hhg3law - please note that this is somewhat down on the list of my projects. Was just looking over my copies of "Line South" on the East Carolina division (and driving today) and noticed that while loblollies and yellow pines are fairly straight... a lot of 'em have a very gentle bend. Well, visit to LHS in order this or next week. Probably gonna buy some dowels and soak them to see if I can duplicate these "slight" bends. Result promised before 2010.
I also like to make pine trees using cast metal armatures and dried goldenrod. This porcedure makes very nice pine trees. Stay cool and run steam.....
Powersteamguy1790 - Could you please expand on this method? I've got some WS pine tree armatures 6"-8" long that I intended to experiment with (I use HO scale). Of course won't be able to pick goldenrod arfound here again before next November, but the info would be handy. Thanks.
Dave -- I lost my roots. The pines here in NOGA are longleaf. The limbs tend to clump more around the top of the trunk. In Nscale, I think I am going to try the HO scale armatures, upside down in the stands, selectively scattered out. We'll see how it works out! Regards. Hal P.S. Could be 2008.
David: You use the WS armatures. Any size will do. First I paint them a very dark gray. Then I dry brush the armatures with RailTie Brown. This will give the armatures a more natural color. Now onto the Goldenrod. pick the golden rod after the first harvest. let it dry out and then spray it with unscented hairspray. This will prevent the goldenrod from drying out further and prevent the tender limbs from breaking. Now paint the individual goldenrod trees after you separate them into smaller trees. You can use many shades of green. You then takes tips of goldenrod and adhere them to the individual branches of the WS armature with white Craftbond glue. You can bend the individual branches of the WS armature to give each tree a different appearance. Here are Goldenrod trees made from the Goldenrod plant. I painted the branches and treetrunk a dark gray and drybrushed railtie brown on the trucks and limbs. Using WS armatures you can turn the goldenrod into a pine tree. Have fun..... Stay cool and run steam.....
