Keep Diorama: Tree

So here is the first of seven posts on the Keep Diorama that I did for a commission. Each of these can be found under the Label "Keep Diorama", along with the custom bases tutorial and the miniatures I did up for the piece. These may also be found under the "Tutorial" label as I am going to show how I built the whole piece, but in easy to read sections. Onto the Tree:

Building the tree:

STEP 1: What you need:
*Woodland Scenics makes good trees. They also have a Tree Kit which I will be using for this project. This is the 3"-5" Tree Kit. It comes with tree sprues, and color foliage (dark green, medium green, and light green).
*PVA glue. Here I am using Aleene's Tacky Glue. You can pick it up at most hobby stores.
*Turf blend. here I am using Woodland Scenics Blended Turf (green blend). I picked this because it will be lighter than the medium green foliage to bring a bit of highlight to the leaves.

STEP 2: Making the tree:
So we take our tree sprue, separate the base, and twist slightly the tree to give it shape. Then add your glue to the branches. I usually give a bit of time before I dip the tree (with glue) into the pile of foliage.

clumps of medium green foliage. Seriously, Woodland Scenics foliage (dont smoke it).

STEP 3: Leaving it to dry.
And here we can see the foliage drying. You can also see bits of branches, and if you want to add more foliage, this is the time to do it. Next we take the turf blend and lightly sprinkle it over the tree. If you choose a lighter color of turf blend it will give more definition to the leaves, and your tree.

STEP 4: Complete!
And here we have a completed tree! You may notice there is a base attached to the bottom of this tree (the slight black shadow at the bottom), this was added so the tree may be randomly placed on the display piece. The base is same as the miniatures that accompany it (25mm round).

So there is the tree. I like this tree. I think it will fit well with the rest of the diorama piece.