I'm building a stream on one of my modules and since water is a real challenge to make it look good, any opinions on what you like to use and the difficulty in using the chosen material? Needing to get wet....
I use plywood as a base, create the shore first, and then paint what is visible of the plywood. I start with a deep blue/grey for the center third of the watercourse, making it look natural by some variance in direction and thickness. Toward the banks, I lighten the colour to a greenish yellow, or a light tan, depending on the quality of the water and what is supporting it in the way of soil. For my water, I use a finish quality two-part epoxy poured in two layers about 1/8" thick each. I carefully ensure none of it will drip onto the floor. I typically have an open face of the water nearest the fascia or edge of the layout benchwork, so I dam that face with masking tape, making sure to press it well into the surfaces needing to support it. For a top layer, I use gel gloss medium or Mod Podge. The idea is to smear it more or less evenly across the surface of the hard epoxy, and then stipple the smear with the side of the applicator. I use a foam brush typically. Here is an diorama I constructed for outdoor photography.
That is some nice water for sure! Very convincing! So where does one get an epoxy? A gel gloss medium? Not to sound ignorant, but I have never done water myself and I am unsure as to where to get those products.
That looks great. Like real swirling water. It would be fun to watch a video as you create this effect.
I've been using Future's floor wax and Modge Podge to make rivers, streams and lakes for many years. Making River beds, streams and lakes with Futures Floor Wax is an easy procedure. You can get Future's Floor Wax at any supermarket or Home Goods store such as Home Depot or Lowe's. The cost is nominal compared to the cost of Realistic Water by Woodland Scenics. Also to be noted, the Futures Floor Wax won't shrink or change dimension after it is poured and set up. Have fun with it. Shades
Thanks to both of you. As you can see, it has worked miracles for me, so I don't fool around with what has worked well and reliably. The two part epoxy is much the same as Envirotex, available from most well-supplied model train stores or hobby/craft stores. In my case, I got a two box kit from the finishes/paints section of my local hardware store. I use a product made by Swing Paints called Nu-Lustre 55. Any two part epoxy from the paints and finishes section should work. Two pours mixed with enough volume to cover your surface each time to a depth of about 1/8", perhaps as much as 1/4", but no more...please. Let it cure for about 12 hours, covered with stiff and CLEAN cardboard or tempered hardboard to keep dust out of it. Then, mix another batch and pour it. It will bubble up a bit. Blow gently near the surface with a soda straw in your mouth. The bubbles will all go away as if by magic. You can use a stir stick to spread it a bit to help it along. Don't worry about the deep gouges...they'll fill back in and it will all level in about three minutes. Gel gloss medium...same thing, in craft stores. It looks like Nivea cold cream. Spread it thinly, not like peanut butter! Then turn the applicator sideways and tap, tap, tap all over the surface. Leave it alone, again covered, and expect it to take about three days for the whitest peaks to turn clear. Don't like the surface? Apply more gel gloss medium and try something a little different. It all dries clear, so only your most recent surface will show. Maybe I'll make a video, but I suspect there are several very good ones on youtube already. Haven't looked...
People who have been here a few years will probably recognize this shot from my previous layout, now two years destroyed. I built this water just as I described earlier, and as you can see, it turned out quite well.
That water takes me back home to streams I swam, fished, and rode anything from innertubes to.... This is something I have got to figure out! I wonder how it would be for creating a seaside waterfront type scene? By chance have you tried this?
No, I haven't tried a seaside scene. I can anticipate some difficulties as a seashore tends to have more surf action, and that will be difficult to recreate in scale and with the media I mentioned. About the only way to achieve small rollers is to use grey thread and suspend it just above a first pour of the epoxy. Then build up the crests with successive paintings of the thread. It sounds complicated and the wavelets would be very straight...unnatural. Just thinking out loud here...maybe thinly paint a first layer over a sculpted wooden surface painted just prior to the application of the epoxy or gel medium, but invert the surface so that the medium has to dry upside down. That may help it to stay adhered over the entire surface, especially at the tops of sculpted wavelets or rollers. Hmm.....could be an interesting project.
I just remembered a couple of important steps I left out of the epoxy mix. My apologies for that. First, I do add a small amount of acrylic craft paint to the epoxy mix just prior to mixing the two parts, resin and hardener, together. I usually add a 1/4 tsp of Hauder Green (I think that is the name, not positive) and a half-drop of plain yellow. This would only be to one layer, not both. I usually do the top layer this way. Also, I add about one quarter tsp of plaster of Paris powder to the mix. The effect is to make the water appear more turbid and natural, but also the correct colour for many mountain streams and rivers in the west. Note that the quantities of each material is for a total pour in the range of about a cup and half of mixed epoxy. I don't generally mix more than that, and in any case, my water courses tend to be smallish, maybe a square foot and a bit at most. Keeps the costs down as the epoxy is quite expensive for a good product. These two extra ingredients MAY make your mixture a bit foamier than your stomach will like, but don't be alarmed. Spread it around thinly, let it settle flat, and then use the straw to clear the entire pour. It will work, trust me. Just do the blowing within the first ten minutes or so in order not to forget. Don't walk away. Also, do cover it before you leave it to cure.
Loren, Long time ago I made a river on my German Z layout. I used two part polyester for 'water'. I have added a couple of drops green paint to the polyester to get the green water effect. first I build the river bed same as building landscape scenery. Just make sure there is no leak in the river bed. Pour the polyester in several layers. During the curing of the last layer, you can modelate waves with a small stick when the polyester gets thicker. You can use a hair dryer to get small air bubles out. Rapids can be done with some white paint.
My question: How do you keep the dust away ... or how do you clean the water's surface? This is great information! Thank you for the instruction.
You only need to keep the dust off the surface during the curing/drying process. For each pour. Later, if the surface of the water gets dusty, I just wiped it off with a damp cloth. Worked fine. It also helps to cover things, of course, and to have baseboard heat (or steam/hot water heat with radiators).
Don, I had to turn the cloth and wipe sometimes three times, but it was never streaked when I considered it a job done. As for a feather duster, or any duster really, it merely redistributes the unwanted material elsewhere, including onto rolling stock nearby, trees, ground foam, or nearby furniture. I preferred to remove it entirely under control.
Some good information here and I thank those who contributed to this thread. I remember a train show years ago where a garden scale club tried to simulate a waterfall using real water............let's just say it was a poor joke at best. I think those that achieve the desired look have accomplished something pretty special. Now it is my turn to attempt the same.
Yes, from WalMart, the Plaid brand of small plastic bottles. It was Hauser Green....I checked a couple of days ago...not Hauder Green. I can't answer for Hydrocal as I have never experimented with it. I don't see why it should present a problem that plaster of Paris powder doesn't, but it is only the latter with which I have some experience. Why not mix a small batch of your medium, add a tiny amount of paint and a pinch of Hydrocal, mix thoroughly, and apply over a small test section of suitably painted 'river bottom' hardboard or scrap plywood? Find out what works for you.
