Now, I have an admittedly strange aesthetic preference on the game table, compared to what is portrayed as the norm in the hobby publications, and I recently decided to embrace it - my table won't appeal to those who strive for realism. But, as I had to remind myself, it's for me not for others.
These trees began as something of a joke, a Dr. Seuss inspired design -leaning, bending, twisting unnaturally - and were built using an idea I liked once before but abandoned foolishly when a Hobby Lobby discount got me some model railroad type trees for cheap.
The joke was on me; when i finished the first one, I was in love.
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| Pictured with cat for scale. Oh and a 1/32 Airfix German Infantry and a 1/35-ish Classic Toy Soldier Pz. IV |
I will use the same technique to make 1/72 sized trees, although I probably won't Seussify them. Getting the extreme curve in the tree farthest back turned me into a glue-covered mess. I shudder to imagine trying to do it with pieces 1/2 the size.
I am shooting for a dozen of these to start - more are likely as they are cheap and, with the exception of extreme curves, easy to make with just craft foam and glue.
They're fairly sturdy too, and easily mended should the pieces separate. To make the extreme curve, I used a stable pushed into the piece from the opposite side and may make that a regular part of assembly.
Deciduous trees are next on the list, I have multiple ideas for those.
Michaels, if you have them in your area, sells wood cutouts of deciduous trees for 25 cents or so.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip SAROE!
DeleteThere is one nearby that I will have to search for these.
After seeing your comment I checked out Hobby Lobby online (Michael's doesn't appear to sell online for some reason) and they have several pre-painted wood trees for under $1 each. The size is about an inch shorter than I'd like for 1/32 but the look is very much in line with my weird cartoon-y game-y aesthetic.
-John
Not my thing at the moment, but I appreciate the whimsy.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that those who actually find this look appealing are few and far between. Between Bob the Builder (which builds trees in a similar method of intersecting flats) and reading tons of Dr. Seuss to my son over the last 21 months probably explains a lot of my enjoyment of the style.
DeleteThey also kind of remind me of something my grandmother would put out at Christmas time on a side table with little ice skaters posed on a piece of mirror.