EXPERT MODELLERS SHOW YOU HOW

Paul Bambrick shares his techniques for creating super‐realistic trees in any scale, using a range of simple materials and methods.

PHOTOGRAPHY: PAUL BAMBRICK/GEORGE DENT/CHRIS NEVARD

Many handmade model trees consist of a wire frame of some kind, like florist’s binding strands or copper cable. It lends itself well to forming the basic shape, and the canopy can be arranged to cover the ends of the outer branches.

The late George Iliffe Stokes – a true legend among scenic modellers – used to make his tree armatures from Bowden cable (employed for bicycle brakes or motor car throttles), and he would use wire wool for hedgerows, but the hard steel wire is unforgiving and quite coarse, especially for the smaller scales.

The wire method gave me the idea to try a more modern equivalent, originally for making the backscene trees for ‘Bucks Hill’, so I tried using flexible multi ‐strand battery cable. The copper strands are finer than Bowden cable, and much easier to manage, and it seemed like a reasonable choice of material. The strands are easily bent to the desired shape, and their small gauge allows you to include more detail when you get to the outer branches and twigs.

This isn’t a quick way to make trees, but like anything, you get faster as time goes by. I do most of my trees like this now, even though dressing a large layout often requires hundreds of them at a time.