Hi Bruce!

Thank you for reply.

I have two different water effects going in that scene. The large burst erupting out of the sea is Halloween spider webbing. Though obviously plentiful with retailers between August and October, you may be able to find some with year-round holidays houses online.

The ship wake and smaller depth charge blast effects used the polyfiber material commonly available in fabric and craft stores. It's the same stuff pillows and teddy bears are stuffed with, and is inexpensive.

Thanks!

--Karl

BZ, Karl!
You created a real classic. Having the kit half-build on my shelf I can only guess that the diorama must be huge.
I would wish you'd make a step-by-step review of your way to create the exlosions. Next time please?
Guido

Hi Guido!

Yes, I do build big. The base is nearly a meter long because if you look at photos of depth charge attacks, the blasts are roughly a full ship length away and in 1:240 scale, that adds up.

I will follow through on more organized tutorials--the big problem was in mastering miniature photography and I am starting to get the basics down finally; although I will have to get advice on my end about posting pics to the forums (something to do with inconsistent IMG codes from my Photobucket account)....anyway, I still everyone a bit on making fire and smoke effects and now one on violent water.

--Karl

Gentlemen-
Time’s been running and while I make in good progress with my „Ships of WWI“ campaign contribution, it’s about time to add another variation of the alumin(i)um foil water display.
This method does especially qualify for waterline models.
What you need is
your project ship kit in progress and the display base; standard kitchen alumin(i)um foil; thin cardboard; white glue; scalpel or a similarly sharp and curved knife, scissors, pencil; clear acrylic gel, artist’s acrylic paint (black, white, primary blue, or dark green, if you wish for a different “temperature”); a flat brush with fine, but stiff bristles and standard stiff bristled flat brush; masking tape; Future floor wax or the equivalent of your regional super market.


Take the waterlined hull and trace the outline to the cardboard. Ideally, use the cardboard backing used by WEM or GMM to protect their PE. Cut the hull template from the cardboard and find a suitable position for it on your display base.



The usually rules apply for positioning the hull: the centreline of the base and centreline of the ship should be angled and the centre of the ship should slightly be off-set to the centre of the base. Usually I prefer to have a bit more seaway aft of the ship to better show the running speed and according wake. Now trace the shape of the hull to the base. In a next step mark the significant waves (bow and stern wake, natural and traverse waves) to the base.



Use masking tape to create a frame. Of cause you may choose a wavy outline instead of a straight line. You may want to have the seascape unconfined at the rims, too. I do prefer a bit of a frame.
Now trace the wake and wave lines with white glue or gel according to their prominence and repeat adding glue/gel a couple of times as they shrink or sink in.



Measure and cut the alumin(i)um foil to fit the seascape. Rub the foil between your hands to (same as in my previous seascape). Apply a thin layer of white glue to the seascape all over and fix the alumin(i)um foil to it using a soft brush first to make it conform to the wave profile. Later you can add some “character” to the level spaces by making a micro wave pattern by embossing these into the foil with the stiff bristled brush: Make a slight criss-cross patter that flows with the main wave direction. Glue the cardboard hull template hull into its proper position with a minuscule amount of white glue, only!



Underneath the foil the white glue will take quite a bit of time to cure. You should allow it to fully cure otherwise you run into the danger of punching holes into it in places still soft.
When dry you may apply a coat of primer, which may help you to make the paint stick better. Acrylic paint tends to become sticky while drying, which may cause it to be lifted off the surface. I did not apply any primer, it still worked out OK. First I apply the (for me) usual fully covering layer of black…




…while it is still wet, I start applying black-blue blends continuously becoming gradually bluer towards the wave tops. I use the stiff bristled flat brush in a dabbing motion. Make sure to not let the paint get too dry on the brush, or you might lift off the underlying paint off the surface revealing the alumin(i)um foil. I used about 8 to 10 different shades.



At a certain point you start to add white in miniscule amounts gradually getting more intense, where the ship’s wakes effect the water. About 4-5 shades are used to achieve this effect. I still dab on the paint



When satisfied you need to let the whole thing dry for an hour or so. Take the scalpel and trace the hull template and remove it carefully. Now apply white paint toned down with bit of black along the hull line. Use this very, very light grey for dry brushing the wake. I recommend using the soft bristled brush for dry brushing. Several passes will ensure an even result.



As soon as the whole base has dried, you should remove the protective tape framing your seascape and apply a new one. This will ease the process. Trace the tape with the scalpel. Use a curved blade and cut in a flat angle: A straight blade WILL rip the underlying foil and cause damage to your seascape. Now you may fix the hull of your model into position. Resin kits like this I usually screw down for max stability. Make sure you do not need to make any more major alterations to it, as later removal will certainly cause irreparable damage to the seascape.





Now I apply the clear gel to permanently connect the hull to the seascape by apply some of it along the waterline. At this point I start shaping bow and traverse waves and pronounce the stern wake.





When all is dry some more dry brushing passes, this time clean white, will blend the wakes into the background. I apply a thin layer of Future to get some shine onto the water where it is not disturbed by the ship.




I hope you like the result.
Questions are – of cause – welcome.

Cheers,
Guido

Very much - nice work and a great turorial. What kind of paint do you use for the water - oil or waterbased ?

Cheers/jan

Cheers, Jan!
I use regular artists paint from tubes.
Guido

Thanks for all the tips Guido!

Gents after picking up so many helpfull tips through this thread I,ve been experimenting with some new stuff I picked up at Telford last year. It is called making waves by Deluxe Materials, a few month back I did a build for tha Gator Navy build and was not happy with the waterline to flat even for a pasific beach. So i have tryed to vamp it up also used for the crest of the waves was seanic snow. See what you think as always your thoughts and comments are a great insperation to me in developing new and better skills

As built for the Gator Navy



With added Snow

Hi Keith!

You may be on to something with the Scenic Snow. For frothy water, I've found taking poly-fibre cotton and thoroughly saturating it in white tube paint works well.

--Karl

Another "better late than never" entry. This is the Mirage Hobby 1/400 Orp Mazur gunboat.





Before anybody says "hey, that's not a waterline kit," I plan on having her in the water with her bow raised up in the air while going over a large wave.



She's a very small boat, so it shouldn't take much caulk to represent the heavy seas.

Excellent presentations on this campaign everyone!

And so, perhaps a chance to experiment with my Russian D2 submarine, and what to do with a full hull model that you want to have at waterline???

I have used a piece of glass, and adhered the model - supported in the upright position - next fill the base up with pva.




If too much goes on then it remains white, and it also has to be a new bottle of pva - one that's not gone off.

I don't know what it will look like in the end but hopefully not a live disaster!


I put a layer on this morning - and the next goes on tonight.

Peter F

That is going to be an interesting boat Peter. Shep Paine has something somewhat similar in his building dioramas book.

As I said this would take some time, another layer of pva went on last night - I'm getting there but it is research and development so who knows what it will be finally.

I've had the idea to mix some water colour in with the pva otherwise I've got another ice scene, so, that's next, and I can then say finished!







Peter F

OK, this is it. Just when you think the ice and snow is all gone, along comes another downpour. I tested various colouring techniques mixing paynes grey with the floor gloss, and pva but nothing worthwhile unfortunately. It occurred to me then that the pva I was pouring on made a great ship in the ice scene so I enhanced that.


I used the new Mig gloss down the side of the sub as the PVA left overnight was lifting the build off the base. The latest is that the MIG gloss is doing the same so I'm going for straight superglue next.



Finally, I mixed in some "Icy sparkles" a product which I picked up at a show, and this gives it a nice effect.



Some men on the ice off the sub give it scale, and there it is! I've waterlined a full hull boat without any cutting - divine!





Peter F

I am finally catching up with this Campaign.

Guido – very interesting subject! I loved the book, movie was ok. I am also strangely hooked on the “Deadliest catch” show, which I find fascinating (I am a landlubber city boy). Good scratchbuild “tutorial”, plenty of good techniques and information, with a great end result. Also lots of good info (and Skipper’s) with the different placement of the boat. Fantastic wave; a mini-tutorial on its own on large waves. Thanks for taking the time to write out your techniques, really learned a lot! Those night shots sealed the deal for me… just a fantastic, inspirational build.

The second water tutorial is particularly interesting. Will have to give it a try some day! And now I saw the third one.. lol. Advantage of catching up with 7 pages at once. Um, that one I may try on my current/planned build, will give it some thought.

And funny stories about wedding bands… I am the other way around, have not worn mine in almost 10 years..why? I worked in a biology laboratory, did not want ‘stuff” to get under the ring, or my gloves to rip due to the ring, right when I am inside a biosafety level 3 laboratory!

Jan – really nice sub build.
Keith – great subject, look forward to your build! Seems you are doing a good job with all that nasty fit issues. And that is one fantastic water base! I love the irregularity of the wooden base. I second the “money shot” comment, that is one heck of a picture/setup mate! I also like the new stuff you tried for your Gator Navy entry… lots of great info on your build!
Anthony – That is one small boat! Look forward to your SB Schnellboot; very nice final product! Love the detailed pics of how the base was done. Beautiful ship, even more given that scale! The figures give it that extra “oomph” factor, and (at least to my eyes) came out realistic enough.
Peter – excellent build, interesting “experiment” which I think succeeded marvelously. The ice looks fantastic.

James thanks for your comments means a lot when some one like your self appreciates anotheres trial and error and with the RNLI boat that is what it was as for the LCVP I,am quite pleased to get a first in the Dio section at the Huddersfield Show in March even though i did not get that many comments on this thread

Keith – As a recent hobby returnee, I appreciate the “trial and error” WIPs comments, as they help me learned more about the craft (meaning, building/modelling not a particular ship your thread was a winner in that sense.. speaking of winning, congrats on the first place at a show! I am still a long ways from attempting a dio..congrats! cheers .

Great work guys!

this campaign is very inspiring! A real eye-opener for me, seeing all the different methods of "making" sea

so here I am ready to take the plunge... nothing fanciful, just a simple base with a small boat, as my first water project!

I am basically following Dade's excellent article on Creating Water from Foil, which can be found here:

http://modelshipwrights.kitmaker.net//features/2527&page=1

here is the work done so far:

Preparing the foil and the base...



The foil is primed...



I used Tamiya blue mixed with a little bit of green as the primary sea colour, this is followed by a wash of a lighter shade of the same colour.



Next up will be "launching" the boat...

Cheers!

Great start Lawrence, I am also leaning towards that technique for mine, we will see... look forward to the rest! cheers

Alright, here's my final product...







The PT-boat is from DML's 1/700 Pennsylvania kit, and glued to the "sea" using white glue. I then dry-brushed white color over the entire surface, with more dry-brushing at the side and behind the boat where the wake will be.

All in all not a bad mini-project! At least it gives me the confidence to try bigger "seas" in the future

Aye, maties,
Mark your calendars, seven days to go til the end of this fantastic MSW Campaign!

The final date is May 31, 2010, and if the general consensus is that all's in and all's done, them so be it! If you need more time and wish for an extension, then now is the time to put forth a request here for discussion!

TWO DAYS to go, mates!!

Now is the time to speak up if you need an extension to finish your builds, guys...if you are finished, PLEASE make sure that you have your "Finished" images uploaded into the "Finished" folder of the Campaign gallery, because this is how we determine who gets a ribbon or not...

Follow this link to the gallery and get 'em in!

~Gunny

Friendly reminder bump....

I like it, the water looks convincing. I think the boat itself could do with a little drybrush to make the details stand out a little more ?

If you are going for bigger seas - then my experience is, that the alufoil gets too fine for anything bigger than 1:350 unless you can find some with paperbacking, which don´t get so fine wrinkles.

Cheers/Jan