Materials

• A tree-making kit from Woodland Scenics, which includes:
  • Tree Armatures w/ bases (soft wood-textured plastic over wire)
  • Clump Foliage
• Hob-E-Tac (a very tacky and durable white glue)
• 5-minute epoxy
• Some form of spray adhesive (WS Scenic Cement or Spray On Elmer's)
• Appropriate flock (and rocks if you like) for the base (I used mostly WS "Green Blend" Blended Turf)
• Spray Primer
• Brown Spray Paint (I don't advocate spray paint, but with the trees it is much easier for the basecoat)
• Metal-bottom base (one for every tree) - here's how I make those
• Craft paints (for highlighting and small stuff)
  • Delta Ceramcoat ?
  • Delta Ceramcoat ?

Procedure For a Full Deciduous Tree (see below for fall trees)

1. First, I use 5-minute epoxy to secure the trees to their bases and glue a metal-bottom base to the tree base.
   Mass assembly notes: I found I could reliably/safely apply epoxy to about 6 trees/bases before it began to become unworkable. Once the epoxy starts to trail long tenacious strands, it's time to start mixing a new batch.
   
   
   
2. Then I bend the branches so that they look somewhat natural. At the very least, I try to twist/bend every branch so that it is not coplanar with adjacent branches.
   Mass assembly notes: Since there is no time-sensitive component in this step, perform it for your whole batch of trees.
3. Spray the trees with primer. Spray on is just easier to use with the trees.
   Mass assembly notes: Since there is no time-sensitive component in this step, perform it for your whole batch of trees. Of course, spray in manageable batches. I would lay out about 30 at a time, but it depends on your work space and your spray technique.
   [This picture shows one of my first trees, with just a simple washer as a base. That was found to be inadequate in diameter, mass, and ease of picking up.]
   
   
   
4. Spray the trees with a brown basecoat. Spray on is just easier to use with the trees. For normal brown trees, I tried the two cheap spray-on brown paints that I could readily find, Gloss Leather Brown and Rustoleum Red Primer (honestly, it's more brown than red). I will seal it later so the finish is not important. You could use spray on Latex, but it will cost two to three times as much and will still result in a satin finish (usually). I like the Red Primer best.
   Mass assembly notes: Since there is no time-sensitive component in this step, perform it for your whole batch of trees. Of course, spray in manageable batches. I would lay out about 30 at a time, but it depends on your work space and your spray technique.
   
   
   Note: don't rule out odd variations on a theme such as grey trees, blackened/burnt trees, blood red trees (probably due to magic), etc.
   
   
   
5. Highlight the wood texture; for my brown trees I used Delta Ceramcoat Light Chocolate and then Delta Ceramcoat Toffee.
   Mass assembly notes: Since there is no time-sensitive component in this step, perform it for your whole batch of trees.
   
   
   
6. Apply clump foliage to branches using Hob-E-Tac glue (this is more of an art than a science).
   1. Fluff and/or pull apart your clump foliage as necessary
   2. Apply Hob-E-Tac glue to the portions of the branch where you want foliage. Do not glop on more than you need.
   3. WAIT 15 MINUTES The Hob-E-Tac instructions say this, but the Tree kits fail to mention it. It is very important. If you do not wait long enough, you will succeed in making a mess and gluing a lot of foliage to itself.
   4. Vigorously dip the tree into the foliage, as in press it slightly into the foliage to get a good adhesion. After you pull it out, press the foliage down onto the tree to further improve adhesion.
      Mass assembly note, cluster technique: Apply Hob-e-tac to trees until 20 minutes pass (just to be safe), let's assume you can reliably apply glue to 12 trees in that time. Foliate half of the trees; in this case, 6. Apply glue to another 6 trees, given the 6 unfoliated trees time to set. Then foliate the "older" set of 6 unfoliated, and repeat. Keep an eye on the time and be sure to pause and/or slow down if your trees are not getting at least 15 minutes for the glue to set.
      Mass assembly note, queue technique: Apply Hob-e-tac to trees until 20 minutes pass (just to be safe), let's assume you can reliably apply glue to 12 trees in that time. Now, go back and foliate tree #1, then apply glue to a new tree (tree #13), then foliate tree #2, and so on. Keep an eye on the time and be sure to pause and/or slow down if your trees are not getting at least 15 minutes for the glue to set.
      
7. Let the foliage dry overnight.
   Mass assembly note: Of course, this is not a problem with many trees. Use the time that you foliated your last tree as your metric of when you finished.
8. Flock the base of the tree
   
   
   
   1. Paint white glue on the base
   2. Dip the base in Woodland Scenics Blended Turf
      Mass Assembly Note: You should be able to work through all of your trees, one-at-a-time, to completion.
9. Let dry for a few hours
   Mass assembly note: Of course, this is not a problem with many trees. Use the time that you foliated your last tree as your metric of when you finished.
10. Spray Woodland Scenics Scenic Cement on foliage. Apply small amount of turf as desired to create texture and vary the color. I have used Blended Turf for normal trees, Fine Burnt Grass for trees starting to turn at the start of fall, etc.
    [Note: I keep canned air handy to blow off stray bits of flock that might get on the trunk]
    Mass Assembly Note: You should be able to work through all of your trees, one-at-a-time, to completion. You will have to take occasional breaks to refill the sprayer with Scenic Cement.
11. Let dry overnight.
    Tip/Trick: They may be dripping Scenic Cement. I recommend placing them on a surface that you can easily liberate them from, such as rigid plastic (I used a scrap piece from an old plasticore sign). Also, I simply shuffle them about after 20-30 minutes to help prevent the trees from being glued securely to the sheet. For excessive cement, you might consider wiping the bottom of the base with a wet sponge before setting it down to dry.
12. Seal foliage and base with Woodland Scenics Scenic Cement & Sprayer.
    Mass Assembly Note: See step #10.
13. Let dry overnight.
    Tip/Trick: see step #11.

The result should be some rock hard, realistic-looking trees (the one on the right had more fine burnt grass added for a subtly drier look).

What to do differently for Fall Trees.

Basically, the same approach as above, but in step 6, be very careful where you put the hobby tack and instead of clump foliage, use coarse turf in fall colors.

Mass Assembly!

I cranked out over a hundred trees for myself and the Rice University gaming club in preparation for OwlCon XXII. This picture does not show the Alpine trees I snazzed up as well (see the technique below).