" areas I had dry brushed, making the mud really look like a puddle of mud! It's a shame this does not show up on the photo to the right as well as I had hoped, but you can notice it in person. It's subtle and realistic. Yes, I am proud of my mud! Sealing It Solid: The final step is to soak the flock in matte medium. You can also use white glue diluted one part glue to four parts distilled water, though I think the matte medium works just as well. Because I couldn't find my eye dropper that a friend had given me earlier in the day, I used an old #5 brush instead. The brush worked great. Simply glop the matte medium on the flock you want sealed, and you are done. To speed the drying process, I hit the stand with a hair dryer set on low. This worked perfectly. Final Thoughts: This was a fun project. Now I need to make about fifty more trees, and I'll be done! The Woodland Scenics smaller trees up to 3" tall are nice, but I think I will give Scenic Express's new Easy Tree Kits a try. They have a kit for 2" to 3" deciduous trees, another kit for 4" to 6" deciduous trees, and one for 6" to 8" trees. The taller trees are good for 28mm, while the medium-sized trees are good for 15mm to 20mm. The smallest trees are fine for 10mm and smaller. The Easy Trees include new "filter foam" foliage but no glue. Unlike Woodland Scenic's barer armatures, Scenic Express's are more detailed. They seem to make a better large tree. I might also experiment with different shades and textures of ground flocking, depending on the type of forest I'm trying to represent and the scale. These several trees taught me many lessons, and I had a relaxing time making them. The bottom line is that these tree kits are inexpensive and easy to do. You really can't mess them up. Even if you can't afford many cast resin buildings, you can at least make your game table look like the forest it should be. Give these kits a try. You'll never look at trees, or game tables, quite the same. 1024 x 768 Wallpaper Technical Stuff: Camera used is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ5 set to macro mode at 100 ISO. Overhead Reveal lightbulbs and an Ott lamp provide the lighting. I used Paint Shop Pro 7 to resize the photos. These are among the first digital photos I have ever taken. My Minolta SLR is feeling lonely! Copyright (c) 2007 Robert S. Waller. All rights reserved. Photos for personal use only. All rights reserved by original owner of image. Reproduction or redistribution in any form without express written permission is prohibited.