I thought I’d pass along a simple little technique that a friend told me about, making lilly pads. After seeing the retail price of the ready-made variety I gave it a try.
I think they look pretty good from a short distance…
and even closer…
After the ‘water’ had dried I used cheap craft-style paint
and one of those micro brushes that are typically used to apply glue…
dip lightly into the paint and use a straight up and down motion to place a small dap of paint on the water. After that dried I repeated this with the lighter color green, using even LESS paint than before and not on every lilly pad.
You’re very welcome, Tyler. I think you’ll find it super easy with the micro brush (thats really the key), just be sure to dip only the very end of the brush into the paint so as not to get too much. 'Course if you do, you’d just have a giant lilly pad. [:D]
I’ve done a google search for HO scale frogs, the croaking kind not the turnout kind… and all I can find are the latter. Where oh where is Kermit when you need him… Guess I’ll just have to make one out of… hmmmmm… on second thought my pads will just have to remain frogless. Maybe I’ll just mount a little speaker under the pond and play swamp sounds.
I resurrected this thread because I was going thru some old Walthers ‘Fearless’ Flyers before tossing them when I saw this - it’s Busch offering the frogs (among other small animals), not Presier.
I rather hope the picture used to illustrate the set doesn’t show the figures actual size…
“In A World Where hornets are the size of frogs and lizards…”</Don LaFontaine> [:O]
I remember an article in MR many years ago about a guy whom made lily pads on his water by taking a drop of green paint while the water was still wet and put a small droplet onto the water. The green droplet did not disolve into the water (resin I think it was). It appeared to be as if a drop of water landed on freshly waxed paint. Then with both the green droplet still wet and the water still wet. He would then take a pin and poke the green droplet all the way to the bottom of the water and it would actually form almost a small trail of green water down into the water as if it was the “stem” of the lily pad and not just a green drop floating on the top.
One of the slickest and more creative things I have seen in a long time. The author turned out to be a local guy and earlier this year. I got the privlege to see his layout in person and looking at those lily pads in person, it was really quite something to see it for real.
This is an interesting topic, especially since I had a frog outside on my patio this morning as I was crushing soda cans. a real frog not the kind on our layouts. He/she? was just sitting in the middle of my patio watching what I was doing, after about five minutes when I looked over it had disapeared. Probably went back into his hidey hole for the day.
