PUDDLES AND MUDHOLES

To create puddles or mudholes, you can again use the techniques I described above.
An alternative method, however, is to embed small pieces of plastic foil, cut to size,
into the still soft groundmass of the diorama. Before you embed the foil, color the
bottom side with earthy paint to give it a muddy appearance. Again, whichever method
you choose, finish your puddle by applying the masking method along its edges.

If you opt for resin, you can use the tip of a paintbrush to have slight amounts of
brown paint “melt” in your water puddle to imitate churned-up mud, rust, or dirt.
Because the edges of puddles and mudholes tend to be wet and oozy, you should
finish off your puddle by applying small amounts of varnish or a thin layer of diluted
resin along the edges to give them a glossy appearance.

MOVING WATER, WAVES

Most resins take several hours to cure completely. However, the curing process starts
as soon as you mix the two components together. Once most air and gas bubbles
have escaped and the resin has had some time to set, you can start sculpturing the
wave structures into your water model. To create long waves, use a fork, toothpick, or
the handle of a brush and slur them back and forth through the gelling resin. You will
have to keep stirring back and forth, over and over, until the resin begins to gel and
no longer levels off. To create smaller waves, I use the Nikolai Silicone Wave Stamp.

WHITECAPS AND FOAMING WATER

Finely crushed salt and various types of powder snow but also resin filler, mixed with
white glue, give a realistic illusion of foaming water. Once the foam has dried, you
should finish it with clear varnish or, better still, with Christal Clear.

To create squirts of water, such as water gushing out of a fountain, water pipe, or the
cooling water outlet of ships, start by bending a transparent, heated, round-diameter
casting branch or a thin stick of clear plastic into the desired shape and coat it by
applying the foam mixture layer by layer. The clear plastic stick can, of course, be left
untreated.

OBJECTS ON THE WATER

As mentioned earlier, resin will creep up along objects you place into your dio design
before pouring the resin. Therefore, to create an object floating on the water, I usually
cut off the part that is immersed and then only glue the visible part onto the cured
water surface.
To blend your object into the water area, you can apply some foam around it. This is
especially effective when you are using ships incorporated into your display,
particularly to create nose waves. Also, foam applied along coastal strips and sandy
beaches will give the effect of a gentle surf. If you also want the immersed part of your
object to be visible through the water surface, you will have to pour in the entire object
- and simply bear with the resin creeping up.

HEAVY SEA

If you find that the waves you created with the method I described earlier are not high
enough for your concept, you can use a method that is as complex as it is expensive.
This technique, which should only be used for pure water dioramas, leads to
absolutely astonishing results.

Start by preparing a leakproof, relatively high wooden frame. Fill the frame with plaster
of Paris or the like and model the desired seaway. This is best accomplished with a
large brush. It is important to remember that waves normally follow a certain rhythm.

After the plaster of Paris has dried, fill the mold with silicone rubber to prepare a
negative mold. Be sure to coat the entire surface with rubber before pouring the
rubber to avoid the formation of air bubbles. Remove the hardened mold and pour it
with resin dyed with blue paint. When the water has hardened, carve out little holes to
fit in objects, such as ships. Apply foam around your objects to cover up the borders,
and paint the bottom side of the base dark-blue. Finish your wave tops by adding
crests and whitecaps and coat the entire display with brilliant varnish.

WATERFALL

To replicate waterfalls, work small basins into the ground at different levels as you
create your landscape. After completing the terrain and riverbed, pour resin into the
basins. Once the resin has set, you can pull the gelled resin from the higher down to
the lower basin with a fork or a brush handle, modeling the structures of streaming or
flowing water into the material. Then apply your foam mixture to add the finishing
touches.

Another technique is to leave the resin in the mixing cup until it starts gelling. Then
quickly pour the gelled resin into the diorama. However, this technique requires quite
some experience with working with this often unpredictable material.

To replicate cascading water, you can use silicone products such as are used for
sealings in bathrooms. Place long squeeze-outs of silicone where you want the
waterfall to be and model and sculpture them as desired. To achieve the appearance
of water in free fall, simply press the silicone squeeze-outs onto transparent sheeting,
model them, and install them in your diorama. This material takes a long time to dry,
so you can take your time modeling your waterfall.

Good luck and happy modeling,
Erik Trauner

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