09-13-2025, 08:49 AM
Got a request from Charlie yesterday to do a detailed dive into how I model trees on my layout. Since most of the track that I model is deep in the Lehigh Valley Gorge away from industries and towns, I have had my fill of modeling the deep green of the forest.
I will first say that most of the ideas that I'll present in this primer are not my own, and I pick and choose how and what advice I use to suit my own tastes. I also model trees in the late summer timeframe, so there may be some leaves turning, and the color palette is generally more faded than the bright green of spring. With that said, many people also model fall foliage, but there's nothing to say you couldn't model winter - after all, many trees don't possess leaves for up to 6 months of the year. I would think that modeling bare trees would be much harder than the leafed varieties. Adding some sort of cover over a tree armature covers up a multitude of sins.
As with all things natural, I have a few basic rules that I follow in creating scenery:
1) Try something. The worst that can happen is that you toss it or paint over it and start over.
1A) Don't assume you have to be Van Gogh. Reread guideline #1....
2) Nature is random. (In other words, just about anything is possible). A beer while you work on an organic scenery project can be highly influential because you care less and your subconscious can take over (I swear that's where artistic talents (if they exist) are buried).
3) Nothing in nature is uniform. (There are many shades of green and every shade is represented in just about any tree, shrub or plant. Take a look at a mountain - from a long way away the colors are fairly uniform, but as you get closer to it, there are all kinds of different trees with different shapes and different colors). Caring less while you have that beer is going to be beneficial in an environment with few rules.
4) Anything made by man is not random and tends toward uniformity. A beer while you work on something manmade (a structure, vehicle, or a model) is discouraged because you have to care more.
5) Take frequent breaks and look at your project from a different perspective as you work (view it from a different angle, a different distance, different lighting).
6) Have a plan, but keep it loose. Sometimes your best ideas are inspired while you work.
Trees.... So much variety in nature. I model Northeastern Pennsylvania. Spruce, hemlock (all dead now), oak, maple, locust, pine, walnut, birch, etc., etc., etc. The area you model may be completely different and some of my suggestions aren't applicable, but maybe they can be altered. I don't model cacti, sequoia, redwood or the great plains. For those that do... good luck!
We model things in miniature and we try to convince the viewer that there's more space than just what we have available. Backdrops help, but there are also some basic perspective methods that are applicable with building trees.
1) The greater the distance, the smaller the tree. The further away the viewer is, the less distinct that tree will appear. Conversely, the closer the distance, the larger the tree can be and the more detailed that tree should be. Also important - the further away the viewer is, the more the color of the mountain becomes unified. The closer you get to the trees, the more you can see that there are actually many shades of green, blue, brown, red, etc.
2) For those that model trees on mountains (as I do) - Take a look at a mountainside and look at the trees. Only those on the bottom of the slope can be seen in their entirety. Anything higher than those base trees is nothing more than a green 3-d blob. Therefore, for a very flat simulated hill, you really only have to have detailed trees on the base of the mountain in front of blobs of green to convince your viewer that there is a mountain there.
Here's a great example. I actually fabricated ZERO trees to create most of this mountain, and the distance between the track and the backdrop here is no more than 4 inches. Note that the colors change more at the bottom of the moutain and the trunks are not visible other than at the base of the mountain. I got this idea from a short article in Model Railroader from an issue in the early 80's...
Well, this is a start. In the next submissions I'll focus in on details for tree creation, placement, etc. I hope you can take some of these tricks and apply them to your own version of reality.
I will first say that most of the ideas that I'll present in this primer are not my own, and I pick and choose how and what advice I use to suit my own tastes. I also model trees in the late summer timeframe, so there may be some leaves turning, and the color palette is generally more faded than the bright green of spring. With that said, many people also model fall foliage, but there's nothing to say you couldn't model winter - after all, many trees don't possess leaves for up to 6 months of the year. I would think that modeling bare trees would be much harder than the leafed varieties. Adding some sort of cover over a tree armature covers up a multitude of sins.
As with all things natural, I have a few basic rules that I follow in creating scenery:
1) Try something. The worst that can happen is that you toss it or paint over it and start over.
1A) Don't assume you have to be Van Gogh. Reread guideline #1....
2) Nature is random. (In other words, just about anything is possible). A beer while you work on an organic scenery project can be highly influential because you care less and your subconscious can take over (I swear that's where artistic talents (if they exist) are buried).
3) Nothing in nature is uniform. (There are many shades of green and every shade is represented in just about any tree, shrub or plant. Take a look at a mountain - from a long way away the colors are fairly uniform, but as you get closer to it, there are all kinds of different trees with different shapes and different colors). Caring less while you have that beer is going to be beneficial in an environment with few rules.
4) Anything made by man is not random and tends toward uniformity. A beer while you work on something manmade (a structure, vehicle, or a model) is discouraged because you have to care more.
5) Take frequent breaks and look at your project from a different perspective as you work (view it from a different angle, a different distance, different lighting).
6) Have a plan, but keep it loose. Sometimes your best ideas are inspired while you work.
Trees.... So much variety in nature. I model Northeastern Pennsylvania. Spruce, hemlock (all dead now), oak, maple, locust, pine, walnut, birch, etc., etc., etc. The area you model may be completely different and some of my suggestions aren't applicable, but maybe they can be altered. I don't model cacti, sequoia, redwood or the great plains. For those that do... good luck!
We model things in miniature and we try to convince the viewer that there's more space than just what we have available. Backdrops help, but there are also some basic perspective methods that are applicable with building trees.
1) The greater the distance, the smaller the tree. The further away the viewer is, the less distinct that tree will appear. Conversely, the closer the distance, the larger the tree can be and the more detailed that tree should be. Also important - the further away the viewer is, the more the color of the mountain becomes unified. The closer you get to the trees, the more you can see that there are actually many shades of green, blue, brown, red, etc.
2) For those that model trees on mountains (as I do) - Take a look at a mountainside and look at the trees. Only those on the bottom of the slope can be seen in their entirety. Anything higher than those base trees is nothing more than a green 3-d blob. Therefore, for a very flat simulated hill, you really only have to have detailed trees on the base of the mountain in front of blobs of green to convince your viewer that there is a mountain there.
Here's a great example. I actually fabricated ZERO trees to create most of this mountain, and the distance between the track and the backdrop here is no more than 4 inches. Note that the colors change more at the bottom of the moutain and the trunks are not visible other than at the base of the mountain. I got this idea from a short article in Model Railroader from an issue in the early 80's...
Well, this is a start. In the next submissions I'll focus in on details for tree creation, placement, etc. I hope you can take some of these tricks and apply them to your own version of reality.
Check out my "Rainbows in the Gorge" website: http://morristhemoosetm.wixsite.com/rainbows
