From Tree to tree - making 6mm trees.

From Tree to Tree

Or how to make trees for 6mm and smaller scales from cones from Alder Trees.

First find your tree

Alders like damp conditions so the best place to go looking for them is near lakes streams or rivers.  They are easy to recognise in the winter when they have lost their leaves but still have cones and catkins on the tree.  Alders have both cones and catkins on the same tree which also helps identify them.  As you can see from the photo below they are quite a slim tree rising to a distinct point.

This is what you are looking for, an Alder in winter.

It’s the cones we are after these are best collected after a couple of dry days so that they are not damp.  If you can only find damp ones don’t worry as they dry out easily.  When you collect them, the cones will probably still have some seeds in them.  I find that putting the cones in a plastic bag and banging them against the palm of your hand (do this quite hard or use a harder surface to bang them against) will dislodge most of these.  Don’t worry about damaging the cones they are pretty tough.  Test a couple to see how hard to hit them to dislodge the seeds.

These are the cones as they come from the tree (UK 2p coin and ruler in Cm for scale)

Cut the “stalk” about 1cm below the base of the cone with a sharp craft knife.  You can also trim off a couple of rows of the segments that make up the cone from the base to give the cone a more tree like shape.  So you end up with something like this.

I base mine on UK 1p pieces.  To do this I use Milliput, a blob about 5mm in diameter should be about right to create a flattened dome on top of the coin deep enough to hold the stalk of the cone firmly.  If they come loose a drop of glue in the hole is enough to hold the cone in place.  Set these aside to let the Milliput cure until firm.  I usually leave them overnight.  What you have now should look like this.

Now to add the foliage, I have found that a light foam flock such as Woodland scenic fine turf works well.  Mix some PVA glue with a little water until you get a consistency similar to single cream.  Paint this onto the cone starting at the bottom and working upwards towards the pointy end.  It doesn’t need to be 100% coverage the cones are wood coloured anyway so any you miss will just look like the branches.  Now dunk the cone in the flock and give a good tap to shake the loose flock off.  If you want to make a bigger tree use a chunkier foam such as the course turf or shrub size foam flock, but either don’t water the PVA down or use a stronger glue such as Bostick.  The result should look like these.

So all that is left to do is paint or texture the Miliput base and Bob’s your Uncle.  From a big tree into a teeny-weeny tree!