Some Stuff on Trees

Including BIG TREES

This Article is about trees. Its intended as an aid to 28mm gamers, but the principles hold
true for any scale. We have included some smaller scale samples.
Introduction
Like the Lorax from the wonderful childrens author Dr. Seuss, I feel a need to speak for the treesMany of us
search out the perfect figure from the hundreds on the market for the one that has EXACTLY the right
equipment. Then, we lovingly paint them in EXACTLY the right uniform according to page 475 of the definitive

Uniform Guide. We painstakingly organize our beloved troops on bases that are EXACTLY the right size to
represent Super Heavy Medium Cavalry for our favorite rules set. We can now proudly proclaim their historic
accuracy to our fellow gamers and deploy them for battle. Oh, and we need some trees to make the battlefield
accurate so we grab whatever is handy - like a hairbrush.
Too often, trees and other scenery becomes an afterthought in our games. To me, this is a real shame. All that
love and care that went into our miniatures is brought down by inaccurate and sometimes even sloppy terrain.
Well, as many would say, to each their own. It is a HOBBY after all, and we should do whatever we want. I
want to play games with my beautifully crafted and realistic model soldiers on nice terrain, and trees are
almost always a big part of the battlefield.
While this article is by no means meant to be a definitive work on model trees, we want to offer up some
pictures and ideas to give you some valuable information that will improve the look of your miniature war
games.
Model trees are the single most common component of most war gaming tables (with the possible exception of
hills). Getting them right (for YOU) from the start and making a decent investment in either time or money
will result in many years of nice looking games no matter how your tastes in periods or armies may change.
Having been gaming for nearly 40 years now, we have tried a number of different methods and purchased
many different types of trees. What follows is what we have learned in that time and what works best for our
tastes.
What do we need in model trees for Gaming?
Durability! Unlike most forms of miniature scenery, terrain and figures for gaming get handled a lot and need
to be sturdy. Most model railroad and architectural model trees are too delicate for constant handling.
Foliage falling off is the next biggest problem. The key to decent survivable gaming trees that look good is
making sure you use plenty of adhesive. More on that below
In addition, we want them to look like trees. Real trees, just like our real soldiers. Not hairy green balls.
The Size of the Matter

Typical size model tress on the left, one the largest commercial trees available in the center, and an Architects of War
Big Tree Kit on the right. The big tree is closer to 28mm in scale and occupies the same table space as the cluster of
smaller trees. The big tree is 12 inches tall. We use all of them in our 28mm games.

Trees are far larger than most people realize. In North America, the most common tree east of the Mississippi
is the Red Maple. A Red Maple tree grows to an average height of 60 to 90 feet. In 28mm scale, this would
require a model tree between 10 to 15 inches in height. Most deciduous trees we have seen used in typical
games are usually no more than 5 or 6 inches tall, or half the height of a full grown Red Maple. A Red Alder
tree, or a white Oak, can reach heights of over 120 feet quite commonly. These trees would be 20 inches tall
on the table top!
Trees also vary in size. Different species have different growing patterns. Some can be tall and slender while
others are shorter and very broad. Mixing and matching sizes certainly gives you a more realistic looking
battlefield than just a bag full of identical tree models.
Now most games are played with representational models. An entire battalion, for example, may be
represented in some rule sets by as few as 12 models. In scale terms, the frontage of the unit actually
represents its real size in most cases, while the models comprising the unit are much taller than the actual
men they represent would be at that scale. One philosophy held by some gamers is to actually use terrain (as
in buildings and trees) that is smaller than scale.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 1- 28mm Tiger next to a clump of typical height gaming trees

Figure 2- 28mm Tiger tank next to a more to scale size tree

On larger tree models, the details are much more accurate and fit alongside all the beautifully sculpted and
painted miniatures.

Here, the fabulous plastic ACW cavalry from Perry Miniatures are shown riding through a farm withboth typical sized and
more to scale trees.

In general, we follow the philosophy to keep things in scale to the scale of figures being used. This helps keep
things visually consistent. We know that our grenadiers may be 30 feet high in scale with the game so to
speak, but we are into table top gaming because of the miniature aesthetics more than most of the other
factors. Base size becomes the key driver for us in making the play of the game realistic. So if 1 Grenadier
figure can represent 50 or more real men, for us it seems reasonable that a building or a tree represents 20 or

more of the real thing. We like the buildings and trees to be in proportion to the figures, and use their bases
to work out any complicated bits like who occupies what and what blocks line of sight. We think the approach
we take looks the best when all the elements are put together. One large tree on a base that could be
occupied by 4 typical small trees looks better to our eye with the same impact on the game itself.
So in the end, we need trees of different sizes. For 28mm and larger scales, we need much bigger trees than
are commonly available (until now!)

You can make your own Trees

There are many ways to make your own trees. Model railroaders in particular have been pursuing the perfect
way to make trees for decades. Here are some of the most common methods:
The stick with stuff glued on it Method

With this method, you basically find some kind of stick (toothpicks, barbecue skewers, twigs, dowels, etc) to
use as a trunk. Some use dried flowers for this either in singular clumps or several pieces taped or glued
together. You can even buy dried weeds and twigs specifically for this purpose from several manufacturers,
with Scenic Express (http://www.scenicexpress.com/supertrees.html) being one of the biggest. To represent
the leaves and smaller branches, you then paint the stick and glue on scenic foam, furnace filter guts,
rubberized horsehair, steel wool, etc. You can choose to add leaves or not to the material you choose. Some
choices for leaves include more ground foam scenic material, tiny bits from a paper punch, died saw dust,
lichen, dried moss, etc. When your trees are done and dry, you can glue them to some form of base and even
sculpt roots from self-drying clay or epoxy (I have even seen roots made with hot melt glue). Most of these
methods are labor intensive and you should be forewarned that most trees made this way are very fragile.
Most trees used for gaming get a lot of handling, which is not a big problem for model railroaders and diorama
builders who never move their pieces. I have seen some truly beautiful trees made with a combination of all
these methods, but most are too fragile to use for gaming.

Wire Armature Trees and String Trees

Using twisted or braided wire for a trunk and branch structure is a very old method. You can use picture wire,
floral wire or even electrical wire with the insulation removed. The idea is to twist it together into a single
large trunk with a branch structure coming out of the top. Some folks leave the wire as is and others add bark
with plaster, clay, or modeling putty. One advantage of wire trees is that they end up being reasonably sturdy
important for gaming in particular. Foliage on the branches is added just like the above. This method is also
very labor intensive but can achieve spectacular results if you coat the wire and provide bark texture. Using
different sizes of wire and lots of it to work out the smaller branches is the key to really good results.
Bottle Brush Trees

This is another very old method for creating war gaming trees. The idea is to place fibers, thin twigs, or string
between wires and then twist the wires together. The wires hold the string or branches in place and form the
trunk. The name bottle brush trees comes from the shape and the fact that brushes for washing bottles
were made the same way. You then trim the tree to shape afterwards and add some form of leave material.
This is a particularly efficient method for modeling pine and evergreen trees. Twisted wire trees can be found
on EBay from a couple of Chinese manufacturers. I have ordered some of these and they are sturdy, or at least
can be bent back to shape when smashed. Unfortunately, the colors are way too vivid and the twisted wire
trunks dont look very good. They work best for the smaller scales like 6mm and 15mm, especially if you
recolor the foliage. Scenic cement and flock on the foliage can really help to enhance their appearance (as
described below). The more of these you buy at one time, the cheaper the individual price. Keep in mind that
they are very basic and require some form of base thick enough to insert the wire trunk into while still having
enough area for adhesive.
The best evergreen trees I have used that are bottle brush trees are the ones from Scenic Express. Buy the
Scenic Express brand in the large bag. As of this writing, they are product number EX0200. These are quite
durable and look good, but once again need a substantial base. (Cardboard or an old CD isnt going to work
well here without some serious work)

The Forest plate Approach

From our Forest Tutorial

28mm British march in the Forest

The Forest Plate approach is to model a forest rather than individual trees. We cover that in a complete
tutorial available here: http://www.architectsofwar.com/Howto/forests.pdf
Essentially, this involves two plates with trunks in between foliage on the top and a base on the bottom. While
the tutorial is designed for a smaller scale forest, we have quite a few of these made up for 28mm gaming by
using wood dowels for the trunks and much more foliage.
The key advantage of this method is that it allows you to make large forested areas more effectively than you
can with individual stands of trees. Again, the base indicates when a unit is in or out of the forest. We usually
say that you can only see out if you are within 1 or 2 inches of the edge of the base. These forests have
made gaming in the period of the French and Indian War, and some World War II games, quite exciting. This
really gives them an accurate feel for us. Our 28mm forests are 12 to 15 inches tall and represent an area of
a large wood.

Just Buy Trees

You can just buy trees and save the time you would use to make your own. By just adding a base, you will find
more time to paint figures or get in more games. The time you utilize to make trees is money in a way too, so
that while homemade trees may seem cheaper at first glance, your time has to be added into the equation.
Like all things hobby, its totally a matter of your preferences. If you want to just buy trees, our
recommendations follow. These products all meet the criteria of easy-assembly and painting, looking good on
the table, and are sturdy enough for the average gamer.

Deciduous Trees
Woodland Scenics Ready-Made Trees with Scenic Cement applied (described below) to increase the durability
of the foliage are the best bet. If you buy the trees by themselves, you will have to cobble together some form
of bases as the ones supplied are too small and the trees will fall over easily. You can use hardboard, an old
CD, or plastic sheet. You will have to flock the bases and add detail to suit. Painting the trunks (not hard at all
actually) a dark grey will improve their appearance quite a lot. A quick dry brush of lighter grey will bring out

the nice bark texture molded into the trees. They come in three sizes. Only the 14-piece set is really large
enough for trees in 28mm, but the smaller sizes can be used for smaller trees and shrubs. Woodland Scenics
also makes some other premade trees, usually sold one to four in a pack depending on size. While these trees
look very nice, they tend to be pretty fragile. The old metal tree kits from Woodland Scenics are still available
as well but take a lot of time to assemble properly.
The Ready Made Trees are the trees that come in Architects of War Woods and Hedge Row sets. We provide a
highly detailed base made of bubble free resin that is paintable even without primer. The roots and
attachment points for the trees are specifically designed for Woodland Scenics trees, but they can be adapted
for other types easily. We do sell the Woods bases without trees as well.

Box Contents of AoW Woods Set G026

A finished tree stand form kit G026

Pine and Evergreen Trees

For Pine and or Evergreen trees, we recommend the ones from Scenic Express. Our woods bases work well
with these and would definitely be nice and sturdy enough to provide adequate basing.

Scenics Express EX0200

AoW Woods Plate painted

AoW Woods Plates

Palm Trees
Until the Pegasus Palm Tree sets came along, we were stuck with fragile homemade trees or cake decorations
that frankly I never thought looked very good. They can be really cheap to make, but thats not always
everything! Dont be fooled by the box art or gaudy molded colors on the Pegasus sets, it really doesnt do the
product inside justice. The key to getting good results with these is to paint them BEFORE assembly. We use

spray cans for this and then dry brush them. Its quick and very effective. Dont hesitate to cut some shorter.
Palm trees, like other trees, come in a wide range of sizes and heights. Pegasus trees are too big to use for
scales smaller than 28mm or 20mm. For smaller scales you are going to have to make your own.

Pegasus Palm Tree

AoW Palm Tree Plates ME004 Complete

with scorpions, cacti, and snakes!

Large Trees
We are very pleased to offer some large trees as part of our Architects of War range. These kits are simple to
assemble and can be made quite sturdy. They consist of a well detailed central trunk, an integral base, and
Woodland Scenics trees forming the branches. We then attach either Woodland Scenics Foliage or Woodland
Scenics Foliage Clusters to add the leaves. We always soak the foliage in Scenic Cement (as shown below) to
make them a bit tougher. We are doing a wide variety of tree species and sell them in multiples at a discount.

AoW Large Oak GO37

The Hangin Tree GO34

A big tree kit assembled

Making Tree Foliage More Sturdy

No matter what kinds of trees you end up with, you will want to make sure the foliage is tough enough to
handle lots of gaming. Here is how we do it. Trees done this way have held up for years of hard gaming and
show travel for us. This is an excerpt from our Woods Set instruction sheet:
After you have flocked your bases (or not) now is the time to add the Trees to your Woods Set. I paint the
trunks of my trees with the same paint I used to paint the roots. This is a lot easier than it sounds. You dont

have to worry about all the little bits up in the leaves, just the main trunk and branches. Painting the tree
trunks is optional, but it makes them look more realistic. Glue your trees into the appropriate holes and let dry.
Now, some of the flock may have come off your trees and you may be wondering how well they will hold up.
Have no fear. This next step makes them a lot tougher and able to handle the rigors of gaming.

Take a small spray bottle (we used an old accelerator bottle) and gently mist your trees and shrubs with water.
You dont want them soaking, just wet. Then take the pipette and gently dribble a little Scenic Cement all over
the tree and shrub foliage. On occasion, you may need to glue a chunk back on with Scenic Glue or Super Glue.
After all your dribbling is done, you can carefully sprinkle appropriate colored flock onto the shrubs and trees to
give them a little finer texture. After this dries, it will hold everything together quite nicely.

We offer a wide variety of trees, foliage, shrubs, hedge rows and more at
http://www.architectsofwar.com/
We recommend you take a look at these pages for additional information:
http://www.architectsofwar.com/trees.aspx
http://www.architectsofwar.com/generalpurpose.aspx
In the Europe, our products are available from:
http://www.warlordgames.co.uk/

A variety of different size trees really helps this table top game set during the American Civil War

Photo Courtesy of Perry Miniatures

Exquisite Perry Miniatures and some beautiful tree modeling say it all really