Getting Real Column - 18
Super Tree tips
People have asked how I make so many trees. I do it in stages, and
it helps a lot that the weather is perfect for painting the armatures
outside. Much more difficult in the winter!
I take the best armatures from the largest Super Tree case and
quickly pick off the little leafy “thingies” that are on them. Too
many in some cases! I use tweezers, lots of light, a comfy chair
with a sheet covering it and the floor, and a good old movie I’ve
seen a bunch of times that I can mostly listen to. A Super Tree case
contains about six “plants” that you pick apart, and I usually do an
entire plant, or one and a half, in a picking session. My wife is usu-
ally long gone to bed when I do this!
The next day, or at the next opportunity, I take them outside and
spray them all flat black. I used to mist the bigger ones here and
there with flat gray, but it proved to be totally worthless when
modeling dense forests. I’d still do that for stand-alone foreground
trees. I use $1/can WalMart spray paint, which has the perfect
spray pattern and is ideal for this use. A good can of Krylon proved
not so useful: too heavy a spray and four times the price! One
cheap can does about 30 trees, and when I go there I buy a dozen
at a time. Each spraying session, or roughly 90 trees, consumes
about three cans. I used to let these dry overnight, but then
found that I could spray them in the morning, make the trees after
or just before dinner, and install the trees by midnight!
The trees are dipped into a 50/50 white glue/water mixture. Matte
medium also is great for this, just a lot more expensive. I then
shake off the excess fluid and immediately sprinkle on first darker
green, then lighter green fine ground foam while holding the ar-
mature at about a 45-degree angle. Doing this minimizes the
amount of foam that sticks to the trunk. You’ll find you get good at
this very quickly.
MRH-Sep 2014
