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Other Stuff => Workbench => Topic started by: Ray Earle on 16 January 2014, 12:57:14 PM

Title: Wire tree tutorial?
Post by: Ray Earle on 16 January 2014, 12:57:14 PM
Hi gents,

Hope this is in the right section, if not feel free to give it a shove in the right direction.  :D

I'm looking for a tutorial on how to make tree frameworks from twisting wires together. Does anyone know of such a thing online?

Cheers,
Title: Re: Wire tree tutorial?
Post by: Hammers on 16 January 2014, 01:56:26 PM
Hi gents,

Hope this is in the right section, if not feel free to give it a shove in the right direction.  :D

I'm looking for a tutorial on how to make tree frameworks from twisting wires together. Does anyone know of such a thing online?

Cheers,

If you scroll down this page to the area called Related Topic ... you will probably find some interesting threads.
Title: Re: Wire tree tutorial?
Post by: Timbor on 16 January 2014, 03:10:10 PM
I made some wire trees recently roughly following Dr. Mathias' tutorials: http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=41545.0

However, I did it a bit differently.  I got some floral wire (24 or 27 guage).  I cut about 20 strands, maybe 4" each - I would say cut the pieces about 1-2" longer than the height of tree you wanted.  I also made some pine/hemlock trees using a section of dowelling, drilled some holes for branches, and put two wire sections per hole for the branches.

After twisting my armatures, I made a mixture of acrylic caulking, sand, water, and craft paint to the colour of the bark I wanted.  I then gooped it over the armature, and left it for a day to dry.  I did some drybrushing, and voila!  You can leave them bare or add foliage.

I used these for a diorama I did for a gift, you can see some pictures in this thread: http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=59188.0

A plus as well, the caulking maintains flexibility, so you can adjust the branches a bit if you need to.  Though I would not try bending them 90 degrees.
Title: Re: Wire tree tutorial?
Post by: Mitch K on 16 January 2014, 03:29:17 PM
Hi gents,

Hope this is in the right section, if not feel free to give it a shove in the right direction.  :D

I'm looking for a tutorial on how to make tree frameworks from twisting wires together. Does anyone know of such a thing online?

Cheers,

This is my take:
http://mitchwargaming.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/hundredth-post-trees-going-cheap.html (http://mitchwargaming.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/hundredth-post-trees-going-cheap.html)

This is what I got out of it:
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h2XCZwm7aLk/UcN8ivaBYzI/AAAAAAAAA-k/WiUEsRWtkT0/s320/trees_11.jpg)
Title: Re: Wire tree tutorial?
Post by: Belgian on 16 January 2014, 05:33:01 PM
To cover the wire armature you can aslo coat it with wood glue and cover the piece with sawdust. looks quite good as I have tried a couple of trees that way.  ;)
Title: Re: Wire tree tutorial?
Post by: Ray Earle on 17 January 2014, 10:14:40 AM
Great stuff, thanks gents.  :D
Title: Re: Wire tree tutorial?
Post by: 6milPhil on 17 January 2014, 12:17:14 PM
To cover the wire armature you can aslo coat it with wood glue and cover the piece with sawdust. looks quite good as I have tried a couple of trees that way.  ;)

Interesting technique, I use either filler or if I want to do a bit of sculpting miliput.
Title: Re: Wire tree tutorial?
Post by: Belgian on 17 January 2014, 02:59:10 PM
Interesting technique, I use either filler or if I want to do a bit of sculpting miliput.

The result of the sawdust and woodglue mix gives a very sturdy end result but you will need several coats depending on the amount of space you left when twisting the wires (if that makes sense). I have chosen for this techniques as filler is prone to cracking but miliput also sounds like a good idea as it dries rock solid.

Title: Re: Wire tree tutorial?
Post by: Mitch K on 17 January 2014, 05:08:39 PM
The acrylic modelling medium I used is moderately flexible. Flexible enough that it won't crack off my cutting mat but has to be scraped off >:(

Painter's caulk would be an alternative for smooth barked trees (beeches, birches, chestnuts). It remains permanently slightly flexible and is tough as old boots.
Title: Re: Wire tree tutorial?
Post by: 6milPhil on 19 January 2014, 09:34:01 AM
The result of the sawdust and woodglue mix gives a very sturdy end result but you will need several coats depending on the amount of space you left when twisting the wires (if that makes sense). I have chosen for this techniques as filler is prone to cracking but miliput also sounds like a good idea as it dries rock solid.



It makes perfect sense, I use filler because it's quick.