FoG Models Tree kit

Remove the protective tape from around the wire and tap one end of the wire on a hard surface to give you a flat end. Take one strand of wire and coil it around the €˜trunk€™. These coils are what hold the tree together initially so pull them nice and tight. A good place to start the first branch is about one third of the way up the trunk.

Making a branch take several strands of wire and bend these at the desired angle to the trunk, use the strand of wire coiling around the trunk to go around the branch. Next take 2 or 3 wires to create side branches working along the branch toward the end. Place the side branches on alternate sides of the main branch.

Next take another wire and coil this around the trunk and repeat the previous step but higher up the tree on the opposite side to the first branch. Then repeat this to the rear of the trunk then the front, using fewer wires each time (branches get thinner the higher up the tree they go).

Trim the wires to desired length of branches these are what hold the canopy of foliage in place. Continue all over the tree until all the branches have been trimmed. At this point the trunk and boughs can be beefed up by wrapping masking tape around them. This also helps hide the wires coiling around the trunk and main branches.

Take approximately ½ the bag of Bark Powder and put into a mixing pot. Add a few drops of water and mix the powder into a thick paste. You can add a few drops of PVA glue if you wish (this helps to stop the €˜bark€™ chipping of) Paint the mixture onto your wire armature using a small paint brush. Continue painting until all the wires are coated. Set this aside to dry (best left for 24 hours).

Tease out the rubberised horsehair pulling of small clumps. Using PVA stick these to the branch structure you have created. This is best done in small amounts leave to dry and more can be applied, depending on how dense you want the canopy structure.

Once dried spray the €˜branches from directly above with a generous amount of hairspray and sprinkle over the scatter. Again, leave to dry and repeat as desired. (You can invert the tree and apply some from below) When dry it is best to give the whole tree a coat of hairspray to help seal it before painting.