Søren's Model Railway Pages

Dead trees can boost the realism of a forest scene or just add variation to your diorama or model railway layout. This article is about how I made a simple dead pine tree using an armature from a Woodland Scenics Realistic Tree Kit and some colours.

I have written about the Woodland Scenics Tree Kits before. They are dead easy to work with and even with little practice you can create beautiful trees for your layout. But you can also use the tree kits to create dead trees. For my winter scene I wanted a dead pine tree covered with snow. I think it adds realism and looks interesting on the layout.

I took an armature from the Woodland Scenic Realistic Tree Kit (Woodland Scenics #TR1113) and twisted it to my liking.

You can bend and twist the armature as much as you like. The plastic will not break (I have not yet twisted the one on the picture).

I then airbrushed the armature white or grey'ish. I have noticed that dead pine trees often have this colour.

The tree armature is airbrushed to an almost white colour.

With Vallejo Dark Grey Wash (Acrylicos Vallejo #76.517) I toned the white down a bit to add some texture. I noticed it became too dark, so I drybrushed it with a white colour until I was satisfied.

With Vallejo Dark Grey Wash I toned the white colour down a bit. The wash also enhances the details on the armature since it gets into every little crack on the surface.

The dead tree can be in many places, either amongst other living trees or standing lonely on the hill side. I chose the latter, because I think it looks awesome.

The dead pine tree in its final position on the hill side. The snow is Woodland Scenics Flex Paste dabbed onto the tree.

Since this is a winter scene the tree must be covered in snow. I use Woodland Scenics Flex Paste (Woodland Scenics #C1205) dabbed onto the armature. It looks great and you can easily emulate the way snow falls onto a tree.

Happy modelling!