Who Makes The Best Southeastern Pine Trees ??

[TrainCat2]

The title says it all. I would like to know what are the best looking N-Scale pine trees that can either be purchased or made. I do not mind making them from scratch if there is a good method in a published thread. I will have to make 20-30 in the 60-80 foot range for a small project.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Oh man, good luck.

Back when I was modeling the FEC, the lack of decent southeastern pines really bummed me out.

I could get palm trees, but not these which are everywhere.

[sizemore]

Take a look at http://www.jttmicroscale.com/viewcategory.asp?DirID=79, Old Pine, Scotts Pine, Umbrella Pine, Pine, and Cedar look pretty good for lower east coast pines.

The S.

[TrainCat2]

Take a look at http://www.jttmicroscale.com/viewcategory.asp?DirID=79, Old Pine, Scotts Pine, Umbrella Pine, Pine, and Cedar look pretty good for lower east coast pines.

Ouch!! 20-30 6" trees = too many clams. Mr. Wallet would be on life support if he saw that page. Thanks anyway S.

[Tom L]

Check out this thread.  This guy makes the most realistic tree's I have ever seen.

http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=23011

Tom L
Milepost 85 BNSF Front Range Sub

[Tom L]

Whoops, sorry there not pines.  Cool thread anyway

Tom L

[MichaelWinicki]

Boy, pines are tough period.

I stopped at a hobby shop on Saturday and look at some Grand Central Gems they had on display.  The elite ones looked decent.  The lesser expensive, which weren't that lesser expensive, were just "OK" and not what I would consider to be realistic.

I've looked at a lot of pines out there and it seems you're either going to be spending a lot of $$ buying them or devoting a lot of time making them.  There doesn't seem to be a lot of in between if you want a quality pine. 

[Ed Kapuscinski]

My biggest problem with these wasn't that pines aren't available. They are, but the pines that are are the "christmas tree" style ones that have branches all the way up.

The southeastern pines are different. They look like this:


However, it looks like one of our own might be onto something:
http://usmrr.blogspot.com/2009/09/southern-yellow-pine-trees.html

[Iain]

You've got my attention.


There was a discussion in Chat about this.  It looks like the thing to do is to create wire armatures and then use uber-fine static grass.

[wazzou]

They are called Southern Yellow Pine...

[Philip H]

I have the same issue.  I need both southern yellow pines/loblolly pines, cypress, and more varieties of oaks.  Some of the JTT stuff might work, and I plan to use some for foreground work.  The Southern's with their tall, open trunks are the toughest - most of the commercially available ones are for western prototypes.

[TrainCat2]

Looks like I'll have to make them. The method used by scotchpine on the railroad-line forum is a good starting point.

[TiVoPrince]

Thinking
that an etched 'armature' that could be wrapped around the upper portion of a wooden dowel 'trunk'.  Spread it out nice and lacey, paint trunk/limbs a nice brownish-grayish colour, a little ground foam on the tips and tops and plant in masses.  Add a few second growth trees and bushes along the edge and you are done...

Going to be hard to make them as thin and sparse as they really are, while remaining convincing...

[Mark5]

My biggest problem with these wasn't that pines aren't available. They are, but the pines that are are the "christmas tree" style ones that have branches all the way up.

The southeastern pines are different. They look like this:

These suckers (and/or similar ones) are all over the eastern seaboard on the coastal plains - at least as far north as MD.

[DKS]

My biggest problem with these wasn't that pines aren't available. They are, but the pines that are are the "christmas tree" style ones that have branches all the way up.

The southeastern pines are different. They look like this:

These suckers (and/or similar ones) are all over the eastern seaboard on the coastal plains - at least as far north as MD.

There's a shorter variety that's quite similar in the pine barrens of NJ as well.
 


But it raises the question, who would want to model the pine barrens...