N Scale Japanese Koi Fish - Ideas for modeling?

[jskirwin]

I'm building a temple complex for my Japanese n scale layout. In that complex I'm putting in a pond.

Any ideas how to model koi for the pond?

 

Koi can grow to almost a meter, so at 1:150 that would mean they would be about 4-6mm each.

 

Would that be something a 3D printer could do, or would it be too small?

[cteno4]

A meter is a huge carp for a pond. Usually big old ones in ponds are like 25-60cm. So more like 2-3mm scale.
 

the technique I’ve seen for koi ponds is to use a muddy cast for the pond bottom in resin or PVA glue, then dab thick acrylic paint to make little koi shapes on that, then cover over with another layer of clear resin. Some koi ponds are a bit semi opaque and you usually see only parts of some of the fish at any one time and that pattern of body parts is the usual visual memory we have so mimicking that will help trigger memory to fill in the details of the fish moving around and make it come alive. You might even try taking a photo of koi pond from above and printing it and just putting a gloss coat over it, sometimes the detail of a photo can pop well like this.

 

Resin would hold up better over time as PVA is not for something long lived. Another option is acrylic gloss medium (mod podge is the cheaper craft form) and just do several thin layer. Acrylic gloss medium is easier to work with than resin for small things and little risk of bubbles and such. easy to experiment with with PVA glue or acrylic medium and some craft paints. The big trick is to give that impression of the murky bottom you rarely ever see. The bottom ends up looking from brown to green to black depending on the water and sediments and the lighting.
 

you can make the pond separately on the bench up to the shore’s edge and then once happy with your water just plop it on the layout and build the rest of shore around it, much easier than trying to cast and paint and fill your pond in place! A layer of polymer clay can make a great basin/bottom for your pond and set the muddy, dark bottom. Also make sure to do the thin ring of shore detail right at water’s edge as you want your last layer of water to merge in with it. Don’t forget some Lilly pads, leaves, reeds and sticks as well stuck in the water.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[jskirwin]

Jeff

Thanks for the ideas. Much appreciated.

[toc36]

If you haven't, I would suggest going to Youtube and look at Japenses Koi Farms.  I think you will get a lot of great ideas for the shape and space of your layout.  Most of the farms appear to consist of a indoor and outdoor areas.  The outdoor ponds are not always in the immediate area.  A warehouse type building is used for breeding, culling, and sales.  At some point the fry they want grow are moved to outdoor ponds.   

 

Most of the outdoor ponds are unfiltered and are rather opaque.  I have experimented with water kits, and using glitter to represent large koi, but this was less than successful for an N-scale representation.  Basically, I used left-over pink foam, created shallow depression, paint, and tried different water medias.  From my not-so successful attempts, darker base colors worked best.

 

Hope this helps.

Mark