Sol said

They, the pics are back now & yes I did notice that they are a different kind of willow.

My type is Crack Willow, Salix fragilis, a type seen all over the place in the Somerset Levels and other flatland areas in the UK. Often it is heavily pollared giving a very distinct look.

Salix fragilis - Google Search

I think Fotopic.net had an outage the other night, hence their disappearence

The Pollarding has worked well Chris.
Depending on how important it is to get recognition of the species there are a couple of modifications I could suggest.
Not sure what gauge wire you ended up with once divided up into individual strands or how many you twisted together but I think that more and thinner branches are needed. There were about 80+ on the weeping willow.
I found with the weeping willow a single strand of wire, while not robust and likely to break off if bent a couple of times at the same point, was strong enough once coated with one or two layers of "bark mix" to support the foliage.

I would also try the foliage without the polyfibre mat, it seems a bit heavy to me compared to the photo.

There are a lot of upright Willows along the River Teifi, many in shrub/small tree form that I'm going to have to try and model later on.

Just some constructive thoughts, hope you don't mind.
cheers