I'm building a deep water harbor scene on my HO Pennsy / NYC layout set in the early 50's. I have the base for the harbor and walls set up ready to go but need some help from all your collective experience out there.
Deep water.... it's a deep water harbor with tugs and oil on the water. A real industrial sort of harbor. Any advice for the best way to make the water really look deep? I will use envirotex. But want the water to look like it's a real heavily used harbor with a good movement of water. Any ideas how to do this? How do you create oil on the water?
It will be half way to high tide so it will have seaweed, barnacles and slimey green part way up the harbor walls. There will be a couple of stairways down into the water from the harbor walls so there's a great opportunity to have them half slimy green. Any ideas on the best way to create seaweed and barnacles?
Lastly, what is the best effect for the harbor walls? I'm thinking of wood pillars but rusty steel sounds like it could look good.
Grateful for any thoughts! If you have photos of your harbors or links to good photos of real industrial harbors please share.
Thanks in advance!
Barry
Check out the harbor scenes on Craig Bisgeier's Housatonic RR for some ideas http://housatonicrr.com/const_journal_2.htm
Rob Spangler
Harbour water is universally murky and turbid, so it doesn't look deeper than a three-foot-deep river with the same water. Harbour water is as shiny as any water, so the look will be reflective more than anything. Most of us don't get to look down into deep waters, except from bridges or a wharf. From a roadway nearby or a shoreline, we see the wavy surface reflecting the sky above the water, or the skyline such as it is opposite our line-of-sight.
However, like you, I can't get past the problem of me, the Great Patron of the Railroad, and his God-like perspective from standing over the finished product. In my images, and in those of others who know about this, you really only see the skyline opposite if you have done it properly. Holding the camera on high and looking down into the 'water', or just standing and looking at it that way, you expect to see some darkness encroaching from the center depths toward the shoreline.
What I have done, once the 'vessel' is prepared to contain the poured medium, I paint the bottom a turquoise/grey mix, and feather it outward to ward the shore by adding some lighter green a bit at a time. From there, you should not have to make more than three substantial pouring layers of the medium, letting each one cure fully before adding the next one, and protecting each pour by covering them with stiff cardboard or foam core board to keep dust from marring their surfaces and leaving unwanted bits showing.
You can add stuff to the water to colour it and also to make it murky. I use a two-part epoxy to which I add a half drop of Hauser Medium Green (if I recall it correctly) available in the crafts section at Wal Mart. It is an acrylic craft paint in the small plastic squeeze bottles with the flat flip tops. For turbitidy, I add a small pinch of plaster of Paris dry powder.
This is my first attempt at using this technique, followed by my most recent on an outdoors diorama. The bottom pain in this case was only a thin layer of sand to simulate gravel. Only the diorama in the next photo has the turqoise/grey:
Now the diorama:
In my other life I am a Power Boater. I haven't modeled water but can tell you what the prototype looks like.
As mentioned before harbor water is very murky. In New England it is a very murky looking brown. Walking down the fixed pier at my marina you cannot tell the difference between three feet of water and 18 feet of water,
What might help the illusion of deep water is modeling substantial dock and dockside structures that suggest a very deep harbor. Also a large boat tied up alongside one of the docks would also help suggest deep water.
Post pictures as you progress
Derek
Edit: Oh and "Harbor Walls" are called bulkheads. What is the era that you are modelling? Modern bulkheads are made of epoxy coated steel or fiberglass. Wood bulkheads where used in the past, along with large stone blocks.
Just remembered I had some pictures of a wood bulkhead being replaced.
This is the steel bulkhead that replaced the wood.
I hope this helps, let me know if you need anymore 1:1 pics.
Good Luck, Derek
Well, I went with the simple route for my harbor water. The base is Luan primed with Kills, then painted blue. Over that I used Gloss Medium (ModPodge) and stippled it to represent the waves. I still have to put something over the ModPodge because it has a little stickyness to it, even when dry.
The blue in the photo is lighter and brighter than it actually is when viewed in person.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
This is a scene from the Treasure Coast Model Railroad Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
I had nothing to do with this, other than taking the picture. The murky green water is an effect that can be achieved by adding a bit of green paint to Envirotex before pouring it. Since Envirotex is best poured in thin layers, it's easy to vary the amount of green so that the bottom can't be seen. This picture also gives you an idea of what steel bulkheads and wood posts look like in a harbor scene.
This isn't a harbor, but rather a swamp.
To finish off the surface, I wanted to add a film of pond scum. I put a bit of green acrylic paint on a palette, and after I did the final pour of Envirotex, I added paint using a pin to add just a bit of green to the still-liquid Envirotex. This would also work for an oil film, with a black-brown paint. Another option (untried) would be to paint on top of the second-to-last layer of Envirotex to create the oil slick and then add the final pour.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Hi Derek
That's what I had in mind. The shaped steel bulkheads as in your picture. Any other photos would be graet. Thanks!
Hi
A lot of the depth perception comes from the color. light shallow, dark deep.
The perception can be forced a bit by having something there, that well if it isn't deep water its sitting on the bottom.
I have no idea how to do it but the rainbow effect of oil floating on the water will help with the heavy industry port side of things
Not sure about the swamp look all I can say is Don't disturb the water!!.
I have never seen a port that looks like its swamp water
regardless the water must have a high gloss hard finish and reflect its surroundings.
regards John
I've never used Modge Podge but most seem to reccommend it for waves...... is it supposed to remain 'sticky'?
bsteel4065 Hi Derek That's what I had in mind. The shaped steel bulkheads as in your picture. Any other photos would be graet. Thanks!
Ask and you shall receive.
Here is the large barge and crane used to install the steel. If you want to go crazy you could model them installing the steel
Notice on the edge of the barge the large green thing. It"s a giant hammer that they will but on the crane and then pound the steel into the harbor til in reaches ledge or bedrock (never far below the surface in rocky New England)
I have no idea what he is doing here. Edit: I remember he has a plasma cutter and is cutting a hole to slide the conduit through
Finished bulkhead
Excellent information.... thanks.
I'm OK with the green slime and rusting bulkheads but .............
seaweed and barnacles? Any ideas guys?
Thanks
I'm in the process of building a carfloat terminal, so this subject is on my mind right now.
I recall someone recommend putting down a line of glue where you want the barnacles, and then sprinkling on something granular, like sea salt. Alternately, I think ballast would work, but that would have to be painted.
I'd use polyfiber (like for making trees) as seaweed.