best water kit

[keitaro]

Looking for good water kit.

 

doing for a lake want to buy kit with paint ground and water effect any ideas?

[Martijn Meerts]

Doesn't woodland scenics have some test/starter kit for making water? It might be a bit expensive, but I've found the WS stuff I've used so far (no water though) to work really well

[keitaro]

i can see a really small kit i think id'd have to buy an extra bottle of water.

 

I remember seeing one on HW a while back that included rock sand and dirt 3 blue paint shades and the water mixture but it's closed now and hs doesn't have anything similar.

[Barobutt]

I've been doing a lot of research on this lately and have come to some conclusions based on the general consensus of the various expert opinion's I've read.

 

•Anything sold specifically as model train water is going to be an expensive rip-off

•A varnish system called "Envirotex Lite" is the best option for creating large bodies of water with a good sense of depth

•Any "Gloss medium" is good for small streams and a top-coat on envirotex if you want more wave details. (this is in fact what many of the hobby products are, just priced 10x higher)

 

There's many amazing articles and tutorials out there, none of them seem to use any hobby-specific products but rather much cheaper varnish/gloss chemicals.  Just google "envirotex water" and you'll find some great articles.

[Bernard]

Have I been experimenting with water for some time now.

 

keitaro - how much of an area do you want to have water on? If it's for you layout there is some prep work that you are going to have to do before selecting the type of material you might want to use.

If you are using foam as a base, you'll have to carve out the body of water you want to have. After carving out for example a small lake, you'll need to use hydocal cloth to cover that specific area. After the hydocal dries, you'll need a color chart and paint to vary the depth of the water (very light blue for shallow areas, deep blue/black for deep areas.

After paint is dry and you like the results....now is where you add the simulated water and there are a variety of products.

Here is a list:

Mod podge

Artist gloss acrylic

WS realistic water (easy to pour from the bottle)

WS water pellets (Melt in a tin pan and pour)

 

these are just some of the things I've used and it really comes down to cost, the amount you need, the ease to use it and the look.

[keitaro]

i have foam but i have added a base ontop of that. It's all brown atm would i still need the hydrocloth?

 

i was thinking realistic water from the bottle.

[Bernard]

By using the hydocal cloth, the simulated water won't seep into the foam plus it makes it easier to paint the base for the water.

Here are 2 photos of the river I was working on. The 1st photo show the river base painted on top of the hydrocal cloth. The 2nd photo is a 1st pour of WS realistic water, I later had to add another pour. BTW, WS realistic water though easy to use is around 20 USD for a 16oz bottle. If you're doing a big area that can be expensive.