AusBonsai

Hi Redsonic

The stock has great movement as Jow has said,use it.

Well said Adam,if you have big taper use it,if not make the most of what you have,Australians do have this obsession for unrealistic taper!

As for bagging out Nurseries stock not productive here,this is not on,I ll take it no one put a gun in your back.The stock is fine to me.

So what can we do,here is some examples especially the casuarina,same movement as yours with not a great taper,but just enough to enjoy just picture your foliage on it with it coming over the trunk at least 1/3 from top down,thats my intention any way.
And with the Radiata Pine also no chopping just put movement in to it and using whats in front of me.

Your stock is way superior to mind,once your skill is adequate to understand the species,the only thing that lets everybody down is imagination,if you don t see it in your tree go looking for it.

Hope this helps,of course the decision lies with you,these are just other options to think about..good luck with your tree....cheers Anthony

pine reduction does need to be done slowly, over pruning or trunk chopping can kill a pine. Make sure you leave 1 good strong growth for the leader to hep thicken the trunk.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I saw your Radiata posts before Anthony, and it is amazing what you have done with a pretty ordinary collected tree. Love the Casuarina; that is kind of what I had in mind when I bought this pine.
I think I have to accept that this is not going to be an instant bonsai, and to approach it with the patience it deserves. I hear you about major chops, Tinto. So, the plan is to feed it heaps and cut off new growth in Autumn as Kez suggested to try to encourage back budding down the branches. No trunk chop, no air layer.
I didn't feel confident feeding it heaps in the mix it was in, so I repotted it today into a large training pot and did a very modest root trim:

I think the back budding route is the way to go, a long, but wise approach!