Best Of Interactive Scenery Clinic Week1: Ground Cover: Trees: Shrubs

[asciibaron]

Once trees are properly sized, all sorts of other stuff starts to look too small. Ugh.

feeling a little small you know where Ed?  Big Blue ain't so big?  hahahah.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I also had another realization. In some cases, too short trees do hurt. But when looking at John's HSC area, I think he's getting it right. It's just that those hills in the "background" aren't going to be as tall as he'd like, since they're actually about 60' lower than the canopy.

However, comparing it to real photos of the area, I think it looks just fine, especially now that there's the trees in the foreground.

I think that clump foliage does look fine for a tree canopy, but there has to be something that establishes them as just a canopy, not the whole forest.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Once trees are properly sized, all sorts of other stuff starts to look too small. Ugh.

feeling a little small you know where Ed?  Big Blue ain't so big?  hahahah.

Lol... if it's blue there are LOTs of other problems present... but I don't want to digress any further

[shark_jj]

This may be one of those issues that has multiple answers depending on what you are trying to accomplish.  In my case, you will not be able to walk into the Curve.  The centre of the Curve will be 10 feet from the viewer and the back of the hillside will be 12 feet from the viewer.  It is very much a vista that you are looking at.  Also, since the viewer will be seeing my trains from that distance I don't want them to be covered by accurately sized trees, I  might as well make the Curve hidden trackage.  On the other hand, I have a second area under development that reflects where Tracks 1 & 2 separate from Tracks 3 & 4 at the bottom of the Slide.  Viewers will only be a couple of feet away, the area in front was not treed, so it will be scrub like, and the background hillsides are only about 12 inches deep.  This area may be perfect for using trees that are more accurate in height.  The problem I will have to address is that the two areas are separated only by the stoop under to get into the layout, about 3 feet.  The two different approaches may conflict with one another.  It is worth the try however, and I think I will go with the 50 - 60 foot trees and see how it looks.

[Erik W]

For my layout I'm in favor of small trees.  I've seen too many model railroads that feature wooded western scenery with not nearly enough trees.  Also, here in Colorado, the conifers are generally smaller anyway.







Erik

[RS-27]

About 'Big Blue', it seems healthy young guys taking old men's meds just might be asking for trouble.

Back to our regular scheduled programming: lashedup's rock cut is a work in process, but it does look like a farmers field. To make life easier, perhaps we should combine different lengths and colors of static grass at the get-go if we want semi-wild.

It's been 35+ years since I left NJ (72), 4yrs in Ahia, 11 yrs in Tejas, the rest in Hide-ho.  But, on trips back east, and in memories, the vision of trees forming a canopy over the roads, with the square punched out holes that the trucks have carved out, and on rural lines that the trains did the same.

I've not seen anyone try to capture this on a layout.

Bob in IDaho

[DKS]

It's been 35+ years since I left NJ (72), 4yrs in Ahia, 11 yrs in Tejas, the rest in Hide-ho.  But, on trips back east, and in memories, the vision of trees forming a canopy over the roads, with the square punched out holes that the trucks have carved out, and on rural lines that the trains did the same.

I've not seen anyone try to capture this on a layout.

My intention was to do just this on the WR&N, but it went poof before I got to finish the country road. However, one other oddity that I wanted to capture and managed to model was trees that get notched for the phone lines--you know, the giant Y's that line the streets. Alas, it's not clearly visible in any of the surviving photos of the layout. This is about the best shot I've got:

[CVSNE]

My initial attempts at fall trees and ground cover.  The ground cover is a combination of fine ground foam, Heki flock, and Silflor.  Trees are Scenic Express armatures covered with a variety of Scenic Express fine foams.

[3rdrail]

My initial attempts at fall trees and ground cover.  The ground cover is a combination of fine ground foam, Heki flock, and Silflor.  Trees are Scenic Express armatures covered with a variety of Scenic Express fine foams.

Marty (CVSNE), this: http://therailwire.net/Users/martinmcguirk/Desktop/MECriverskyweb.jpg won't work as a URL to post as a photo. Don't you have it anywhere else on the web? All anyone car see is the dreaded X.

[inkaneer]

Here is my idea on that transition area.  First of area I  all I like the idea of painting the area a dark color like black.  The tansition zone gets some serious modeling effort with lots of detail.  However, beyond that zone where the forest canopy comes into play you don't want a lot of detail.  In fact you want less detail as you want the viewer to get the effect of distance.  Here you can "cheat".  Instead of using trees that are 5" tall  you can put in 5 inches of of foam material then sculpt the top so it is not uniform.  Once that is done paint it black then add the foliage clusters.  The idea is to trick the viewer's eye and thus the viewer into thinking the detail of that transition zone is carried back into the canopy zone.  How well it achieves that effect depends on how well the two zomes are blended together.  It should appear seamless. 

[RS-27]

It's been 35+ years since I left NJ (72), 4yrs in Ahia, 11 yrs in Tejas, the rest in Hide-ho.  But, on trips back east, and in memories, the vision of trees forming a canopy over the roads, with the square punched out holes that the trucks have carved out, and on rural lines that the trains did the same.

I've not seen anyone try to capture this on a layout.

My intention was to do just this on the WR&N, but it went poof before I got to finish the country road. However, one other oddity that I wanted to capture and managed to model was trees that get notched for the phone lines--you know, the giant Y's that line the streets. Alas, it's not clearly visible in any of the surviving photos of the layout. This is about the best shot I've got:

Hoo, boy, out here, Asplundht (sp?), doesn't give a V, you're lucky you have a trunk.  I remember one of Bruce Springsteen's album covers had some poplars? lining a residential street, 100' tall...  that's what I remember about back east.

Bob in IDaho, just west of the City of Trees: Le Bois/Boise.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I have been silent too long!

I think Ed and I have been doing the larger tree thing for about the same amount of time. Unfortunatly, with no layout I can only work on photro dioramas. Ed models winter, so he doesn't have to worry about the canopy like most of us.

Looking at forests, trees are tall, feature a very thin profile, and feature a conopy only at the very top. When we look at trees to model, we tend to look at individual trees. Trees in a middle of a field or in a park. We do this because it minimizes visual distractions. The only problem is these are sun trees, which means they have a canopy that develops all around the tree. An oak tree in the park looks wildly different then an oak in the forrest. This is why the trees in a forrest look so wierd when it is being cleared out.


This was a photo modual taken in front of the waterfront. Half of the trees are real trees in the background while the other half are on the modual. Thanks to Helicon, it is almost a seamless transition.


Here is a close up of the trees. I use a lot of fine leaf foliage and super trees. The secret to super trees is to shoot them with Elmer's Spray Adhesive, wait 40 seconds then blot on Sweetwater Scenery's branch fibers. After this has dried, use the old hair spray and medium ground foam.


This was my first photo modual. I wanted the open look of an viaduct near water. The trees are shorter. There are several "false trees". There are simply trucks without canopy. The added trucks gives us the ilusion that there are many more trees then there are, while not over crowding the canopy.


Here is another angle. There is a lot of underbrush. I used mostly weeds and dark earth ground foam under the trees. This creates a shadow effect, contrasting the trunks and canopy. I never use green under trees as there are very few green plants that grow directly under trees.


On a side note. One type of forrest I have not been able to figure out is the long needle white pines seen so often up here in the Northeast. I have yet to see a model of one in any scale.

[CONRAIL FAN]

Heres some scenery i did on the layout let me know what you think

 

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I love that ex-LMS unit!

I think the front row of trees could be taller and have some trunks.

I also am not a huge fan of the JNR prototype Kato towers, but this is about trees, not structures (week 4 maybe??)

[CONRAIL FAN]

Thanks, Yeah that tower is going in the crap pile, i need to find a maker of a modern yard tower. The landscaping is beening reworked as well, DID one try the WS new forest canopy kits yet?