I use Envirotex Lite from Michaels or A.C. Moore, the craft shops. Since no one else has mentioned it, go to their web site and look for the coupon. Every week, they have one for 40 or even 50% off of one item. Envirotex can have some sticker shock, but the coupon helps a lot. You also get a lot of "water" out of one purchase. If you keep the tops and caps clean and make sure to replace them, it's got a very long shelf life. I have some shallow ponds and streams on my layout, and for me the key is surface preparation. I started here by gouging out this pond from the pink foam, and then covering it with plaster cloth. I wiped some white glue in to cover up the pinholes as best I could. Envirotex will seek them out. It will not react with foam or plaster, but it's important to be very careful about leaks, and put some plastic sheeting on the floor below just in case. Next, I painted the surface, using craft store paint. I applied sand and Hydrocal rock castings, plus talus, to give it an uneven appearance. I apply the sand like ballast, wetting it with isopropyl alcohol and securing it with dilute white glue. This whole process, by the way, is not a race. Allow a day for things to dry thoroughly before proceeding to the next step. I wait 24 hours between pours, too. I also tint the resin during the mixing process. I only mix up a couple of ounces at a time, but this is a small scene. A drop or two of craft paint is all that's needed. It makes the mixture murky, which obscures and de-focuses the stream bed. I use black or dark blue or green for the first layer, and then successively lighter tinting in the later pours. I usually do the top pour clear. Make your pours no more that 1/8th of an inch thick. If you pour too thick, the air bubbles that form will not be able to escape and will be there permanently. Finally, I spend some time adding vegetation and other details around the side. Like Crandell's canoes, my swans draw the viewer into the scene. Water scenes don't have to be large. This is the continuation of the same stream beneath the bridge, viewed from the other side. I started this scene with great apprehension about doing it. This was my first try at it. It's amazing how easy it actually is.
Ditto on the nice work Love that deeper area in the stream. Looks very realistic. A guy could almost go swimming in that hole.........except I think the moose would object.
Doesn't the masking tape stick to the poured surface face? I am wondering if there might be something else that would work to dam up the open face? I don't care what I use as long as the poured surface doesn't stick to the tape. I take it you had pretty good success with the masking tape idea.
Great stream scene MisterBeasley. Still being fairly new to model railroading, I was apprehensive about doing scenery. After jumping in on a small Zscale layout, I was amazed at how easy it really is to get a nice scene. Scenery is like a good beard, it covers up a lot of ugly. All the info and help contained in the pages of Trainboard has also been a HUGE help. Thanks to all. Trey
