Water effects?

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

I've been asked to do a little dio for someone and need to create a base that looks like the sea, having never done any water before I thought someone may be able to point me in the right direction.

I have picked up a tub of the Vallejo Transparent gel, having tested a little bit it seems ok for what I need but will bow to greater knowledge.

My main concerns are getting the colour of the water correct and shaping crests of waves.

Adrian

[Guest]

Just have a look at what Ron (spanner) does with clear silicon. There's a couple of threads recently with his lifeboat dioramas ... search for "look after my beer till I'm back"

There's others that have used this technique too Ian (papa) created a great hms George V (?) diorama if you search for it.

[spanner570]

Adrian, we will do our best to help, but to assist you we need a bit more info......

What type of ship / boat, is it, the scale, the sea state and what sort of weather, i.e. clear sky or clouds? ( the weather will obviously have a bearing on the sea colour)

It reads as though you are wanting a rough sea, with mentioning wave crests.

Let us know then we can chip in and help you.....

Ron

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

ahh sorry, it's going to be a dio of a RAF Walrus rescuing a downed pilot, a friend has a picture of it in a book and has asked me to build it for him, when I can I'll try and get the picture scanned in from what I see the waves aren't too big but you can see the whites on top of the crests of the waves.

Adrian

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

heres the pic to help with advice

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Adrian

[spanner570]

No problem Adrian......The only Walrus kit I know of is a 1/72 Airfix, and as it's landed on the 'oggin, the sea state should be reasonably calm.....

Let's have the picture, then we can assist.....

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

The kit I have is a 1:48th Smer kit not great but will suffice

Adrian

[spanner570]

Oops! sorry I posted my response without realising you had posted the picture!

[spanner570]

That picture will make a great diorama.

Before you can do anything, you will have to decide what the sky is doing. This will dictate the water colour.....

Cloudy and overcast......greyish sea.

The more sun, the more blue/green the sea becomes.

Take a look at Google Images for ideas, it's a great reference point. Don't type in just 'waves'...you will get pictures of people waving at you! Prefix with sea.

Ron

[Adrian "Marvel" Reynolds]

Thanks Ron, from what I can see I think I'll go with a cloudy over cast look, so I'm looking at dark grey water

Adrian

[AlanG]

Check out this two part video

[spanner570]

That's a great tutorial....far better than the written word. lol! Just replace the blue with grey.....

I've never used the stuff you have bought so I can't comment on it's use.

So here's just a few pointers to help with the composition.....

As I wrote earlier, go onto Google Images for sea colours and form. It's a great reference place.

I see so many waterborne models just placed on the surface, flat and level. They don't look natural. See Papa's great KG5 for how it should look!

First off, you will need something workable for the base, like a piece of 1" thick polystyrene - get the dense, harder stuff from packings.

I would go for an initial all over blue / grey colour, then gradually introduce darker greys and perhaps a hint of green streaks and blobs.....Always remember, light colours first.

Try to avoid the sea ending up all more or less the same colour.

When you have coloured the base - I suggest a coat of gloss varnish, again try for a hit and miss coverage, this will give the impression of light here and there - place the Walrus on the base and mark around it with a pencil, then carve it out, so the seaplane sits close to it's waterline but with a nose down or up attitude, also tilt it so one float is well in the water and one out. This will look better than just sitting there. Same with the dinghy, it will be nearly awash where the pilot is sitting and out of the water t'other end!

Rather than dig out the base you could build up the silicone and just bed the model into it...But that would take a lot of silicone!....A small notice board or picture frame also make great dio. bases.)

When you are happy with the composition, place the two models in position and gently apply the clear silicone as per your picture or something like. Don't try and copy too exact. Once the bead is applied, get a metal something - I use a nail - and kept dipped in water, just flick the stuff up here and there to make your little wavelets. Don't forget to do the same right around the Walrus's hull and a bit on the float that is in the water. You could add a bit of white paint to the wavelet tops, but don't over do it....

The above is based on the use of silicone sealant, I don't know if the stuff you have will form wavelets...it might be more for flat surface work, and won't hold up, but collapse

I'm sure others will be along to help, and any more questions, fire away and we can assist.

Good luck with the dio.

Ron

[eddiesolo]

I echo what Ron and others have said, low cloud and grey skies will give the sea grey look etc. I use silicone for large areas, it is cheap and it covers well. I use a plastic bristle paint brush for flicking and the back of a teaspoon to smooth troughs and create waves, you may find that white paint on silicone, especially Humbrol paint doesn't like to stick so well, so sponge or brush and leave as you will be forever going over it lol.

Si

[spanner570]

Good pointers Si.

Adrian, on taking a closer look at your picture, the sea is fairly calm, with no 'white bits', so I would be inclined to just have the odd bits of white as per the scene..i.e. Around the subject. Adding anything other than the initial colour to the sea in general might distract the eye from the action!

[eddiesolo]

Here is a another fisherman dio plaque that I have just done, the poles are all in place, the base has been painted with three colours: ocean blue, slight metallic blue and a green-ocean blue first as a base coat then the others are dappled. Once dry the silicone is applied-if you use a teaspoon you use the back to smooth and then use the tip to create waves, if you pull the teaspoon up you will get a little peak.

Si

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