Palm Trees for N scale?

[jmarley76]

Just wondering if anyone has a good recommendation for palm trees in N scale? I have seen the variety of offerings on ebay. Seems most of those are colored plastic and would need a little work (i.e. some paint and flat coat) to appear not so toy-ish.

As a point of reference, here's the layout thread and some images of what I am trying to match up too:

[Ed Kapuscinski]

JTT makes some that look passable, or at least passable with some work:

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=palm+trees&Submit=

[Spades]

They require assembly http://hartofthesouth.com/page4.html but they look great.  Various species of palms and heights 3" appx 40'  5" appx 66'  10" appx 132" and the trunks can be cut down.  Here is a picture of some HOTS palm trees http://usmrr.blogspot.com/2015/12/a-most-enthusiastic-visitor.html.

JTT and Woodland plastic palms can be improved by painting them.  Joe Shipsure posted a photo of palm trees he had made.  Nailed the coloring of the fonds, but alas he never shared how.

 

[chuck geiger]

I made these in 2006. These are Date Palms indigenous to California. The Palmettos are a better store bought. Here's a link on how to make them:
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/p/107454/1241841.aspx




What to use: https://shopbakersnook.com/m5/1987--palm-tree-toppers.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwncO7BRC06snzrdSJyKEBEiQAsUaRjA5eMR0_lTaUje0JzeF9DAjhbLScNVH0OGUKhsJoXCQaAqJZ8P8HAQ?gclid=Cj0KEQjwncO7BRC06snzrdSJyKEBEiQAsUaRjA5eMR0_lTaUje0JzeF9DAjhbLScNVH0OGUKhsJoXCQaAqJZ8P8HAQ

[Santa Fe Guy]

Guys take a look at this site for etched brass palm trees and many other styles of ferns etc. They are exquisite.
samstrees.com

Rod.

[jmarley76]

Guys take a look at this site for etched brass palm trees and many other styles of ferns etc. They are exquisite.
samstrees.com

Rod.

www.samtrees.com/ - no "s" after sam

samstrees.com is a tree trimming service, which may prove useful if this gets out of hand... 

[Gozer the Gozerian]

  Palms are always problematic.  I've used some of those JTT brass palms for smaller scales and they looked pretty good.  I was looking at some of the Australian modeling sites and there are a few companies that make really nice tropical trees pre made.  As an SP modeler my struggle is more about getting realistic Eucalyptus trees...down there they are called Gum trees and look nice.

I make my palms by carving a trunk and casting them in different lengths and laser cutting the fronds.  Doing them for production is not cost effective using this process, but something using a stamp to cut fronds might be reasonable.

Joe

[jmarley76]

Some of them on ebay do look decent, like these:



Seeing some of the suggestions others have shared leads me to believe a little airbrush application of paint and some trimming may be enough to make a nice looking palm? The etched kits do look good...

[Spades]

  Palms are always problematic.  I've used some of those JTT brass palms for smaller scales and they looked pretty good.  I was looking at some of the Australian modeling sites and there are a few companies that make really nice tropical trees pre made.  As an SP modeler my struggle is more about getting realistic Eucalyptus trees...down there they are called Gum trees and look nice.

I make my palms by carving a trunk and casting them in different lengths and laser cutting the fronds.  Doing them for production is not cost effective using this process, but something using a stamp to cut fronds might be reasonable.

Joe

Joe what are you using to color the fronds? The Fronds look great

[Santa Fe Guy]

Okay you win LOL.
Try this site then:-
 http://www.samtrees.com/cchanpin.asp?a_xiaolei=Palm%20Trees
You might be surprised with the quality and range.
Rod.

[chuck geiger]

  Palms are always problematic.  I've used some of those JTT brass palms for smaller scales and they looked pretty good.  I was looking at some of the Australian modeling sites and there are a few companies that make really nice tropical trees pre made.  As an SP modeler my struggle is more about getting realistic Eucalyptus trees...down there they are called Gum trees and look nice.

I make my palms by carving a trunk and casting them in different lengths and laser cutting the fronds.  Doing them for production is not cost effective using this process, but something using a stamp to cut fronds might be reasonable.

Joe

http://lariverrailroads.com/eucalyptus.html

[jmarley76]

They require assembly http://hartofthesouth.com/page4.html but they look great.  Various species of palms and heights 3" appx 40'  5" appx 66'  10" appx 132" and the trunks can be cut down.  Here is a picture of some HOTS palm trees http://usmrr.blogspot.com/2015/12/a-most-enthusiastic-visitor.html.

JTT and Woodland plastic palms can be improved by painting them.  Joe Shipsure posted a photo of palm trees he had made.  Nailed the coloring of the fonds, but alas he never shared how.

A 3" Palmetto would be a nice size in N since they can get to about 65'... been doing some homework: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabal_palmetto

Also, bit the bullet and picked up a few from ebay to determine how good/bad they really are. I figure they were cheap enough to play with. Here's what is coming in the mail:

 

[tom mann]

This is an example of the Sam Tree in a 3" tall Z scale size:

[jmarley76]

So I received my eBay purchase yesterday. Of course, a picture on the listing doesn't tell much. That said, I think the first group is more toy-like and will need some work. The second group is much better, maybe just a little paint or maybe just flat coat. Please let me know what y'all think...

[jmarley76]

I went ahead an stuck one on the layout just to see how the size looked in comparison to everything else:



I think the size is good, now if an can just get this palm tree to not look like something from an aquarium...