How To Make Trees/Athel Loren Campaign?

Hey-o! While it's doubtful that it will appear for a long while, Master and I are brainstorming for a new Athel Loren campaign. I've had plenty of experience making buildings before, but trees are a strange and foreign thing for me. Does anybody have some good links/tips on building some, especially some that would accomodate climbers and skirmishers?

While part of me, to indulge the building idea, is playing with the idea of Tree-Houses (with wooden planks between), a new inspiration hit me on vacation: a type of tree known as 'Living Oak.' It's like an Oak tree, but grows more horizontally rather than vertically. With a few branches 'shaved' down to allow a model base to stand, it might make a great 'building' for the woodland campaign. Here's a link or two:

http://angeloakcofc.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/angel_oak2.jpg

http://i1.treknature.com/photos/12418/arm_of_angel_oak.jpg

http://image60.webshots.com/160/4/50/95/419745095MnUvsu_fs.jpg

Only the first link works for me...

But that tree in the first picture looks freaking scary. "Living" is the right word. What a frightening sight. Encounter that in a world of monsters and magic and such a tree can cause fear easily... *shudder*

It's a perfect piece of inspiration. And I like your ideas. I thought about making trees where there is space for at least a 25mm base at the top so you can at least indicate for one model that it has climbed up the tree...

Ditto on the links. 2 and 3 are FORBIDDEN!

Did you try the Tree topic?

https://boringmordheimforum.forumieren.com/scenery-and-terrain-f4/trees-t12.htm

Awesome! My first instinct was the wire & filler (clay, mache), that more than one person suggested, but I'm intrigued by deafnala's pure-wire tree. Seems like it would lend well to perching.

Lil Jonas's link (to 'seafoam' trees) looks like a HUGE amount of work, but the result is amazing. Will definitely take some of that theory into mind when making trees, whatever the method.

A few more shots of Living Oaks.

http://image24.webshots.com/24/8/2/92/33280292mOFLhw_fs.jpg
http://image34.webshots.com/35/8/38/43/2027838430030314243fNizZj_fs.jpg
http://image32.webshots.com/32/3/28/30/2078328300030314243hhFHux_fs.jpg

Oh, and as far as other scenary, I'm thinking:

~Ruined stonework (completely engulfed by overgrowth)
~hills/barrow mounds
~ LOTS of bushes (like, 30. If there's one thing I've learned from my Sartosa set [which has a gallon bag filled to the brim with barrels and crates] it's that you can never have too much small cover)

Whatever that is they like the word FORBIDDEN. Have to check the settings--now I can't look at trees...

Check this out: http://theminiaturespage.com/news/394439/ You could get a similar effect using Floral Foam cones sculpted to resemble the tree trunks, leave the upper foliage as out of the picture. I made som REALLY big trees/tree houses using the cones...along time ago . If you coat the foam with foam putty or spackle, its pretty durable.