Pine

A pair of pines for a woodland edge

Pines reach considerable heights and gradually shed their lower branches, so a grown tree has a long bare trunk with the crown only in the upper third. Fallen needles pile up under the stand and acidify the soil, which is why grass grows there only thinly; a coniferous wood therefore has a far cleaner floor than a broadleaf one. That very feature makes pines a rewarding species to model, because the terrain under them need not be filled with undergrowth.

The pair in the set

The delivery covers two trees, 13.3 cm and 10.1 cm tall. Both are finished and colored through. They are among the tallest trees on offer here, so they also suit places where growth is to rise above the buildings.

How to work with them

A pair with a marked difference in height works well at the edge of a wood: the taller piece creates a silhouette above the crowns and the lower one closes the gap at ground level. It is a good idea to leave a clear view between the trunks, because in a pine wood you can see deep into the stand, and that view is exactly what gives the scene depth. The terrain under the trees only needs covering with brown turf, a few cones and some dry twigs.

The heights match a mature tree in HO and N; in larger scales the trees can be worked into the background, where they will suggest continuous growth behind the scene.

When building a deeper wood it works to combine pines with lower trees so that the tops do not form one level surface. An irregular outline of crowns is the first thing by which the eye tells real growth from a backdrop put together out of pieces of the same height.