Twig Trees

Isn't it amazing how twigs can look like miniature trees?  Here are some that have been languishing in the 'woods' box for quite a while now but which I've just freshened up with larger and more stable bases, rather than the flimsy painted cardboard they used to rely on.

For the new bases I used discs of pizza base polystyrene or thick card.  For some of the lighter trees I added a washer or coin to provide some stability.

I then textured the bases with Ronseal 'multi-purpose' wood filler.  I used the 'Walnut' flavour as it is a very dark brown so is useful as a base colour for forest soils.  I then painted the main colour using Humbrol acrylic 110 (I think it's called Natural Wood; how appropriate), leaving some darker shaded areas showing through, and dry-brushed with my trusty Laura Ashley tester pot 'Parchment', a sort of cream colour.  The bases were finished off with Javis 'Autumn Mix' static grass stuck on with PVA glue.

By the way, the arboriculturalists amongst you will have 'twigged' (did you see what I did there?) that the trees themselves are a mix of apple wood and heather (which we have quite a lot of in Scotland).  I'm thinking that heather stems will make pretty good African (read AK47) thorn trees which will be one of my projects this year or next.

Finally you may note that the tree on the right is a very old experiment in using strands of wire twisted together to form the trunk and then separated out progressively to create the branches.  As you can see the covering masking tape has come off and it's in rather rough shape but I kept it in for reasons of nostalgia and in homage to our old railway set now sadly dismantled. Ave!