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Model Railroader editorial associate Eric Stelpflug and editor Neil Besougloff show how to make and install puffball trees.
How to make and install puffball trees
By Angela Cotey | June 20, 2011
| Last updated on May 5, 2021
Don’t forget to vary the heights o some trees, the dead snag, fallen trees and some taller pines in a small grouping. Go look at the woods. the trees kinds, shapes and sizes vary a lot. When I do mine the trees at the edge will sit on trunks with brush along the edges where the sun gets into the undergrowth.
looks great but have a lot of licken I picked ulp in the wookds last year. They are all brittle so how do I soften them to do puffball trees?
Very informative. No one should have a problem making puffball trees after watching this video!!
Too bad we can't see the responses to questions already asked … like:
– where to obtain the material used in the video
– can they be made ahead of time for future install
My interest has peaked on these after reading the April 2013 issue of MR Mag article on Mountain Railroading.
Thanx .. Barry
great video for making puffball trees.
were can i get the black poly fiber at ?
can not find any one that has it…
Direct and to the point, in a very tasteful way.
Hi,
This is a great vid you people have made on the subject of scenery.
A question or two that I do have is….
1) Do the puff ball trees become hard and brittle when the glue dries?
2) Can puff ball trees be made ahead of time and be used at a later date?
Thank you.
I like it
I will be installing my own puffball forest as soon as micro-marc gets here! Thanks for the refresher course!
great tip–keep 'em coming!
Great video for a novice like me. Thanks for the helpful tips!
I will definitely be using this technique soon, thanks MR
Hello all,
Glad you've enjoyed the puffball tree segment. I just wanted to point out that the "out of the oven" comment Cody makes is a jest (think cooking shows), so please don't try that one at home. We really do believe that model railroading is fun, and to that end we try to put some humor into our clips. This one seems to have mislead several people, and that is never our intention.
Best wishes on your puffball trees!
David Popp
Managing editor
Model Railroader magazine
I wondered about that,too, but I think the oven reference was in jest. I doubt they'd put a plastic paint tray in the oven.
WOODLAND SENICS MAKES COLORED POLY FIBER. MAKES GOOD PUFF BALL TREES, BUT………. YOU GOT TO REALLY LIKE MAKING TREES! IT TAKES ALOT!
I just ordered dark poly fiber from micro mark.
Same question as asked earlier: Where do you get a bag of dark colored poly fill fiber? I can only find white poly-fiber.
Does anyone at MR ever read these comments and reply?
Great. Bonjing Valley Railroad (On30) now requires a bush line to work the forest…. And I thought I might have the layout (empire) almost completed before 2015……..
Easy Forest idea!
Another very good tip
i use hair spay instead of white glue the cheap kind
This simplifies what I thought would be a complicated job. Thanks.
i hang a sheet up and paint it light green then let it dry then tear off small pces then roll them soak em in 50 50 glue water then them in a plastic container with ground foam and shake then pull out and dry they look great
Great idea! I want to go ahead and use it.
I have been able to find white polyfiber – but where did you get the dark colored poly?
"Just took them out of the oven"? Really?
Thank you for this demo video. It gave me the confidence to try the technique and I found the results to be excellent. The "Basic Training" series is a great way to introduce these techniques. I look forward to many more.