Making the Ship look like Fresh wood

MitchN · March 2015

Ken , thank you for your encouragement. Waves will be added to the water when more of the work is done on the wharves.

I have a question someone may be able to answer. The resin piece that is the top of the big boat is quite warped from end to end. I ASSUME that I could drop the part in hot water to soften it then put it on a flat surface to cool off and remain straight. If that is correct how hot should the water be? Hot tap water? How long should you keep a part this big in the water to make that work?

Best regards,

Mitch

admin · March 2015

A hair dryer on medium heat will give you the best control. Place the casting on a flay surface and warm it up until pliable and you can straighten it. then place it under some weight for a few hours.

MitchN · March 2015

Thank you for the advice. I will have to work up some courage and give it a try.

Best regards,

Mitch

JohnM · March 2015

Mitch,
As usual, really great and inspirational to see. I am very interested seeing how you create the waterfront. Please keep updates coming.
Respectfully,
John

MitchN · April 2015

I have some pictures of the water in my shipyard scene. I am just about done with this part after I finish the boats and the dock at Shelby's. Then I will get back to work on land.

Best regards,

Mitch

Ojaste · April 2015

Mitch, you are doing something original here; just beautiful!!!

Marty

admin · April 2015

Excellent! Fantastic work Mitch... Can't wait to see more

Karl.A · April 2015

Pouring the water is a huge step, especially after all the hours spent
building the structures.
Your structures look fantastic and the water just finishes everything off nicely.
So sweet to see these structures finished to this level.

Karl.A

KCSTrains · April 2015

That is some of the best water effects that I have seen. You'll definitely have to do a tutorial on this for the rest of us. Great job!! Phil

Bill · April 2015

Mitch,
Very well done! Nice attention to detail around the pilings and posts in the water. As Karl said, the water is a big step. Take a deep breath, relax and get ready for the finale. The end is in sight!

MitchN · April 2015

Thank you Marty, Brett, Karl and Bill. A nod from great modelers like yourselves is appreciated.

Phil, this is my first attempt at making water so I may not be the guy to learn from but I will share what I did. Please look back in my previous posts in this thread and you can see how I made the water by painting the underneath side of a piece of plexiglass to look like the water is getting deeper as the distance grows from the shore. It just gradually goes from lighter to darker as you move out to sea. I painted it several times( I scraped off each attempt I did not like) until I got something I could live with. I am not an artist so I keep experimenting. When the back side was done I patted layers of Mod Podge on the top side of the plexiglass . The patting makes the water effect look a little wavy.

Once that has dried you can make waves along the shore using Golden High solid gloss gel. I would guess the consistency of the gel is like mayonnaise. Its easy to brush on the shore line and gradually build up into waves. Just be patient when applying the stuff. Let it dry a little bit and you can stretch it out to make it thinner at the top. I have a couple of pictures that show what the shoreline waves look like as they are drying.

I do not have good pictures of this but I will try to describe the next step. Picture the waves as very dry and clear. The next thing I did was add the white to the top of the waves to make them look like they were breaking on shore. I used reefer white and a small brush with very little paint. Almost like dry brushing. Some waves got more white some less just for variation sake. The I dry brushed the base of the breaking wave with Paynes grey paint (which to me is really a dark blue). I used Paynes grey for the deep water so it is logical to use it here.

Once those paints have dried thoroughly I painted everything with a water based gloss varnish because the white and blue were flat and needed to look like glossy water. I sealed the rest of the water with it as well. I added some varnish behind the waves on shore to make it look like the water returning to the sea after the waves broke.

The gloss medium is dabbed around the pilings and then dry brushed with white paint.

Best regards,

Mitch

KCSTrains · May 2015

Thanks for the explanation Mitch. I appreciate it. Phil

Karl.A · May 2015

Great explanation Mitch, thanks. Really nice results.

Karl.A

MitchN · September 2015

Hi everyone,

Not done yet, but enough for an update on my progress.

Best regards,

Mitch

KKarns · September 2015

Catching up here Mitch, great work. You've really got the feel of dynamic water nailed down. I love the first picture in this latest post, that wave and ripple effect from that image is outstanding. I have always loved Shelby's and yours is looking very well done. You are handling this "harbor" scene in splendid fashion with a fine gathering of SWSM kits...great stuff...Ken

brownbr · September 2015

I really like the first shot. The backdrop gives a great deal of depth to the scene.

MitchN · September 2015

Thank you Ken and Bryan for your encouragement. There are many more scenery items and details that need to be added but its coming along.

Best regards,

Mitch

admin · September 2015

I really like the scene you have created here. Lots of converging lines and the water ties it all together. Would love to see a couple shots where you stand back and let us see the overall dio... Keep at it and keep us updated on progress please!!!

MitchN · September 2015

Brett,

I understand your comment on seeing the whole picture. I must admit I have been avoiding a picture of the entire scene because the wood storage building and crane between the Shipyard and Shelby's are not from Sierra West. As I continue with the scenery and details I will take a couple of overall shots so anyone looking can get the whole picture of the relationship between the buildings. This scene will be install at the end of a peninsula on my layout. The back of the scene will not be finished until it is ready to be blended in.

Best regards,

Mitch

MitchN · October 2015

I have added scenery to the model and many of the details that make these models so great. As requested, I have some overall pictures of the scene.

There will be more things to tinker with but I would guess 99% of the work is done.

Best regards,

Mitch

Ojaste · October 2015

Mitch, i really like what you have done with these kits. It is a stunning diorama. I bet it will nver be finished as there will be items that come you will want to add. Believe me I know. Lol.

Mart

admin · October 2015

Wonderful work. Love the layout and flow of the structures along the shoreline. Great job!

KKarns · October 2015

What a great diorama Mitch!...you've put a great deal of thought and work into this and it shows. Superb modeling...well done...Ken

KCSTrains · October 2015

Wow!!! Phil

Coors2u · October 2015

What a great combination structures. This really makes for a great scene.

MitchN · October 2015

Thank you Marty, Brett, Ken Phil and Dustin for commenting on my nearly completed scene. It was a long haul (over a year) getting it this far. Getting help and encouragement from everyone that was kind enough to send a message helped spur me along. As I mentioned previously this scene will be at the end of a peninsula on my layout. Its not contest worthy but it is my best effort so far of the scenes on my layout. The details and instructions from Sierra West make the difference!

Best regards,

Mitch

Bill · October 2015

Mitch-
Thanks for posting these overall pictures. What I just picked up on was the way you carried the greenish "high tide" line across the entire shore. You've also done a nice job illustrating how quickly the shore drops off and gets into seriously deep water. It all looks great!
You've got a very convincing scene that certainly shows a year's worth of effort, creativity, and fun.
I'm guessing the model's position on your peninsula will be the signature scene of your layout.

Well done! You should be proud of your work!

Bill

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Making the Ship look like Fresh wood

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