Dead Maple

A dead maple as the dominant feature of a scene

A dead broadleaf tree is among the most striking features that can be put on a layout or a diorama. The bare skeleton of branches has no mass of leaves to hide it, so the eye falls on it before it reaches the greenery next door. That is exactly why it suits places where a scene is meant to tell something: the edge of an old cemetery, a neglected garden by an abandoned farmstead, or a place among mature growth where a tree has served its time and stayed standing.

What you get

The tree measures 10.7 cm, which matches a large mature maple in the usual railroad scales. There is one piece in the bag. Trunk and branches are shaped with bark texture, so even at close range they hold the impression of wood. The armature can be carefully twisted and opened out so that two trees side by side do not look like two castings from the same mold.

How to plant it

The best result comes from seating it in a pre-drilled hole in the base, where the trunk holds firm and does not rock. The area around the roots then only needs covering with fine turf, fallen leaves or a tuft of dry grass. Anyone who wants to push the impression further can run a dry brush lightly over the branches in a lighter gray; the edges of the bark will stand out and the tree stops looking flat. The shade can be matched to the rest of the growth without trouble, so that the dead trunk settles in among the living trees and does not look like a foreign body.

Why a dead tree in particular

Scenery made up of nothing but healthy crowns looks like a nursery brochure. A single dead trunk can prevent that: it gives the scene age, suggests that nobody has tended the ground for some time, and at the same time opens up a view that a dense crown would have hidden. It therefore combines well with wrecks, a fence leaning to one side or an overgrown footpath.