Tree Study

Long before I undertook this project, I've rebuilt the Gorre & Daphtid in my mind countless times, and one distinct departure I'd always made from the original had to do with trees. John Allen's initial version of the G&D was treeless, and only sparsely populated by shrubs and low growth. As he built his masterwork around the core layout in Monterey, John started adding some trees here and there, but the majority of trees on any version of the G&D were confined to the backdrop painting.

Granted, the southwest is notable for its barren landscape; however, I suspect that at least part of the lack of trees may have been due to the fact that they're difficult to model convincingly, and there were likely no acceptable prefabricated trees to be had back in the day. My guess is that, as he developed his skills, John eventually started adding more of them. Compare the "scorched earth" scene above with the images from Version III, below.

Regardless of the reasons for the lack of trees on the G&D, it's not the way things will be on my version. For one thing, there are plenty of forests in the southwest, so there's no lack of justification for having lots of them; for another, I simply love trees. I also feel they add visual interest and drama to a layout; they make it look larger by breaking up the space.

What I can't do is use properly-proportioned trees. Real trees are really tall, and the vast majority of modelers use model trees that are woefully undersized. Most modelers probably do so because they don't know any better, and manufacturers reinforce this bad habit by marketing undersized trees for specific scales. That said, in some cases using the "wrong" size of tree is justified. Small layouts, such as the Z Scale G&D, tend to look rather absurd when proper-sized trees are used—true scale-sized trees would be nearly as tall as the layout is wide! Scale trees are best reserved for larger (approaching basement-sized) layouts, or, paradoxically, very small dioramas.

For my G&D, I've been collecting a supply of JJT trees for months, a few boxes at a time. They're among the best commercial model trees available—and their prices reflect the quality. Their pines are particularly versatile because they have nice long planting trunks, and leaving much of them exposed changes their character. The range of available sizes will allow me to use larger ones in the foreground, and smaller ones for forced-perspective effects along the back. Woodland Scenics has a few decent trees in their premium line as well, and I posed one of their "dead trees" by the old mill, below. Even without ground cover, ballast and other scenic detailing, trees are transformational.

Even for a layout as small as the G&D, it'll cost a small fortune to create satisfyingly dense clusters of trees; bear in mind that the small bunch at the back right corner of the layout in the test photo above is one whole box! Sure, I could make trees myself, but that would take considerable time; I'd rather pay for decent prefabs and be able to do things other than sitting around making trees night after night.

Now that terrain is under way, I'm looking at the placement, size and (gulp) quantities of trees needed. Cost aside, it's exciting—as I've said, scenery-making is my favorite modeling process, and green is my favorite color!

Original Gorre & Daphetid images courtesy of Peter T. Prunka.

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