10mm Wargames Terrain: Scenics Trees
Over the years I have always found myself frustrated by having to make trees. All the methods I have seen involved quite complex ways of making trunks, branches and foliage that the whole process has always been slow and painstaking (for example, see Realistic Tree Making). So, I wanted a solution for trees that was relatively quick, produced them in abundance and looked good without having to spend hours twisting wires into armatures!
A simple solution was to use Woodland Scenics plastic tree armatures. Not exactly an inexpensive method but it certainly met my three main criteria of time, quantity and effect.
I purchased a packet of deciduous tree armatures (2 - 3 inches high), some Hob-e-tac glue and some clump foliage (all available from Ec Scenics in the UK or any other Woodland Scenics distributor.
The pack of armatures contained enough for 50 trees and cost me about £9.00, or about 18p per tree.
Hob-e-tac adhesive cost me £3.90 but there is enough glue in the container to do several hundred trees (at about 2p per tree).
The clump foliage cost me £4.00 and will just about cover the 50 trees at a cost of 8p per tree.
Overall cost is therefore about 28-30p per tree which is, in my opinion, a favourable cost ratio when you consider the price of 10mm figures and vehicles.
Method
- Separate the armature and base
- Glue a 'penny piece' to the underside of the base using a contact adhesive - this will give the tree more stability for use on the tabletop
- Glue the armature to the base using a liquid poly-cement
- Coat the armature branches with hob-e-tac and allow to dry until it is tacky and almost transparent
- Dip the now tacky armature into the clump foliage and shake off excess - I keep the foliage in a box and vigorously shake the box with the armature in it
Time
The trees are so simple to construct that each one takes quite literally a couple of minutes to produce. Naturally, a certain amount of time does have to be given over to allowing the glue to dry but you can get on with other things whilst this happens.
Despite the initial cost of materials, at about 30p per tree I think that this is an extremely cost-effective and time-saving solution.
Quantity
Fifty trees is a lot of trees. You get enough armatures in the one pack for a reasonably good spread of trees across the wargames table.
Because the trees are free-standing they can be positioned wherever you want them so that no layout is ever the same. No more getting bored with that tired-looking copse that always seems to appear in every battle!
German infantry emerge from a treeline.
Effect
In my opinion the trees look very realistic and add considerably to the overall effect on the tabletop. Due to the availability of different types of covering materials and colours it is possible to have a lot of contrast between individual trees.
German Panzer Company in cover.
