water and the modelling thereof

[Jaz avalley]

There is a nice water thread already but it is a sticky and I am about to throw up loads of my own so though it best to do a separate thread.

Water

There are types, still,running, tidal, still, falling, spouting….you name has tonnes of variants

colour there of, reflected on a sun day often a beautiful blue, but a dull or cloudy sky gives a totally look to water.

any water on two different days had the potential to look totally different

most of us modellers tend to have a running stream or river

i prefer to work form a reference picture it helps to have a real colour palette to work with

flat water is the easiest, I brush in the direction of the water flow, and I add black for depth,dark brown for dirt,blues and greens as they usually are in the mix and white highlights for movement

in this case I also modelled the wall next to it,

and the sloe on the other side, you notice the water has highs and lows due to rain fall and it usually cuts away the ground which is noticeable when the water drops slightly, this usually results in dirtier coloured earth and darker shadows best shown off by thinned black

I often do at least 3 layers of varnish with gaps thiese help capture light later when photographing, I also added ballast for the water bed,

the wall needs embedding to the water and a nearby window adds real light there’s still plenty of modelling to go but compare back to the reference photo

you can see we are moving in the right direction.

 

[Jaz avalley]

Cove this was a learn as you go
foam was the basis of the cove walls
cork pieces were part of the cliff face
plastercast over foam formed some of the rock face
read fine sand, chinchilla sand bought at a pet store, nice and fine
various blues greens browns falling the ebb and flow of the coastal water
a couple of model toys

the seaside changing rooms got a stand to sit on
and some matching brolleys
I painted sone naff waves, later update improves this
the odd real pebble

a low photo improved the view but it was still in need of improvement

so e waves were added with plastic modelling

some greenery for seaweed

a low light photo

the fishing vessel got a new paint job, another layer of varnish as I considered the water lacking reflection

some deckchairs with people joined the scene

the varnish helped added the ripples,and sone. At ish in the sand made it look wet a walking dog joined the scene

more white gave a improved looked to the waters edge

 

[Jaz avalley]

Extra details were trialled trying to get the feel

 

[Selector]

There is a nice water thread already but it is a sticky and I am about to throw up loads of my own so though it best to do a separate thread.

Water

There are types, still,running, tidal, still, falling, spouting….you name has tonnes of variants

colour there of, reflected on a sun day often a beautiful blue, but a dull or cloudy sky gives a totally look to water.

any water on two different days had the potential to look totally different

most of us modellers tend to have a running stream or river

i prefer to work form a reference picture it helps to have a real colour palette to work with
View attachment 157296
View attachment 157291
flat water is the easiest, I brush in the direction of the water flow, and I add black for depth,dark brown for dirt,blues and greens as they usually are in the mix and white highlights for movement
View attachment 157292
in this case I also modelled the wall next to it,
View attachment 157293
and the sloe on the other side, you notice the water has highs and lows due to rain fall and it usually cuts away the ground which is noticeable when the water drops slightly, this usually results in dirtier coloured earth and darker shadows best shown off by thinned black
View attachment 157294
I often do at least 3 layers of varnish with gaps thiese help capture light later when photographing, I also added ballast for the water bed,
View attachment 157295
the wall needs embedding to the water and a nearby window adds real light there’s still plenty of modelling to go but compare back to the reference photo
View attachment 157296
you can see we are moving in the right direction.

Nice modeling, Jaz Valley. You got it looking quite realistic.

 

[Jaz avalley]

Nice modeling, Jaz Valley. You got it looking quite realistic.

Thank you

 

[JeffH]

Thanks for taking the time to share all of this! Very valuable information and great explanations of technique!

 

[Jaz avalley]

After a couple of hits of the flat stuff let’s look at sone falling water
the first set shows the water that is the basis for this small weir
the marine board is the flat finish as previously shown, then the foam lifts the level, I had some part dried varnish - not putting the lid on correctly oops, which I removed from the can and threw into the mix but most was modelling glue, I worked from both end

the white glue reminded me of rushing water and once it was dry and gone I reacted by adding white paint to copy the effect

you can see I painted darker colours on the base and mixed some transparent colours between varnish layers

Reference photograph

Reference photograph

this was the drying varnish level

you can see where various colours were added which helps with depth perception

meeting in the middle still lots to go

I flicked some white down on a stiff brush also

you can work out the white paint if you look, I should add more levels for the water flow but I liked the results and stalled……

 

[Jaz avalley]

Thanks for taking the time to share all of this! Very valuable information and great explanations of technique!

Lol no problem within minutes of your post I added more techniques

 

[Jaz avalley]

there is one aspect of water I find particularly satisfying and that is capturing reflections, the first also capture morning light you need a sunny non cloudy day

the light squeaks through a part of the model higher up giving this beam of light added to the ref;e toon the real natural as;e to enhance the photograph
the reader keeps throwing out my writing I add writing after it calms down and stops its hissy fit

here the vw and the landscape has been captured and as a bonus I a.so capture morning light on a cloudless sky, bliss

although the reflection has no detail the blur infers water movement so it is still a nice photo

if your figures as in this swan lack decent detail try turning them around look for their best side, or blurring,the light here captures the bodies fading out the poor detailing

when building up the water I have dropped in sone debris adding de[th, but here the reflection is the eye catcher

here if you look carefully the nice light is actually coming through a window but as you eye captures the light on the water then the scene behind people often miss the obvioud boo boo

 

[Jaz avalley]

You can literally start small, here I just added a puddle,I poured a tablespoon of varnish.

and talking of pouring,in warmer weather varnish can spread quickly and seep through foam, I would say have plastic sheet underneath as a precaution, and if you plan a large project paint it on thinly and let it fully dry to make a capture surface, rather than be on the unfortunate position of chasing varnish in all directions as it seeps everywhere

that said it can repair a fault, here I accidentally overcut the camber on the foam and needed to bring the level back up and the varnish saved the day and provided a new puddle, but it adds a little detail here and there with not much effort

again I chase the angle lower until I catch a reflection

and I include fine dust left over from modelling to add a little texture

not my most successful but I was going for a splash effect plus I was impatient and the white still showed as it had not dried

it also is a good basis for snow

 

[Jaz avalley]

Talking of which snow is a great water feature, it can be achieved in a number of ways,I was cutting insulation boards and getting lots of dust which got on the layout, it has definite pros and cons in its own rights, as opposed to other modelling snow products
pro it was free as I was already using the item
in fact I stumbled over it as we were insulating the loft and had left overs, I found it so easy to carve we bought sheets in specifically to model there are many brands but a well known one is kingspan
there are a notable couple of cons
the product starts white but over time sunlight turns it yellow then grey,so if you use these as fine snow you will likely need to remove it in months
also in a non ventilated area,or if you have any breathing issues at all the fine dust before it settles is a potential health hazard
[RO and con when you scatter or grate it it becomes slightly static and sticks to the model like snow giving good effect and as not glued on can be carefully brushed off or hoovered if no small modelling items like figures are accidentally left and scooped up.
I suspect some people would/could find it annoying,but I was intrigued by its properties and as I had modelled it for Xmas and intended removing it anyway it suited me just fine.

fyi if your in an enclosed room with no natural light and you model water get a torch and when you photograph it add the torch light imitating the sun it will give great highlights to the water

i grated it above the street and let it fall naturally having attrcted static in the process it stuck easily the fall on the windows is basically natural, I had a tiny piece and made a snowman too :

scene from above

I ran the cars through it after it was finished so you had snow tracks as well, it would be easy to add icicles also just dribble some water modelling glue from a cocktail stick to a place you like to photograph

 

[Selector]

You have achieved a nice effect there. On my monitor, however, the 'snow' appears to have a distinct yellow cast to it. It might be your lighting, or you may need to adjust your colour-balance setting in your camera.

 

[Jaz avalley]

You have achieved a nice effect there. On my monitor, however, the 'snow' appears to have a distinct yellow cast to it. It might be your lighting, or you may need to adjust your colour-balance setting in your camera.

Unfortunately it is the foam, it ages in sunlight,as it is not a proper modelling product but grated foam, a few months in it is yellow then degrades further to gray

 

[Jaz avalley]

I brush it down and hoover it off, and rep,ace if the mood takes me,

 

[Jaz avalley]

I have added water to figures as well this clock had a bucket so it was an easy dtep

 

[Jaz avalley]

And as mentioned water comes in many forms, liquid,crystals and steam

a fire inevitable gas smoke or steam

a bit too close the texture gives it away but helps show off the technique

the next ones are in the same theme but nut not on the railway layout

cottone wool often used by modellers for their steam engines has potential for extra uses

 

[Jaz avalley]

As with the weir I built from the top and bottom and even the middle joining it up as I went, unfortunately I did not photograph a lot of the process, but it is not rocket science.
a lot of people use a flat surface and a flat base and dribble on it, often lifting on end as the wall fall develops,

I also tried back lighting it in various colours but was not overseen on the results

towards the end the frozen reference led me to over egging the white which is not something you can take back easily

then hang it in place but I went for a frozen in time approach using frozen wall falls as my reference

I was pleased withe the reflective base though

natural light looks better
the rocks were homemade

 

[Jaz avalley]

water can be added as detailing as well as in this plant machinery with wet vallast

 

[Jaz avalley]

Model

reference

 

[Jaz avalley]

There is some lovely water features on display on this forum, if anyone wishes to add their two penny worth feel free.