Luke Towan Palm Trees

[chuck geiger]

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I'm going to try this...

[chuck geiger]

This actually works, I made the mistake of buying modeling clay you have to bake, not air dry - But still works. Will
have a picture to compare to Luke's shortly.

[peteski]

I have seen that video few years ago and I thought the results were really good.

How about this, to cut down on the tedium: Instead of printing the leaves on paper, then cutting them all by hand, use a craft cutter/plotter (like Silhouette) have it do all the tedious cutting automatically. Using appropriately colored paper would also make things easier.  The only thing you would have to do differently woudl be the way the wire is attached under the leaf (but that should not be a problem).  That would save hours of work.

[Philip H]

How about this, to cut down on the tedium: Instead of printing the leaves on paper, then cutting them all by hand, use a craft cutter/plotter (like Silhouette) have it do all the tedious cutting automatically. Using appropriately colored paper would also make things easier.  The only thing you would have to do differently woudl be the way the wire is attached under the leaf (but that should not be a problem).  That would save hours of work.

That would be a good idea - but not all of us own craft cutters, or laser cutters or CNC milling machines. This makes it easier for those who don't have such toys.

[peteski]

That would be a good idea - but not all of us own craft cutters, or laser cutters or CNC milling machines. This makes it easier for those who don't have such toys.

I understand - just trying to add another option to the technique. My suggestion*WAS* to make the tedious manual labor easier.
If one needs few dozen palms, it might make sense to buy one of those craft cutters. They don't cost much more than a good quality N scale locomotive, and they can also be used for many other modeling tasks.  But of course if the budget is a problem, or willingness to learn how to use a craft cutter is not there, then a hobby knife and lots of time is all that one needs. 

[SandyEggoJake]

Looking forward to what passes as a fair Palm Tree in Juneau! 

Seriously, I'm a huge fan of Luke's Boulder Creek videos and I need a ton of Washingtonian (aka Mexican Fantail) palms. 

But note his version is a well manicured plant (or in spite his claim, more an Australian King or South American Queen Palm - neither of which are indigenous the the US, but increasing common in yards as they drop their fronds).  The far more common palm of the American South West is the Mex Fan Tail (the Washingtonian) - and unless palm fronds were stripped off for use (palapas) or burnt off by fire, in nature, years of dead fronds stay attached to the tree trunk all the way to the ground.   

See: https://mbgecologicalrestoration.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/51.jpg?w=735&h=487

OR: https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/29343/

If you only need a few, Luke's method seems fine.  Especially if doing HO versions like what Luke models.  But I'm with Peteski that there has to be a better way than hand cutting each individual leaf.  When I first saw his video, I thought one might at least cut multiple sheets at the same time, or finally get the craft cutter working.  Then glue the fronds to stems already affixed to a base ready for painting with the airbrush.  Coiling the wire by hand on his trunk looked like a huge time sucking as well (a trunk chucked in a lathe or a drill press run with a foot pedal  .. or even a corded hand drill ...  seem worth a try)

[Mark W]

How about this, to cut down on the tedium: Instead of printing the leaves on paper, then cutting them all by hand, use a craft cutter/plotter (like Silhouette) have it do all the tedious cutting automatically.

He does it that way in a follow up video.

https://www.bouldercreekrailroad.com/scan-n-cut.html

[chuck geiger]

Tedious boys you are right...Need 30 fronds per tree and takes about 5 minutes to cut one out.

[chuck geiger]

[chuck geiger]

So I down loaded his .jpg for Washington Palm fronds on his web site. Much better looking, more like palm fronds, which he hand sketched on the first video and punched out on the 2nd. They will come out not looking like Venus Fly Trap fronds.

[tom mann]

The HO and larger scale kits from Hart of the South models use laser cut fronds.

[Philip H]

The HO and larger scale kits from Hart of the South models use laser cut fronds.

And if they ever scale them down to N they will make a mint

[chuck geiger]

https://www.scalehobbyist.com/catagories/Scenery_Construction/color-palm-leaves-cocos-nucifera/EDU00036210/product_accessories.php?sn=EDU00036210&gclid=CjwKCAjwpeXeBRA6EiwAyoJPKkDq9Vd8OlY7yUOXA3UAJdZ9gC-QdGzemppPlEe0UrRyg_dRpsku3RoCixUQAvD_BwE&type=alternatives