Posted by Richard Jenkins on March 02, 2000 at 11:55:52:
In Reply to: Re: Water Line Model posted by Steven Dara on February 27, 2000 at 11:31:31:
I was one of those people whose message got messed up in the glitch yesterday, so some of you might have seen it repeated 60 times yesterday, but it's gone now so here I go again...
I'd suggest using plaster for the waves, then paint it and cover it with several coats (at least 5 or 6, the more the better) of clear varnish. If a wave is big enough to wash over the deck of a Great Lakes freighter, you're not going to be able to see right through it anyway, so it doesn't matter that the plaster isn't transparent. You'll get all the transparency you need around the edges with the varnish.
When you paint the plaster (probably more brownish green than blue - play with the mix until you're happy with it), be sure to use a paint that is compatible with your varnish. Then mix some of the paint in with the varnish for at least the first few coats. Start with a lot of paint in the first layer of varnish, and reduce the amount of paint for each layer after that until the final layer or two are completely clear. This will give you a more gradual transition between the transparent varnish to the opaque plaster and help to give the impression of depth. While the final varnish coat is still wet you can brush some white paint onto the wave crests.
Be careful when you're working with the plaster not to get too much stray plaster on the model, but don't worry about a little bit here and there as it can represent spray on the deck. Also, don't be afraid to splash some varnish on the ship. In fact it might not be a bad idea to use a spray can for the final coat. After all, in those kinds of seas the ship is going to be wet!
: : I am looking to build a water line model and I'm looking for sugestions on what to use for water and or any methods for creating realistic waves.
: Justin, There was a model featured on the main page up till yesterday showing a sinking scene. I forget who built the model but it might be in the section "built by others". The process used was aluminum foil painted black and then lightly sanded to create white caps. The whole process and pictures were well documented by the creator. Hope this helps.
: Steven