Realistic Water

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

When using Woodland Scenics Realistic Water should you dye the water or just paint the lakebed?

2

My lake is relatively shallow so I went with Woodland Scenics Turf for the lake bottom. I started out with Dirt (mud) and then tapered it down to dark using Soil.

This lake is Magic Water, that works best for me.

Mel

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

3

Did you dye the water though?

4

I personally have used 2 part epoxy for the water but it’s pretty much the same as the woodland senics product. Yes I did dye the water. Some helpful links (not my video)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dug-ffEhqZU

you can use the same process but with what ever product you want

5

No, The pond is straight clear epoxy and about ¾” deep. My only regret is I didn’t put any fish in the pour. Then I could have had a guy fishing.

Mel

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

Bakersfield, California

I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

6

I have used Woodland Scenics Realistic Water on several occasions, and I have never dyed the water. In my experience, the painted base is sufficient without any need to dye the water.

Rich

7

I use a painted base with talus and rock castings. I use Envirotex Lite. The base is seldom more than 1/2 inches deep, so I do several shallow pours of the epoxy resin, allowing 24 hours between pours for it to set hard. I tint the lower layers, first dark colors, then lighter, and usually do the top layer clear.

8

I use a two-part epoxy to which I add two acrylic paints, part of a drop each in about six ounces of mixed epoxy. I also add a pinch of plaster of Paris powder to increase turbidity. Atop the cured two layers/pours of the epoxy, only one of which I bother to tint, I stipple gel gloss medium.

I paint the bottom a dark teal/grey in the middle and make it a lighter green toward the edge. I pour the epoxy over that.

9

Although some people have reported good results with WS Realistic Water, my experience with this stuff was awful. It literally took years for a 1/8" thick pour to cure (note I did not say harden because it still has a kind of soft surface). It also absorbed the pigments from all of the painted surfaces it touched as well as all of the dust that landed on it. The final result is a perfect representation of mud! I’ve since used Gloss Medium over a painted bottom to model bodies of water with much better results.

10

I’ve never used WS products for water, just a clear resin, from a place like Michaels. My experience says color the base the way you want it, to show depth, and add any features you want, like logs, rocks, fish, etc, and then pour the resin.

There are other products you can use after the resin is poured to add ripples, waves, rushing water, water falls, etc.

I really like Mel’s pond. The grenn around the edge is perfect for simulating weeds, alge growth, and such, that forms on small ponds during the summer. Nice job Mel!

Mike.

11

've had great results using glossy Mod Podge. Don’t make the layers more than 1/8" at a time. It goes on white but dries clear. To make rapids, I used strands a cotton ball that I glue on top of the bottom layer. Then, add more layers to completely cover the stands. And, I don’t add dye to the “water”. I airbrush colors to the foundation, starting from the center with the darkest color, gradually using lighter colors as I move towards the edge. I inserted clumps of grass into the Mod Podge while it was still wet.

I also added a small fishing pier.

12

I followed Rob Spanglers technique:

  • Made a flat surface for the river or lake bottom using drywall mud - sanded it flat.

  • Painted a river bottom using acrylic paints mixing black, med cadmium yellow and or tan into it to create light (shallow), medium and dark (deeper) area’s to simulate the color of the river bottom

  • applied gloss Mod Podge over the river bottom to create water effect - I pushed it with a brush to create waves and let it dry. I did get tiny bubbles in mine but I might have put it on too thick. It came out pretty good.

I’d post photos but they are on Photobucket which stopped allowing direct linking unless you pay a lot of money and i have’t migrated the photo’s to a new host yet.