Water for beginners......

[pjgtech]

In an upcoming group build, I am thinking of doing an Airfix Ship, (HMS Fearless) and also thinking about a small diorama.
So I will need to have water (or rather something that looks like water) in the diorama.

Having never done "water" before, what would be your recommended method for a beginner?
Not looking for anything too expensive or too complicated, and not after the perfect finish, just something that approximates water to give the ship some life.

My initial thoughts are to use foam board as the base, cut small wiggly lines diagonally across the top of the base, to give a "wave" effect.
NB: the ship would be placed diagonally on the board as though it were sailing diagonally across the base.
Obviously cut out the shape of the hull in the base so that the ships hull is lower and is at the correct level.
Then paint the base some sort of blue/green to imitate the sea.
Then highlight the top of the waves with some sort of white substance/paint, etc to recreate "froth".
Not sure how to do bow waves where the ship is cutting through the water, and wakes to the rear, maybe something like PVA built up?

Any advice welcomed, cheers

[Tim Marlow]

Have a look at some of Ron Spanner’s stuff. He is excellent at this and uses very simple materials.

[pjgtech]

I see from previous diorama chats, that Ron ( spanner570 ) uses clear silicone, (not transluscent) I assume he means the bathroom sealant type silicone?
Also if I am using say, a white foam base, would you paint and/or texture the base first, and if so what colour would you paint it, blue, grey, etc?
Or would you just paint on top of the silicone? I know general advice is not to paint it as it will just rub off, but Ron does state that he does paint his?

[rtfoe]

Hi Peter,

I've done three types of water for my ships, the first one using crushed foil very effective for 1/700 scale and calm waters. The second is a flat print out after photoshopping the image, also in 1/700 scale. The third is with wall plaster which needs a lot of shaping. All these can be seen in the following posts. Unfortunately the images are small but I have larger ones on request.

https://www.scalemodelling.co.uk/forum/diorama-and-buildings/diorama-s-under-construction/25374-1-700-scale-ijn-ships-make-over

https://www.scalemodelling.co.uk/forum/ships-boats/completed-ships-boats-and-submarines/completed-ships/30409-uss-sprague-and-uss-knox-1-700-scale

https://www.scalemodelling.co.uk/forum/ships-boats/ships-boats-and-submarines-under-construction/ships-under-construction/26401-an-american-spy-ship

Cheers,
Wabble

[spanner570]

Peter.
All good stuff from Richard.

Just to add my thoughts.....

A lot depends on what type of sea your ship will be in.

For calm waters I simply paint the base whatever colours you wish. Seal with varnish and then add a bit of ripples using cheapo clear bathroom silicone. Not transluscent ,this has a slightly milky shade to it.

For rougher seas I use powdered based filler. (or similar) Spread the stuff on and then embed the model into it and shape the sea accordingly. I usually cut the hull clean off about 4mm below the waterline. This saves any digging into the base. Once dry, add your colours. This will depend on which part of the world she is sailing in. Grey Atlantic or bootiful Pacific waters.

Once this is dry, varnish, then add your wake etc. using the clear silicone. Finally, highlight the waves and wake with neat white acrylic paints. I suppose it does rub off, but who is daft enough to try?! Once it's on, it's on. No need to see if it rubs off!

Don't get bogged down with all the long winded stuff on 'tinternet. I've never looked at it, just do your own thing and adopt your own style.

Before committing things to your model, perhaps have a play on some scrap stuff?

Most of all, keep it all simple and straight forward.

Cheers.
Ron

[pjgtech]

Thanx all, hmmm, I see a "Test" diorama base board in my very near future, Lol 8-)