Has anyone had experience using real water in a harbour scene? I would think it would look like a neglected aquarium after a whil
I’ve thought about it, and it has its pro’s and con’s. If you could find a filter and rig up a system that moved the water without creating too turbulent of water, it could work. You would have to have some way to keep the water fresh and to keep it from evaporating.
-beegle55
I saw a layout recently with a river and a small waterfall (about an inch). My first reaction was ‘wow’ and then ‘ugh’ as on closer inspection you could see the mold that had formed along the banks of the river.
This question comes up from time to time.
Although some have gotten it to work, most will agree that it’s logistically very difficult and the visual returns are usually not worth it.
Cons:
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Water plus electrical equals bad. Dripping onto electrical components could be a shocking experience. And forget a locomotive that derails into it, especially if it has a PC board in it.
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Water will damage scenery unless extreme steps are taken to seal it. It will disolve plaster, Sculptamold, and the like.
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It evaporates. You’ll have to keep replacing it.
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Stuff grows in and around it. Stuff you don’t want (mold, algae, etc.).
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It just doesn’t look right. It lies too flat, it’s too clear, and the surface tension will give it away where it contacts the shore, bridge piers, dock pilings, and boats.
Pros:
You can tell people “Hey, it’s real water!”
That’s all I’ve got!
The reason I am asking is I saw an HO scale barge being loaded and unloaded and the barge would list to the side as this happened. It looked so real but I sure wondered about water maintenance. Maybe lots of bleach would help.
I think bleach might add to your troubles (i.e., changing the color of the scenery and boats, fumes, etc.).
I don’t mean to be the voice of doom, and it can be done… I just wouldn’t do it myself!
Not only that (and the other issues that Dave already brought up), real water isn’t going to look to ‘scale’. In other words, it’s going to come out looking like one of those cheap ‘B’ movie Godzilla-like special effects. [:D]
Also, don’t forget the weight of the water means extra bracing to support the tank that would be used in the harbor scene. Also the tank/basis would have to be water proofed to stop any leakage.
John Allen planned to use real water for the Port facility and changed his mind for the above reasons. Also he did use real water in Squawbottom Creek with the results mentioned in the above posts.
Rick
Adding to all of the above, your benchwork had better be bolted to poured concrete, because one good bump and your harbor is going to turn into a tsunami. Unless you’re modeling Anchorage, Alaska in 1964 I wouldn’t recommend it.
It is very easy to achive the water effects and keep the water flowing. All you need to buy is a little water therapy fountain for $10-15 remove the pump and use that for making the water flow down a river. It is so easy I did it myself. I didnt keep it because I was too lazy to keep it full and it stayed dried more than wet. However when done it looked real great! It flowed very nicely and people loved that he most on my layout.
I think real water would be best used for a garden railroad. It look more in place there.
I had always wondered about this too.
BAD. IDEA. BAD.
I can see the insurance company’s statement “Pre-exisiting danger of electrocution”
Besides all the cons listed above, real water just doesn’t scale right, especially in HO and N.
Personally, I wouldn’t want the extra humidity. I have had problems in the past and I have finally solved them.
Enjoy
Paul
It has definitely been done. There was a HOn3 narrow gauge layout that was shown in MR in the 60’s and pictures of it showed up again in the Short Line and Narrow Gauge Gazette in the 90’s (I think!). It had a concrete basin to hold the water and featured a riverboat-type craft that traveled up and down the river on a track hidden by the water. The water was colored to hide the track. The whole thing was very well done but somewhat of a mystery in that they had pictures of it but very little other information about who, what, when, and why it was built.
Perhaps someone else can remember what issue it was in and provide more information about it. It was a striking layout and very advanced for its time. If I was seriously thinking about adding real water to a layout, I would find that article. - Nevin
It can be done, because it has been done - which is how all the problems Dave Vollmer listed were discovered (along with a bunch more he didn’t mention.)
If the real object is to make a car float move prototypically as it’s loaded, that can be done without getting anything wet. Just mount the deck on some really soft springs (diamond pattern, centered on the sides and ends) and hide the overlapping joint with the rubbing strip and fenders. Should still be a comment magnet, without several hundred dollars//hours of hassle.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Bad idea all around!
So many reasons not to do it, many of them listed here, many not, and only one reason to do it? Thats not good reasoning.
Besides, where there’s water there’s critters.
The wife tolerates the layout now. I don’t need to give her reason to rethink that! Critters, mold, and all of the other nasties that go with it would probably lead to that kind of thinking.
I think many folks are using resin for their water, and from all the pictures I’ve seen on this forum…it works great. You can create ripples, color, and any other aspect of water without the mess of the real thing.
I saw real water used on a stream on a layout at the WGH show in Fort Worth 6 or 7 weeks ago. It looked pretty good. There was just enough water to flow over top of some sculpted Magic Water (or whatever) – just enought to add movement and sparkle.
I can’t see using real water for large, still bodies such as a bay or pond, though.
As for critters, some pool or aquarium chemicals ought to take care of that.