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Before I begin detailing my layout, I thought it would be a good idea to get some practice with one of those diorama kits from WS, to include the water addition. Everything went pretty well, and overall I'm pretty happy with the results, learned a few things, and think I am ready to tackle this real time, with one exception: my river/stream.
I built the landscape with some elevation change, as rivers tend to run downhill. However, when I add the water (and I've used both the WS Realistic Water and the two part kit found in Walmart another member posted) it is too viscous and just runs down to the pond. Short of tilting the scenery I am working on to make the riverbed horizontal - not practical when I'm working on the full layout - how do I go about adding water to a sloped channel? Is it a matter of thin layers over the course of months, or am I missing something?
Hey Ian I'm not sure good question, I'm interested too, as I'm doing a water feature also pretty soon. I hear that the WS EZ water is not that great, there's another product called Envirotex Lite.
I found this info on using it:
Usually mix up only 2-4 ounces at a time. You don't want to pour more than about a 1/8 inch thick layer at once. Wait 24 hours between pours. I like to add a couple of drops of cheap acrylic paint to each batch - black or dark blue near the bottom, light green near the top. This gives the water "optical depth" and looks better than a glassy-clear river.
As Envirotex cures, gas bubbles form and escape out the top. If you pour it too thick, the bubbles will not be able to escape, and you'll end up with a lot of bubbles all through the pour. That's the main reason for doing several thin pours instead of one thick one. But, thin pours also give you the ability to tint the water differently for different depths. In case you're wondering, there is no visible layering in the final cured result.
Hi Ian:IMHO, there are two ways you can go. If you are going to use a liquid type water, divide the river into level sections, with small dams of rock, logs, etc. at the ends of each level. Or, you could use Envirotex that would be brushed on. I've only used Magic Water, a liquid.
Hammer Creek with a small dam of rock for separation. DJ.
Thanks DJ. At the left turn warning sign it looks like there is a step in your river with water flowing across and down that. Did you do that with the Magic Water? Can you tell me how you accomplished that? Is Magic Water less viscous, or does it flow very well? I've been contemplating ordering some of that from his site, but have wanted to understand how to use it first.
So, this is my very first landscape attempt. As stated earlier, I learned quite a few things to do different (like feathering the water base with lighter colors)... The waterfall is still a work in progress as well - I need to get the river situated first.
Hi Ian: Yes, that was a literal step. I glued small rocks to look like a small water fall, and let the Magic Water flow over it. Magic Water is a thin as real water. I used multiple pours till the whole stream was covered. DJ.
I think that the best solution is what is called "gel gloss medium". Instead of a syrupy clear fluid, as gloss medium would be, and the same for epoxies and Envirotex, gel looks like white face cream, and flows just as well...meaning not hardly. You can paint it over your creek bed and wait until it dries, often about three days before the last white tips turn clear. Repeat with another layer. You can stipple the top layer, by the way.
Also, you can add a pinch of plaster of Paris to make it look more turbid, and you can add a half-drop of something like Hauder Medium Green acrylic craft paint from Wally's.
This is how mine turned out, but I had three thin pours of a two-part epoxy below this top layer of gel medium. Also, I added the pinch of plaster and Hauder green to the top layer of the epoxy, not to the top dressing of gel medium. What you see below is a spitting image of the Thompson River in southern British Columbia.
Yup, that be her. I would think the regular gel would be just fine. The really and ultra heavy goop is just not necessary. You want something that doesn't flow, and anything described as gel will be very slow at it...so get the regular.
