QUOTE (Mike H. @ 28 Nov 2008, 21:01)
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Most of the 'OO' stuff available commercially is risible - a 'tree' three or four inches tall is, to scale, more a shrub than an actual tree (and these models are damned expensive) A typical park tree here in London is about 50-90ft tall, which means a model of at least 7-8 inches in height. So should I be looking at O-gauge trees (just as, I am told, i should be using N-gauge ballast) or should I be making my own? And if the latter, how? Is there a quick-and-dirty way of making several hundred realistic trees that are the right height?
*** I agree. Our MASTERscene trees are available up to 220mm high, which is still under scale for an elm or mature Oak, but is at least a real tree, not a big bush like most. We do several species to that size - Ash, Oak, Elm, Conifer and a more generic "large deciduous".
The problem of going much bigger is, as Brian said, that they become overwhelming - but at 200~220mm, they are still very substantial!
QUOTE (Brian Considine @ 28 Nov 2008, 22:14)
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>The problem with scale height trees (& other tall things such as lamposts) is that when in true scale they tend to dwarf everything else round them, including the trains.
Many people (us included) make the trees about 75% of scale size to look better - sometimes "wrong" is "right".
The station platform lamps on SL are "N" gauge ones - the HO ones just looked too large.
*** Brian we agree on the tree size in that about 75% of real potential height is about right for the larger trees.... Re the lamps being too big, I think that in fact the fact the buildings are too small contributes... ie, the windows and doors may be scale, but the footprint is often undersized!
Thatnotwithstanding, if the N scale lamps look OK on an HO station... surely they MUST be overscale N scale lamps to start with....
Richard