Home >> Hobbies >> Model Railroads

How to Make Model Railroad Bottle Brush Trees

In model railroading, a "bottle brush tree" is a model conifer, like a spruce or pine, and the term rarely refers to a tree model made from an actual bottle brush. In fact, since most layouts would require dozens if not hundreds of trees, finding that many used bottle brushes is unlikely. However, there is an inexpensive way to make a large number of model conifers that is relatively simple and quick and will produce trees that look much better than trimmed bottle brushes.

Things You'll Need

Sisal twine
Boiling water
18- to16-gauge wire
Wire cutters
Bench vise
Drill with slow speed option
Drill hook
Scissors
Hot glue
Brown spray paint
Cardboard box
Newspaper
Tape
Green ground foam
Flat finish acrylic spray sealant

Instructions

- 1
  Cut sections of sisal twine at least 3 feet long, and boil in water for two to three minutes to soften the fibers.
- 2
  Remove the twine, and allow to dry.
- 3
  Cut sections of the twine between a half-inch and 2 1/2 inches long, and sort into piles of short, medium and long fibers.
- 4
  Cut a section of wire approximately 12 to16 inches long, and bend in half so that it forms a "V" shape.
- 5
  Apply about 1 inch of hot glue to one side of the V-shaped wire, and begin placing sections of twine on the glue starting at the closed end of the V about an inch from the top. This will be the peak of the tree, so start with small sections of twine.
- 6
  Continue down the length of one side of the wire adding larger pieces as you go until you have a section 4 to 5 inches long.
- 7
  Press the V shape together, and clamp the free ends of the wire in a vise.
- 8
  Slide the drill hook into the open loop at the peak of the V shape, and slowly rotate so that the fibers are twisted into a conical shape around the center wire.
- 9
  Trim the fibers as necessary to shape the tree.
- 10
  Prepare your cardboard box by cutting a sheet of newspaper to fit the bottom of the box and taping it into place.
- 11
  Spray brown paint over the surface of the bristles.
- 12
  Hold the tree over the cardboard box, and sprinkle fine green ground foam over the bristles of the tree while the paint is still wet so that the foam fills out the branches.
- 13
  Clip off the top and bottom of the tree, leaving enough of a stem to function as a trunk.

Model Railroads