Bottle Brush Conifers


hi Allen,

All the pictures are still and can be seen in this thread..........
I think you have to wait some seconds( a minute?) the pictures are big( = much kb's) so may be it willtake some time to load??

Jos

I got um' now thanks......Those things are awesome!!!!!! Will be making mine this week!
 
Please tell me what went wrong with my bottlebrush tree ?
It really looks anemic like a pine grown in the tundra , lol

1 st , a question: what's exactly the right wire gauge I should use for making bottle trees ?

Here are some pictures of the disaster.

Jacques

bottlebrush1.jpg


bottlebrush3.jpg


bottlebrush5.jpg


bottlebrush6.jpg
 
Looks like maybe the white material in your picture is just string ??? or is it wire? It should be some type of wire that when twisted remains that way. I've never done these types of trees but will be doing them soon.
Allen
 
hello Jaques

Yep just like Allen wrote: use some, in this case 2, floristic thin wires( o,6 mm diam) as the core of the trunk!! you will see its fun to make a 1000 of them! =)

Jos
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Jacques, in addition to Allen and Jos's suggestions, it looks like you've used plastic rope. I've found natural fibers seem to work better. As to wire, I believe I've used 18 ga. florists wire from AC Moore or Michaels. Micro Mark also carries wire, bristles, and wire twisting pliers. DJ.
 
Thank you Allen, Jos, GrampysTrains and Aaron for taking some of your valuable time to reply.
It looks like I fumbled right from the start because the wire I used is labelled as #30 gauge "White cotton covered wire"
About the rope: It is labelled as "sisal twine", made in China ... but who know.
It doesn't look nor feel like plastic and it doesn't melt but it burns instead.

I checked Micro-mark website ( thanks GrampysTrains for the suggestion ) , their bristles look very similar to Woodland Scenics field grass:
FG173_f_1.jpg


I have to order some tools from Micro-Mark and at the same time I'll order their bottlebrush trees items.

To Aaron: thank for the encouragement. I was hoping that no one would notice the nicorette gum on the picture , but you spotted it.
So far more than 1 month without any cigarette and I don't regret it.
As a friend of mine would say " It's the best decision you ever took in your life"

Jacques
 
I got my sisal twine at Wal-Mart for a large roll it was $2.00 and I can get a lot of trees from that roll. The wire I use is from the art supply store (Michaels). It's a green cloth like cover found in the floral department. It's great for these trees because it's a dark green color and just the right size. The other thing I noticed you use glue on the wife between the sisal twine. I'm not sure it is worked out well or went everywhere when you used the drill to spine the tree. I used alligator clips from Radio Shack. I start to twist the tree real slow to get the wire started and remove the clips when that is done and then give the drill a real good spin before I take the tree of the clamp.
Dave
 
Hi dave,

You're serious about this:????
The other thing I noticed you use glue on the wife between

or did you mean wire instead if wife??? =) lol
Of course it has to be a -r- intead of a -f-...=)
Btw I use the same green colored wires...

Jos
 
I have not yet tried the bottle brush method but they look great !! I've been making some tall pine trees using an artificial moss for the tree limbs. works good but I see alot of guys using caspia for branches of tall pines and lodgepoll pine but I can't fine it at any florist in central ms. any ideas or manufactures where I can get it ?
 
Thank you Jos, Dave and GrampysTrains for taking some of your valuab;e time to reply and for the additional information and tips.
Another question: on the picture # 2 ( page 5 ) I posted shoud the twine pieces be glued evenly on the wire, or should they ( as I did ) be glued as separate groups ?

Jos: The weblink is down , but by looking at the url, it has the dutch word "handveger" ( I learned some Dutch as a teenager while attending school in Belgium ) , so I guess it's some kind of "hand broom" with coco bristles.
It sounds good, but aren't coco bristles too stiff ?

Dave: The glue didn't fly everywhere , I like the suggestion of using alligator clips.


Jacques
 
Thank you Jos, Dave and GrampysTrains for taking some of your valuab;e time to reply and for the additional information and tips.
Another question: on the picture # 2 ( page 5 ) I posted shoud the twine pieces be glued evenly on the wire, or should they ( as I did ) be glued as separate groups ?

Jos: The weblink is down , but by looking at the url, it has the dutch word "handveger" ( I learned some Dutch as a teenager while attending school in Belgium ) , so I guess it's some kind of "hand broom" with coco bristles.
It sounds good, but aren't coco bristles too stiff ?

Dave: The glue didn't fly everywhere , I like the suggestion of using alligator clips.


Jacques

After making several of these myself to put on my layout, it seems to me like the glue would keep the twine from spreading out in a spiral or rounded fashion, thus making your end resulting trees look less full.
 
hello Jacques,

about the "coco bristles"...
they aren't /weren't realy natural cocobristles but they are atrificial bristles/ fibers! so fake cocobristles;)
and when putting between the 2 wires just use( if!!) very little glue...like the transparant | "all"glue ( from TESA)

Jos
 
Here is the 2nd attempt made following the tips and suggestions I received from some members following this thread.
First I forked some $ for purchasing #18 gauge florist wire ( yes, the real McCoy )
I still used the same sisal rope used for the 1st attempt.
Instead of gluing the twine to the wire, I used ( as suggested ) alligator clips.
Before painting the trunk I applied some Tamiya putty on it to hide the "twisted wire pattern"
Thanks again for your help fellow modellers
Here are some pictures showing the improved ( that's my wife opinion ) result.
You'll be the judges.

Jacques

Twisting
twisting.jpg


Twisted
twisted.jpg


Applied putty and painted tree
paintandputty.jpg


Final result

bottlebrushfinal1.jpg


bottlebrushfinal2.jpg
 
Jacques, that is a very good looking tree. The trunk looks fine to me. Kudos for sticking with it, the results were worth it. DJ.
 



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