Hello to all, This is my first post in this forum. I,m trying to model a creek on my layout. I’ve got the base all set, now I need to paint it, and add details, rocks and weeds at the banks, etc. What color has worked best for most of you? The creeks in my area seem to have sort of a greenish hue to them, but I,m having difficulty duplicating that color. Maybe I’m being too fussy. What in your opinion is the easiest to top coat the creek with? E-Z water (Woodland Scenics) or a two part resin? Which one gives the longest working time, is easiest to dye (if nessesary) and is easy to make repairs to, ie: remove scratches etc? Thanks, RC
Robert,
I have used Woodland Scenics E-Z water a number of times and each time I get better at making it look realistic. I find that the best way to melt it is with a heat gun. However, with a heat gun I found that the paint I laid for the stream bed would bubble just a tiny bit if I held the gun on one spot to long. To me the method is still a fairly cheep fast and realistic way to create fake water. I haven’t yet attempted to use two part resin so maybe some of the other modelers can tell you what works for them with that!
-Ian
I have not used resin, but can tell you that the ez water repairs pretty well. It is a bit on the yellowish side if you ask me. Also, you do need an industrial strength heat gun to work it well. Melt the material, pour it on the prepared stream, then re-melt it with your heat gun. This gets rid of the silvery bubbles that occur because the first melted material to hit your streambed hardens before it can make its way into all the nooks and crannies. Also, don’t pour too deep, or the material will crack. I’m not sure I’ll use the ez water again, mainly because of its yellowish color. I don’t know if it takes dye or not. Good luck.
This is likely going to sound overly-simplistic, but I’ve found that painting a surface blue-green and then overcoating it with a thick layer of clear silicon works very well for modling water. While the silicon is still tacky, you can give detail it with just about any kind of wave, chop, flow, etc., and can stick in various weeds and reeds.
I find that ACRYLIC GLOSS MEDIUM works very well for modeling water. If you want to try it, the entire method is in the Kalmbach book"REALISTIC MODEL RAILROAD SCENERY" by Dave Faray.
Robert. This is Robert, from the Southwest Washington Model R/R Club, Vancouver, WA. “EZ Water” is the easiest to work with. But I don’t like it! Unless you can control the temperature, where your trains,are, “EZ Water” will crack. And, I don’t know of any fix! Also, it will turn to a Yellow-Orange, over time, like in years! My favorite? Enviro-Tex, regular or “Lite”. Won’t turn Yellow, won’t Crack, and can be re-poured, without showing a seam between layers. Scratches can be removed with Alcohol. It’s a two part resin mix. Follow the instructions, and you shouldn’t have any problems. Make sure you cover your “water” project with news paper, not touching it though. Dust, is a problem with any pour type, “water”. Waxed paper cup, or Yogurt cup, and popsicle sticks are good mixing tools. It will get a little warm when mixing. Biggest problem you’ll have, is air bubbles. Exhaling or a Hair Dryer, will work, to remove the Bubbles. Have Fun!
Robert, Thanks for the advise, it sounds like Enviro-Tex may the the way to go. What is the difference between “reg” and “lite”, also what type of paint should I be using on the stream base? Should I use water base acrylics, enamel, and can I use Elmers glue to secure rocks on the bottom? Thanks again.
Robert,
It may be too late now but I am in the same situation as you, trying to figure out how to model my creek. I investigated the 2 part resin and there is a web site with lots of details on how to work with it. http://www.eti-usa.com/index.htm is where you can get all kinds of tricks to making it work right. I think I will be going with the two part resin myself.
Good Luck!
Michael
Try Magic Water http://www.unrealdetails.com/ or ebay
Magic Water™ sets up in as little as 12 hours and not more than 24 depending on the atmospheric conditions. Magic Water™ has been in development for over a year. Each carton of Magic Water™ contains enough resin, 18 ounces, to make any average sized project, depending on your scale. It comes complete with a multi page color booklet and instruction guide loaded with water modeling tips and techniques on making, ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, rapids. waterfalls, swamps, swimming pools, mudpuddles and more! We are sure you will find Magic Water™ to be the easiest and most realistic product you have tried.
I just used Magic Water myself for the first time and am very pleased with the results. Time will tell, because in my experience it is only after several months that problems start to show with some of the water techniques.
We poured an EZ Water lake on our club layout last summer, and during the wintertime it began to crack and now looks like a frozen lake with large cracks in the ice. We think it must have been from the cold, because we’re in an unheated building.
I have had excellent and consistent results with a two-part epoxy called Nu-Lustre 55 from Swing Paints. It dries crystal clear, glass smooth, and stays put. It also does not creep up onto things like other do…some creeping, but not much. I added gloss medium over it as a tinted cover to this to get it more opaque and wavey, but I did not like the look, and it came up in a single peal when I attempted to remove the tape dam at its side.
I’ve tried Magic Water with good results for small ponds and swamps. “Future” brand clear acrlyic floor polish also works well for shallow ponds, swamps and puddles.
But both creep up around the edge of the pond and soak up into the vegitation producing a wet, clotted look around the edge. The vegitation at the edge then has to be replanted. I understand this happens with some resins as well.
Is there any water product that won’t creep up above the pond surface?
The Nu-Lustre 55 does very little creeping. It will climb up over rocks that are meant to be submerged, and up onto those that are only partially submerged, but not over much. It won’t creep far up a bank, for example. People have observed that Envirotex creeps a fair bit, but I would say that Nu-Lustre 55 does very little. If you would like, I can post a close-up of my just-completed slough, and you can judge for yourself.