Water dioramas?
jk0...@acad.drake.edu
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to build shallow bodies of
water, such as a stream or rice paddy for a diorama?
--
John
"They say the world has become too complex for simple answers. They are
wrong. There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must
have the courage to do what we know is morally right." - Ronald Reagan
Elizabeth E. Maxwell
jk0...@acad.drake.edu wrote:
>Does anyone have any suggestions on how to build shallow bodies of
>water, such as a stream or rice paddy for a diorama?
>John
John, I havent done water in a few years, so dont take this as gospel
or anything *smile*
I dont even remember what the junk was called, but it was clear
casting acrylic that my local hobby store carried. Im sure some of
the guys here will have ideas on which is best tho.
Streams....all the streams where I lived in Co. were the clear,
shallow, fast moving type, so this is my way of doing one of those.
Go down to your local stream and dig a pail full of the small loose
sand and pebbles from the bank. For say, 1/35 scale, you wouldnt need
any that are above about 2inch by 2 inch at the biggest. Remember,
the bigger the rock, the less water erosion it will show in real life,
so try to get all the odd shaped ones you can find. For the smaller
stuff, those pencil eraser and smaller, the tiny round pebbles are
perfect. For the sand, I used 400 grit rock tumbling medium from the
local craft store.
For broken trees/branches, gather a couple handfuls of twigs. The
ones on the stream bank are perfect!
Take that pailful of gravel and tiny rocks, and wash it well on top of
a filter of some kind...window screen works well. You want to remove
most/all of the actual sand thats in the mixture. (a grain of sand, ,
looks like about 2inch by 2inch cubes in 1/35 scale) after washing it
well, spread it out on a plate to dry in the sun.
Your base....since almost all water will have a color if its deep
enough, I usually spray the entire board with a very light blue color.
If you want it bluer as you go along (as in deeper water) you can
color the acrylic resin as you mix it.
Take a large handful of the larger stones and let it drop all at once
on the board. If you want to, you can arrange them how you like, but
I find the random drop works well for me. Dont just put them where
the water will be tho....all streams have stones imbedded in their
banks and back from the water too. Spray the entire board down with a
50% white glue/50% water mixture to hold it in place. You can
experiment with your type of glue, but you want it runny! If needed,
do it as many times as you want. Let it dry. If your rocks look too
coated, use a wet brush to clean the upper surfaces before it all
dries.
Do that with the next smaller stones...and continue til youve pretty
well coated the board where your water will be. Adding smaller and
smaller rocks. You`ll add the sand a bit later. Also at this point,
consider adding the twigs/branches to the stream.
When your rocks are all dried in place, you need to build the banks
and surrounding terrain. I simply fill the board in with Balsa Magic
(a really light RC aircraft filler putty), thick on the edges and
covering almost all the larger rocks, and then taper it down to the
stream bank...leaving more and more of the rocks exposed as you get
closer to your streambed. I like Balsa Magic because I can color it
with water colors before applying it.
When the Balsa Magic putty is still moist, I do the foliage...since it
hardens pretty good when dry. Your local hobby store should have all
the foliage you need. Also, they will have colored dirts if you want
to leave open ground....trails or maybe a dirt road? Set it in place
with white glue mix again.
After you get your greens to your liking, and everything is dry again,
you would take the 400 grit rock tumbling medium and spread it over
the streambed. Dont try to be exact, since there is no pattern to
sand in nature. If you dont like the color of it natural...you can
spread it in a shoe box and spray it with the color you like. Spray
it lightly and let it dry, then mix it up and hit it again til you get
the color you want. Use a dry brush to clean it off the tops of the
rocks/branches a bit Now spray it down good with the white glue
mixture again. and it`ll settle realistically between the larger
rocks. This is a good time to add footprints and tire tread marks
when its still damp. Also plan where your models will be and consider
imbedding them/their marks now.
You should have the streambed pretty well covered by now..
Next you mix up your clear casting acrylic as per the instructions,
and add a VERY light tint to it if you want. Color is your choice.
We have clear streams here, so I use a tiny bit of blue. JUST a TINY
amount tho!
With the baseboard level, pour your acrylic out in a very shallow
layer BETWEEN a couple of the larger rocks...not over the rocks! For
a 1/35 scale stream to be approx 1 foot deep, I would do it in layers
of about 1/8 of an inch. You can judge how deep your stream needs to
be, but try to leave a lot of stones uncovered.
A good touch here is to imbed some of the foliage on the banks into
the first layer of acrylic....plants leaning over into the stream.
Rocks in a stream will cause a little bit of white water and ripples,
so after you do a level layer, dry brush a bit of white around any
rocks you want to poke up out of the water. Not heavy! Do it in
layers as you pour more acrylic. Looks more realistic.
After a layer of level pouring, tilt the board at a 45 degree angle
downstream and dribble some acrylic at the top edges of the larger
rocks....building ripples. It`ll run as it sets, and with layers, it
makes damn good water ripples! Dont try to do it all in one
layer....it`ll look hokey! Dont try to be exact....let it go as it
wants too. Drybrush more white between layers of ripples if ya need
it. but remember to go light and layer it up!
When it sets up, it looks pretty realistic!
I`ve never done a rice paddy, though *frown*
Hope this helps, and I`m sure the rest of the guys will have other
ideas if you dont like mine *grin*
Liza
Barton Brown
jk0...@acad.drake.edu wrote:
>
> Does anyone have any suggestions on how to build shallow bodies of
> water, such as a stream or rice paddy for a diorama?
>
>
> John
John -- Again, let me recommend Walthers' model railroading catalogs, as
well as Micro-Mark. There are many new methods for making very realistic
water, most of them exceptionally simple.
Bart Brown
Gene K
Anyone have a source for the Ventura 1/72 F-86H and Tasman 1/72 Avon
Sabre?
Thanks
Gene K
BucholtzC
The Ventura F-86H conversion is listed in the catalog of Aero Research,
6468 Valley Wood Dr., Reno NV 89523-1263. It's going for $7.75, according
to the catalog. The same catalog (he said, taking a second look) also has
the Tasman CA-27, in two versions (different decals) for $13.75.
Hope this helps!
--Chris Bucholtz