# my water



## sid (Mar 26, 2018)

finally got my pond to look some what like water. used glue and paints and more glues ,. nothing seemed to work. so then painted it black an blue and added some blue to the acrylic water for flower vases . now im liking my pond better. this is my pratice layout till i get better at building stuff an better at detailing . ( not my thing ) but im learning more an more.


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

I think the blue is somewhat too dark. 
But it looks like you've got the shallower edges nicely done. 
Good looking layout, in my opinion.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Water colors*

Sid;

Nice little layout you have there. Your pond looks OK in the photos, I don't know what you had before that dissapointed you.
Water can be a little tricky to get looking right. The basic technique is pretty straightforward though. The critical things to make convincing water are color, clarity, and depth. 
Real water is transparent, and so doesn't have any color of its own. It can look green, blue, brown, or black, depending on what's in it, and what it is reflecting. Real water seldom looks very blue, except for very deep ocean water far from shore. It gets its blue color from reflecting the blue of the sky. Most water looks both blue and green, and varies with how much of either color is used. The deeper water near the center of a pond, or lake often looks black. Brown water is that color because of the dirt that's suspended in it. A stream or river may look quite brown when the flowing water has picked up a lot of mud from the bottom and the banks.
You can try this technique, the next time you make artificial water. Paint the main part at the center flat black. Working out from the center, toward the banks, add some white paint to the black to lighten the somewhat "shallower" water. Close to the banks start adding lighter and lighter earth color. This is because the water near the edges is so shallow that we can see the bottom. All color changes should be wavy and feathered together with no abrupt straight lines dividing the colors. Looking back at your photos, I see that you have the edges looking good!
When you have the color the way you want it, the next step is to make the water very shiny. There are different ways of doing this. Some modelers add tree branches, weeds, old tires and other junk to the bottom only near the edges. (The "deep" water in the middle area would hide anything on the bottom.) 
Several different products are used to make the water shiny, and give the illusion of depth, and being "wet." (I have had visitors touch the fake water to see if its wet!)
One product used is epoxy resin. It can be poured in layers to be about 1/2"- 1" deep. Its expensive and has a strong smell, but its very effective. I use a craft product called "Modge Podge." I bought a jar at Walmart for about $3. It was enough to do all the water on my layout. You just brush it on after the paint has dried. It goes on milky white, but dries perfectly clear and very shiny. If your water needs rapids, or waves, they can be painted on with small traces of white paint. The water in these photos was made this way.

Good luck, and post photos of your next attempt. 

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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## sid (Mar 26, 2018)

Thank you for replys (tracktion ) ive used mod podge in there as well but it just didnt work for me. like i said i have about 3 or 4 or more different glues in that pond and nothing worked out for me . i know i need lots more pratice as im very new to this sorta thing. i think ill try some lil waves around the shore line next to see if i can do that . .. next time i make a pond ill change this color. oh and the middle pic is the 3rd try at water. the first and last pics are the finished pond . today its almost rock solid. im learning the hard way about modeling. but ill get it figgered out ..
(FIRE21 ) thank you. its turned out way better than my other attempts so far. ill keep trying to get my water jut the way i want it. its getting there just slower than i would like and $$$$$ are flying away in the wind. hahahahahahahah


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## 89Suburban (Jan 4, 2017)

sid said:


> finally got my pond to look some what like water. used glue and paints and more glues ,. nothing seemed to work. so then painted it black an blue and added some blue to the acrylic water for flower vases . now im liking my pond better. this is my pratice layout till i get better at building stuff an better at detailing . ( not my thing ) but im learning more an more.


I love it. :thumbsup:


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Waves wakes and ripples*



sid said:


> Thank you for replys (tracktion ) ive used mod podge in there as well but it just didnt work for me. like i said i have about 3 or 4 or more different glues in that pond and nothing worked out for me . i know i need lots more pratice as im very new to this sorta thing. i think ill try some lil waves around the shore line next to see if i can do that . .. next time i make a pond ill change this color. oh and the middle pic is the 3rd try at water. the first and last pics are the finished pond . today its almost rock solid. im learning the hard way about modeling. but ill get it figgered out ..
> (FIRE21 ) thank you. its turned out way better than my other attempts so far. ill keep trying to get my water jut the way i want it. its getting there just slower than i would like and $$$$$ are flying away in the wind. hahahahahahahah



Sid;

There are several ways to make wave effects in artificial water. If epoxy resin was used for the clear water, heat from a heat gun too,l or even a propane torch, can be aimed just over the top of the resin and it will produce bumps on the surface that look like ripples. I don't use the resin, but I have read that once formed, the bumps/ripples tend to flatten out, and may need re-heating.
My own method is to add the waves or ripples to the wood bottom before paint and Modge Podge are applied. This gives me beter control of where, and how high, the waves are. After the paint has dried well I add Modge Podge for shine. After it has set up firmly, I Hand paint the whitecaps on the waves. The photos below show the effect in the wakes of the tug, and rail float.
You are certainly right about the high costs of hobby material. Never all that cheap, It has gone up and up in recent years. True, the quality, and variety of scenery material has gone up too. Still, that's a lot of $$$$$! The attached file shows ways to help keep costs down.Scenery materials are discussed near the end. Maybe that will help keep you solvent, I hope so.
What are you using for the clear shiny water? You mentioned "several glues?" Are you referring to epoxy? 

Good luck with your future water;

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

My first attempt:

River bottom painted first:










Then added water surface:


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## sid (Mar 26, 2018)

traction , i used elmers first try then some modpoge stuff, then more clear elmers glue , then some paint and clear glue then a clear glue over that, last was modpoge stuff, . then i just got flustered and repainted the thing, then i use an acrylic stuff off off amazon thats for flower arrangements . its two parts you mix up. i added just a drop or 2 of blue acrilic paint to that , then poured it over the pond over all that other glue that was put down there. . i tried some waves but it didnt work out right. i think its real close to what i wanted . i think i should have added some green to the liquid to give it a murkier look. ill have to wait till i find some more $$$$ to get some more of that acrilic stuff as i really like how it covers and levels out and looks kinda like water. i just need to work on waves and color. that pond is about 3/4 inch deep so theres a lot of glues in there. 
(regrand ) i like those waves. thats what i want for the edges of my pond and around that rock in the middle not all over the pond just around the edges like the wind is blowing a little . what did you add for water surface ? 
( traction ) thats a nice barge an tug. i used to watch them go down the Columbia river when i lived in vancouver washington. friend of mine is a tug captain up there. i always like them tugs


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Very nice river!*



sid said:


> traction , i used elmers first try then some modpoge stuff, then more clear elmers glue , then some paint and clear glue then a clear glue over that, last was modpoge stuff, . then i just got flustered and repainted the thing, then i use an acrylic stuff off off amazon thats for flower arrangements . its two parts you mix up. i added just a drop or 2 of blue acrilic paint to that , then poured it over the pond over all that other glue that was put down there. . i tried some waves but it didnt work out right. i think its real close to what i wanted . i think i should have added some green to the liquid to give it a murkier look. ill have to wait till i find some more $$$$ to get some more of that acrilic stuff as i really like how it covers and levels out and looks kinda like water. i just need to work on waves and color. that pond is about 3/4 inch deep so theres a lot of glues in there.
> (regrand ) i like those waves. thats what i want for the edges of my pond and around that rock in the middle not all over the pond just around the edges like the wind is blowing a little . what did you add for water surface ?
> ( traction ) thats a nice barge an tug. i used to watch them go down the Columbia river when i lived in vancouver washington. friend of mine is a tug captain up there. i always like them tugs


 sid;

I like your new river in your latest photos! It looks great! :thumbsup: The color and ripples are excellent. It looks like you have made great progress.

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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## sid (Mar 26, 2018)

traction fan said:


> sid;
> 
> I like your new river in your latest photos! It looks great! :thumbsup: The color and ripples are excellent. It looks like you have made great progress.
> 
> Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


thats riograndy's river not mine although it does look good. 
hahahahahaha


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Oops!*



sid said:


> thats riograndy's river not mine although it does look good.
> hahahahahaha


 Well it serves me right for not checking on the sender!:smilie_auslachen:

riogrande; Great work! 

Traction Fan


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## sid (Mar 26, 2018)

hahahahahahahah


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