"Free" trees at MRC

[Steve]

MRC is offering a couple of "free" trees from JTT.
You pay $5.00 for shipping.

http://www.modelrec.com/scenery/free_trees.asp

The stuff looks way too pricey to get very many, but I will bite this time to see what they look like

[MountainMan]

Good looking trees.

[Ralph]

I didn't know MRC was so diversified...I only think power packs. Trees look good.
Ralph

[Steve]

We shall see............Mrc told me they would ship today or tomorrow.

[Russ Bellinis]

I didn't know MRC was so diversified...I only think power packs. Trees look good.
Ralph

I think model railroading and hobbies are probably the smallest part of their business. If I remember correctly, they are a big player in industrial electrical motor controls.

[Steve]

I received the trees. I ordered the birch trees, but learned that I could have ordered several different types.

They come in a nice package that protects them:



I ordered HO scale (4") which would be 29 scale ft tall. As you can see in the pic, I could have pushed them in farther (didn't feel like drilling through the plywood) but you can see that the trees would have been 4" as advertised, so that is good




The trees are made of coated, bendable wire armatures. Because of that, they really feel strudy and have a bit of weight in your hand. You can also bend any limbs into a better position if you need too. Unfortunately, one of its best assets, becomes its biggest liability (besides price). The twisted wires that make the trunk, look like.........twisted wires:



Here's a couple of shots of them from different distances:





I think that they are a very good looking tree, the foliage looks very good, not clumpy (another plus) but I'm not crazy about the trunks. In all fairness though, it is really no big deal to the naked eye...................................$14.00 reg price..............you decide.

But if you have $5.00 laying around, you can sample them for yourself (while the promotion lasts).

[nachoman]

..$14.00 reg price..............you decide.

The trees look pretty nice, but thankfully, I have a small layout and am modeling the desert

[Gary S]

Those trees do look good. Are you saying the regular price is $14 for 2 trees?

[Steve]

That is exactly what I'm saying.........plus shipping..............ouch

[Puddlejumper]

Well, I ordered the 4" Birch and the 5" Oak. Total was $14.80. Still steep I guess, for 3 trees. I'll let you guys know about the Oak tree since the Birch was already posted.

[MasonJar]

Couple of questions and comments if I may:

How is the fine branch structure made? And is it ground foam leaves?

Can the branches be repositioned? The droopy upper branches have more of a willow look to them than birch...

Speaking of birch - do they say you should paint the trunk? Yellow birch can be pretty dark, but most "regular" birches I have seen are white...

I have made a few trees in this manner (100+ wires) and they are quite time consuming. I think $5 for two is a very good deal, and even the 30% off sale is nice. I don't know that I'd pay $14 for one oak though...

Andrew

[cn nutbar]

Hello Everyone---I just phoned MRC to inquire into this offer.Just to let our Canadian friends know,there is an extra cost to ship to Canada---the total cost is $10 U.S.Based on the actual cost,it's still not a bad deal and you have a choice of trees ---I ended up ordering the 5 inch oaks---estimated shipping time will be 10-14 days.

[Puddlejumper]

estimated shipping time will be 10-14 days.

Wow! shipping for me was 3 days! Didn't think shipping to/from Canada was that much different...

[cn nutbar]

Hello Everyone---I received my 5" oak yesterday---nice,but at $14 each I'd have to sell some of my brass to make a forest---here's a picture for your review---actually the background is the liner from the box the tree arrived in

[viperman]

is that 5" oak big for HO, or does it look pretty good?