Guilty spend on trees....

[Parus Ater]

I think I prefer the tree armature kits if it's all the same.

[clivethecelt]

I use some old Essex trees, bought ready-made years ago:

At £1.60-£1.80 a pop, they're not exactly cheap, but if you're time-poor ...

[Cubster]

I saw a guy at a show a few years back and he was happy to explain his process to me, how he bundles the wire together with bristles lying cross-ways to the wires, then attaches one end to a secure grip, puts the other in a drill and spins it. Then he cuts the wire in lengths, trims and teases out the bristles into branches and attaches various different materials to them depending on the type of tree.

It sounded fascinating ... and also convinced me I'd probably prefer to buy them at least partially ready-made than make them from scratch! Any tree I'd make would likely be for a vignette instead of gaming, so I'd be hunting for twigs and armatures, pinning them together and such. Not suitable for the rigours of gaming, but purdy.

[Colonel White]

I'd certainly consider repainting the trunks on thoses Essex trees. They really should be a greyish/brown colour . I think then they would look superb

[Comte Michel]

I saw a guy at a show a few years back and he was happy to explain his process to me, how he bundles the wire together with bristles lying cross-ways to the wires, then attaches one end to a secure grip, puts the other in a drill and spins it. Then he cuts the wire in lengths, trims and teases out the bristles into branches and attaches various different materials to them depending on the type of tree.

Tried that, using hairy string rather than bristles. The usual result is hairy string all over the floor. And maybe 3 or 4 trees after an hour of cursing and swearing. And even then what you get tends to look like leafy toilet brushes. Fine for 6mm but I'd rather go with armatures and clumps of stuff for any larger scale.

[Invisible officer]

Stuff all over the floor sounds awfull. I have a problem with gravity anyway. Small part, tweezers, oooops.

My simple trees are made without bristles or strings. Just wire. The construction of the wire body and branches took me less than 5 minutets per tree. Adding the wood filler with a brush 1 or two more. It serves as priming too.

A wood of 20 trees at an easy evening, no problem. At 50 cent or less each they are very cheap. 15 cm high examples like the ones shown would cost much more in the shops.

For 1/300 I have casted metal Irregular miniatures ones, they sometimes serve with my 15 mm too.

I would not claim the Essex ones to be expensive, ready for gaming they are much cheaper than the plastic kits sold here in the shops. And very sturdy.

[Cubster]

Tried that, using hairy string rather than bristles. The usual result is hairy string all over the floor. And maybe 3 or 4 trees after an hour of cursing and swearing. And even then what you get tends to look like leafy toilet brushes. Fine for 6mm but I'd rather go with armatures and clumps of stuff for any larger scale.

I suspect I'd have similar troubles, which is why I knew it was time to leave this strange dreamer. His trees looked gorgeous mind, so I suspect he'd been doing it for some time and, since he had his own stand at the show, he probably had a secret workshop full of all sorts of shiny tools, elves, wooden limbs etc..

[carvel2]

Lots of choices for me tonight then!