I have planned a river on my layout. It turns out that from the bottom of the river and the surface of the water I have two inches. Most of the river is like 12 inches wide but it narrows so basically it’s more depth that scares me.
Now, I haven’t poured anything in yet. I have read and watched videos about WS realistic waters or even two part resin stuff but I have lots of questions for you experimented guys.
Is two inches deep too much?
Will the structure be too heavy once dried?
Do I have to make multiple coats until I reach desired level or can I pour it all and wait for it to dry?
Two inches is way to deep.I would suggest raising the river bottom or making a false bottom with clear lexan or plexi glass then putting a thin layer of mod podge over that.Two inches of any kind of water modeling medium would very likely NEVER dry.
This water is actually no more than half an inch deep.
The illusion of depth is mostly created by painting the base, going from light colors at the banks to dark colors where you want it to look deep. I also use “real depth,” but not that much.
All of the “water” products are meant to be poured in thin layers, about an eighth of an inch at a time. Wait 24 hours, generally, between pours for them to harden thoroughly. (I use Envirotex Lite.) With multiple pours, I use a bit of acrylic paint to tint each level. For the lower levels, where the “real depth” is greatest, I use dark colors and more paint, but still, only a couple of drops. This adds “optical depth” to the water, and helps make it look deeper. For the shallows, I lighten up on both the color and quantity of the paint.
I agree, two inches is pretty deep. I will say it can be done, using multiple pours of two-part epoxy to allow for drying of each layer.
This is my biggest water feature, which I sometimes call my “$50 River” because it took that much two-part resin to create. It took three pours, IIRC and is about 1/2" deep at the deepest. It has very good depth and looks deeper than it is.
Your pour should be no more than 1/4". You need to bring the bottom of the river up to the level that you wnat the water to be, paint it to give the perception of depth, and then pour the water.
You are pouring the SURFACE of the river, not the whole darn thing.
Well, considering I have already done the river bottom, and that the difference between the highest spot and the lowest is near 2 inches… is there any way I could “fill” the bottom to raise it up to its desired level? The plexiglass seems to be quite a hard job. Any suggestions for this? Maybe I can poste pictures to show you all. Thanks for your input. I appreciate. Antoine
You can fill the unwanted volume with self-leveling concrete, the kind you pour over a messy basement pad before laying flooring. Or, there are wood fillers that you mix with water and pour. But, as the others have said, you shouldn’t pour fake water more than about 3/8" deep if you can help it, and even then it has to be done in at least three pours for that depth.
The idea is to paint the surface dark in the middle third or so, and then lighten the paint until you get close to the banks. Let that dry, add a few rocks near the shore, some selected twigs to look like snags left from spring runoff, ane then do two or three pours. Top the last layer with a thin smear of Mod Podge stippled with the side of the paint brush to look more natural with air movement over the water’s surface.
I have used Water Magic on a number of water features on the Boothbay Railway Village layout. It is similar to Envirotex Lite. Follow this link to their home page and check Product Info, Instructins and Uses for details http://www.unrealdetails.com/
Go to www.michaels.com or www.acmoore.com, depending on which craft store you like. Find the coupon, and print out the one that’s good for 40% or (if you’re lucky) 50% off one item. Go to the store and use the coupon for Envirotex Lite. It’s a relatively expensive item for craft-store things, so save yourself some money. (Freight car expensive, not locomotive expensive) I buy the larger size. If you wipe the spouts after you pour it and replace the covers tightly, it will last a long time (like years) on the shelf.
Follow the directions. Measure, don’t guess. Mix thoroughly. Yes, stirred, not shaken. I find that the little bit of paint I use to tint the water is helpful to see that the Envirotex is well mixed. You shouldn’t see swirls - that means you need to stir some more.
I have several bodies of water on my layout that are over 2" deep and the effect is great. Sure you can simulate depth by varing colors on river bed. but when your actual scale depth is around 15’-20’, there is a remarkable difference. As far as multiple pours of Envoirtex, sure the directions do say this, but I have done up to 1" thick pours without a problem. It saves much time and the drying and set-up times seems quite a bit shorter. My river and lake beds are first painted black then covered with varing sizes of river bed stones. These are then secured with a mixture of Elmer’s and water. As the Elmer’s is drying it will seal most if not all possible leaks. Enviortex loves small pin hole size leaks and loves to drain out on your floor.
I also add several drops of Pullman grean and roof brown Polyscale or similar paint for coloring, then thick Gesso to simulate waves after Envoirtex sets. Woodland Scenics "Water Effects’ work well, but do not follow their directions!!! Paint thin rows using a flat tip brush and when dried, the waves are great. You may then dry brush some flat white for caps if so desired.
Mr B, what kind of paint do you use? I have used a few drops Floquil in the past, but since it is gone I was wondering if you or anyone had tried acrylics?
If the river is straight, you can add waves on the deeper part, and ripples on the shallow areas. You could use the plexiglass and then add small amounts of epoxy to the sides until the plexiglass is attached to the bottom so epoxy you use to model the water wouldn’t flow under the plexiglass.
This is the dyed epoxy water on my outdoors photography module. The image was taken in late day sunlight.
The epoxy was dyed with two small dabs of Hauser Medium Green and yellow acrylic craft paints. The flat bottom of the river bed was painted with acrylic craft paints as well. It was a mix of blue, green, and some medium grey, with more dark blue for the ‘deeper’ central portion. [Click on image to see a larger version.]
I’m a big fan of tinted resin too. I tend to use brown down deep, green in the middle and blue-green on top, but really I just wanted to say that your water is marvellous, Crandell [Y] utterly convincing, from the near opacity to the disturbed surface.
Thanks, fellas. The outdoors lighting really makes a difference. Indoors, I find fake water, even really well done, looks odd unless viewed with a bright window behind it and the eyes low near its surface.
