Making a tree for Sweethome

[Jon Grant 4472]

You didn't have to wait too long

Once the poly-fibre branches are on the tree, I lightly spray them with brown spray paint, in this instance track colour, which was close by, although sleeper grime works just as well. Remember to spray from the top and from the bottom as well as the sides to get coverage.




Once done, I assemble my collection of ground flock, which I keep in old ice cream tubs to lift out handfulls easily. I also sprinkle the flock onto the tree, holding it over the tub so that any excess falls straight back into the tub.

I find that 'fine' ground flock works best on poly-fibre, the medium flock tends to clump a bit. I hope to get some of the Noch 'leaves' in future to see how well they work.




My fixative is currently a tin of hairspray - the cheaper the better as it has a higher content of lacquer than the posh stuff. The best though, is what the youngsters use to spike their hair up, so get raiding your teenagers' toiletry cabinets for modelling stuff. (Try to find the fragrance free stuff and work in a well-ventilated area, cos the stuff stinks)




I spray the tree with the hairspray and sprinkle on different colours. I am aiming for a late summer - early Autumn look, so use different shades of green, brown and straw/red/gold.

Remember that all the leaves on a tree don't all change colour at exactly the same time, so you will have 2 or more different colours of leaves on the same tree for several weeks.




One tree ready for planting

Jon