Pine Tree Beta Testing

[chuck geiger]

Needed to be pushed up like the real thing.

[peteski]

That is an improvement.
The top of yours also looks rather bare and pointy where in the photo of the real one the top is rather full of foliage.  But I suppose there are trees out in the nature that have their top similar to what yours looks like.  The branches of the real one also seem to be longer - yours is rather slender. But again, there are probably real-life example of skinny ponderosas.  I'm not tree expert - I just compared yours to the photo of the real one I found online.

[LIRR]

Chuck,

I have a V block and drill press, drilling only takes me about 5 minutes per tree. I use 26 gauge floral wire, about .018 OD, I drill a .040 hole through the dowel, slip 2 pieces of wire through each hole.

[chuck geiger]

That's awesome LIRR. I went to Harbor Freight in Flagstaff and picked up the 9.99 bargain rotary tool with
all kinds of Dremel imitation accessories, just needed the smallest bit. It works great. Drill holes in the tree
branches, cut and dab wire in super glue and place.

[chuck geiger]

So there are several approaches to this: Furnace filter, coconut coir, twisted wire, wire in holes, twisted wire with
rope, wire on a drill with levels of static grass applied...etc. I like the drilled holes and twisted wire for N scale. I
haven't tried the others yet. This is my first twisty and needs to be tighter and branches straighter.

[peteski]

Looks like you picking up some of Grove Den's (Jos') techniques.   But aren't the branches still rather short?  Or will you extend them somehow?

[grove den]

"Love"to see you struggling too like I did for 15 years...
But just a remark about the "trunk"of the tree:
Looks like an "overkill":
A wooden core AND drilled wire...and as peteski wrote: rather short branches.
After many years I've choosen to use  floristic wires as a "core"of the frame of the tree. The wire has a diam. of 1,2 mm.  Still a lot smaller than a wooden dowel or small  wooden twig from outside...Besides that it works more /a lot easier/less difficult when using a core of smooth  floristic wire!( see attaches picture)
WHEN using a real twig, like the ones from buxes sempervirens, I drill smal holes in it( about 0,5 -0,8 mm) and add drilled branches( actualy small trees) made also from floristic 0,35 mm diam wires and glue these "branches" with a drop of superglue/CA  into the holes made in the twig of the Buxus sempervirens.( attached picture)
Mostly I use this technique for big  older deciduous trees.( last att. picture)

Jos

[chuck geiger]

Thanks Jos

[chuck geiger]

Getting better....

[wazzou]

I think the branches are still too short. 
Wouldn't it be easier to error in making them too long and adjust as needed?
There's not much you can do after all of that effort expended and have branches that are only 3-4' long.

[chuck geiger]

Going back in and making newer ones longer and adding longer branches to existing armatures.

[chuck geiger]

Keep practicing they said and I did!

[Philip H]

Thats definitely well done.

[chuck geiger]

Couple more....

[chuck geiger]