David Zolnierek’s clinic focused on making aspen trees for model railroads, where the presenter provided detailed information about aspen tree species, their growth habits, and their appearance in different seasons. The presenter shared historical context about making aspen trees and discussed upcoming plans for a conifer and aspen workshop at regionals in Holland in October. The clinic included a demonstration of aspen tree making techniques and discussion of supplies and tools needed for the process.
The clinic described building and modeling trees for a scenic display, with detailed instructions provided for various steps in the process. The discussion covered materials needed, including Supertrees, paint, foliage, and adhesives like matte medium, as well as techniques for straightening tree trunks using methods such as soaking and weighting, or soldering. The presenter emphasized the importance of proper foliage application, ensuring leaves are placed only on branches and not on the trunk or inside the branches, and explained how to vary foliage colors to represent different seasons and create depth in the scene. The process of sealing, painting, and flocking the trees was also detailed, with specific advice on tools and techniques to achieve realistic results.
David then covered detailed instructions on tree placement, coloring, and flocking. David demonstrated various methods including using 1, 3, or 5 tree groupings, proper backdrop painting techniques, and seasonal coloring approaches. They discussed using different materials like Scenic Express trees and Superleaf material, explaining the advantages of Scenic Express products over Woodland Scenics. The presentation included practical tips about tree height scaling, elevation changes, and ground foliage placement, with examples from various model layouts.
The clinic finished with a PowerPoint presentation (download available below) and distribution of tree models as take-home items.
The following is David’s slide deck for this presentation.