Epoxy sea

If it goes on or under the wet stuff and doesn't fly, it's in here.
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Ghostrider
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Epoxy sea

Post by Ghostrider »

Hello! I mainly model aircraft and dioramas (although there are a sprinkling of ship kits in my to build stash) I'm planning a build which is going to involve a lot of "water" I've read somewhere that poundland 2 part epoxy resin is quite good but I've never used "water" in any of my models and thought the clever thing was to ask you guys!

So firstly, I know this stuff sets quick so the won't be time to mess about. So how do I work out how much I will need for a given volume.

Second, how do I texture the surface to model waves, wakes ripples etc

Third, in a 1/600 scale ship for example obviously use resin for texture then paint for colour but do you build and paint the ship and then mount it and add the water or do you model the base leaving a gap to slot the finished ship into.

Fourth
When pouring the resin, how do I stop it spilling over the edges, whilst not sticking to any boarders.

I'm building a diorama where so soldiers will be both above and below the water. I'm going to add some couloring to the water using some paint to murk it up a bit but so I can see below the waterline the diorama will basically have a base plate, some land sceneary and the water part effectively like a cross section. So how do I build up a big puddle of "water" without it all just spilling off the side, but not accidentally glue whatever I use as a dam not getting stuck as the resin dries?

Cheers
Mark
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iggie
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Re: Epoxy sea

Post by iggie »

Not sure about a lot of the questions you have Mark, but using thin acrylic clear sheet around the perimeter of your diorama will keep the resin in, and then you can paint it black or any colour you fancy to match the cross section of your sea/beach/land topography and leave the sea section clear.....
Best wishes

Jim
If you can walk away from a landing, it's a good landing. If you use the airplane the next day, it's an outstanding landing
"Never put off till tomorrow, what you can do the day after tomorrow"
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fredk
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Re: Epoxy sea

Post by fredk »

I'd not use the two-pack epoxy. Even at £-land prices its going to be expensive. The stuff I've got from them goes semi-hard in 3 to 5 minutes, fully curing in a few hours
You can't add colourant to that resin; it reacts with it and prevents it from hardening; I've tried various colourants even a special one for resins.
I would use clear silicon sealant; one or two tubes will do your job. It sets a bit slower and can be painted under or over and acrylic paint can be messed in to it a bit.
Al speling misteaks aer all mi own werk..
Its not just how good your painting is, its how good the touch-ups are too.
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59North
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Re: Epoxy sea

Post by 59North »

I know nothing about modelling water, but was thinking of getting this http://store.spruebrothers.com/product_p/amm4509.htm;
Perhaps it is something you're interested in.
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Marek
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Re: Epoxy sea

Post by Marek »

Mark,

I have only used it once, but it was fairly successful (on a coffee table)

First question: You can force ripples by covering the surface with rippled material, I have seen that done at the local club meeting. Still, anything beyond what you can sculpt into this surface must be added later using gel media etc. Gels are available readily f.e. liquitex or vallejo

What I have done in the past for waterline models was: draw the outline of the ship's hull on the base, paint the base as a roughly color of the sea as seen from some distance up, put liquitex media on it (multiple layers sometimes, to sculpt some heavier waves), then cut out gel from inside outline, put the ready ship in and blend it with surrounding media. I am not a professional shipmodeller by any stretch but somehow it worked.
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MarkyM607
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Re: Epoxy sea

Post by MarkyM607 »

Finding this interesting. I need to model a submerged ship's hull so am still deciding how to do that much water. Pretty much all but the turret rings are under water and the model is about two inches high (hull). Should I try the clear silicon mentioned earlier?.
Hoping to return to modelling sometime this year!! :lol:
Owner of Marky's Model Emporium since 2013!.
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Chuck E
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Re: Epoxy sea

Post by Chuck E »

59North wrote:I know nothing about modelling water, but was thinking of getting this http://store.spruebrothers.com/product_p/amm4509.htm;
Perhaps it is something you're interested in.
Now that looks very useful.
So many models, so little time.
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Marek
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Re: Epoxy sea

Post by Marek »

This magazine is indeed quite useful and brings some techniques not seen on youtube.
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