WindyTrees Kit
Detailed Instructions
WindyTrees represent the radical forms taken on by conifers exposed to high winds or accustomed to life perched over steep cliffs. Natural branching armatures serve as the ideal trunks to support the Green Branches included with this kit.
Note:Not included with kit, but a helpful item to have - a short (3-4 inch) section of EPS (expanded polystyrene, “foam insulation”). Use this to support the trunk at the same angle that the tree will be “planted” on the layout during the construction process.
Procedure
Choose an armature and orient it to the angle that it will be installed on the layout. This will depend in part on whether you want to model a wind-swept tree or a cliff-hanging tree. Wind-swept trees don’t grow straight up, but rather away from the wind’s force (figure 1). Cliff-hanging trees initially sway out over the canyon, with upper portions headed toward the sky (figure 2). Insert a wooden mounting pin into the trunk base with the sharp end of the mounting pin pointed outwards. Position trunk in EPS (see note above) at the same angle it will be installed on layout surface.
Pull apart the green branches and spread them out over a working surface, surveying the available forms (figure 3). Pieces will be slightly stuck together. With some practice you can determine whether or not the branches are “doubled up”.
When you have an idea how the tree will settle into the layout, you can begin adding the green branch material.
No matter whether you are modeling a windy-tree or a “cliffhanger”, green branches are oriented toward sunlight for the most part. This means that no matter how the tree is oriented with respect to the layout surface, the branches should be parallel to the very distant horizon. The sun shines straight down in the middle of the day, and branches should be perpendicular to those rays, as in nature.
Add branches one at a time, starting at lower branches and working up the trunk. Not every armature branch need have a green branch, for in nature there are plenty of bare branches (especially true of wind-exposed trees). Branches can be affixed with hot glue or white glue. Hot glue is initially easy to work with; it sets up fast and helps to hold branches firmly at the angles you intended. The only downside to hot glue is the “strings” it makes when you pull the gun away and it instantly cools. (Despite this caveat, hotglue is my first choice. I clean the strings up afterward). White glue will bond just as well with time (if not better). With white glue, permanently setting the green branches at the desired angles requires more time and patience.
Smaller branches can be made by tearing larger ones.
The larger armatures have a hole drilled in the base for the wooden mounting pin. Add glue to the pin and insert it in the base. Smaller armatures are sharpened to facilitate installation in a foam surface so there is no need to add anything.
When you are satisfied with the look of your tree, it is ready for the layout.
Placing trees on the layout
The ideal layout surface for planting these trees would be foam-based with at least a 1-inch foam surface. The angle with which the wooden mounting pin protrudes from the base may influence the final angle of projection depending on the available foam depth. The pins need about ¾-inch clearance on average. The two types of foam I know about that are employed for layout use include the (pink) insulation foam available at hardware stores and Mountains in Minutes™, which is a two-part mixable urethane foam. It may be possible to use Mountains in Minutes to place a 1 to 2 inch layer of foam over a hard-shell plaster layout surface in areas where you want fir trees.
Creating the “tree-top”
Tree tops on wind-exposed trees tend to be flat like the branches. Adding a flat green branch piece at the apex of the armature is prototypical for many of these trees but not all. Cliff-hanging trees may have more vertical orientation. A wisp of green branch material about 1” long can be fashioned into a top by bending at 90-degrees, adding white glue to the corner, and placing on top. One end goes straight up, the other out sideways. Be sure to camouflage this trick by blending in a few other small pieces at the top.
These pictures may give you ideas.
I am thrilled that you decided to try my product. Call anytime with questions or concerns.
Roger Rasmussen
17 Hamlet
Port Orford, Oregon 97465
(360) 820-3553
Thank You.