Creek crossing Autumn scene (10 Viewers)

[fmethorst]

Hi all,


This winter's project is an Autumn creek crossing scene. This is our first foray into a scene featuring water so we're looking forward to learning new things.


To start we used a 40" x 48" piece of 3/4" plywood. While this base is thick and heavy it provides sufficient stiffness to avoid warping by the Celluclay. Since we don't have to ship this anywhere it doesn't need to be modular or light.


Next, we drew out the rough layout onto 1" foam sheets which we got from Home Depot. This were then cut and glued to the plywood with Gorilla (polyurethane) glue. The last dio we used foam risers on was the trench dio. Aside from the 3/8" plywood base warping, the foam sheets pulled up and apart after we layered too much celluclay on top at once. We had used Tacky glue in that case, so we wanted a stronger bond this time around.


We used a sanding block to create a more gradual slope where the road crosses the creek.

















We left the glue to cure fully before the next step which was applying the first coat of Celluclay. We learned from our previous use of Celluclay not to put too much on at once. Due to the water content of this product there is significant shrinkage as the water evaporates. This causes the clay to pull on anything it attached too. If that material is too weak to resist the tension it will warp. As noted earlier, this is what happed to the trench diorama.








We pressed track imprints into road section using an old Honour Bound Jagdpanther model. I though about adding other tracks but I like the look of this imprint and didn’t want to make it too busy (messy) looking.

 

[fmethorst]

Next, we started to add some contouring.

We wanted some sand/gravel bars in a few spots in the creek. The creek is supposed to be very shallow.








Adding some larger boulders.





Next, we started contouring the creek banks. Note the undercut in places.

















We created a test board to try various ideas prior to applying them to the main piece.

 

[paxtoysoldier]

Thanks for the step-by-step. Very helpful, especially if you have any talent (I don't - but still thank you).
Paddy

 

[fmethorst]

Starting to color the ground. We wanted to add embedded rocks, so we mixed Celluclay with the paint we use for the dirt. We used a variety of different size gravel and sand to simulate boulders and stones.











The creek bed is going to be quite rocky so we started to place some of the boulders and stones.





The creek has a few stone bars which will be exposed above the water level. We used the colored Celluclay fairly thick in these spots and laid down a heavy layer of boulders and stones.

 

[Go for Broke]

I'm most impressed with your female friends helping you out.{sm4}

 

[fmethorst]

It turns out the idea of mixing in the color with the Celluclay was a bad idea. The clay sucked the saturation right out of the color so that it faded dramatically. Normally this would mean we simply need to repaint the affected sections. Our problem was the embedded rocks which had to be removed first. Tedious to say the least.


We tested a new method of laying uncolored Celluclay down first, painting the surface only, and then embedding the rocks while everything was still wet. This worked. The color held and the rocks were embedded.














Once the majority of the rocks were removed we used the new method of laying the uncolored Celluclay down, painting it, and then embedding the rocks.

 

[fmethorst]

After everything dried the result was much better than the first try.





Next, I gave the creek a couple simulated deeper channels by hitting the creek bed with darker areas using the airbrush.








In the meantime we starting testing combinations of various ground cover. I primarily wanted the ground cover to consist of dirt and fallen leaves but I also wanted to see if we could include some patchy grass.


We tried the same static grass that we used on the Factory dio but it just seemed too bright and nice. Next, we tried adding some paint with the airbrush to tone things down. On top of that we added leaf litter. This is going to take some time to come up with something that we’re happy with.


For the fallen leaves we’ll be using a combination of ground up leaf litter and for the highly visible areas catkins (which make excellent miniature leaves).

 

[Andanna]

I always found most commercially available static grass and tufts to be to colorful to fit into a military diorama.

 

[fmethorst]

The contouring of the dirt is largely complete. Touch ups were required due to shrinkage of the Celluclay. We used a Tamiya textured “dirt” paint for the touch ups to add interest and modulation. Note the drift wood we added to various spots to add additional interest. We’ll add some additional leaf litter to the raised rock areas in the creek bed when the time comes.


Just like a painting, layers is the key. Don’t try to do too much in one pass.

 

[fmethorst]

Testing water mediums.


The two options being tested are crafting resin vs. Woodland Scenics E-Z Water. The results were interesting.


First up the resin. We wanted to add a greenish tint so we mixed in a little acrylic paint. This was already a con for the E-Z Water as you can’t simply mix in paint.

















Bubbles will form. This is normal. Breathing on them helps to pop them as they surface. Once we let the resin cure overnight the bubbles were gone.

 

[fmethorst]

Next up, another version with more green tint. Also this channel has rocks to see how it pours around those elements.


The meniscus is always a challenge in miniature. Some TLC with a tooth pick around the edges helped to reduce the worst of this effect.

 

[fmethorst]

Next up, the E-Z Water. Essentially this is a thermoplastic that you are supposed to heat up until it’s thin enough to pour. You can’t add acrylic paint to it so coloring isn’t as easy as the resin. It has a yellowish tint before even starting and they warn you not to overheat it.








OK, so my question is this. Once you remove the melted material from the heat source it begins to cool. This accelerates when it contact with the dio. How is it supposed to stay viscous?










The material froze almost immediately, including the bubbles that were trapped. We didn’t do any research but I suspect we did something wrong since this is a commercial product supposedly designed for this purpose. The resin turned out so good the decision was a no brainer so we didn’t spend any more time on it. The funny thing is you can easily pry the hardened E-Z Water off the dio once fully hardened.

 

[Andanna]

That is a surprising result. If I remember correctly, there were special colors for the woodland product.

please continue the report. This is extremely helpful.

 

[mikemiller1955]

Frank...great thread...appreciate the tutorial with progress pics included...

 

[fmethorst]

To test ripples and waves we tried two products, Mod Podge (Gloss) and Woodland Scenics Water Ripples.


For the Mod Podge we tried right out of the jar and thinned. We used an empty air brush to blow things around. A variety of brushes were used to dab on the Woodland Scenics product.








We like the Woodland Scenics Water Ripples better for the most part due to it’s controllability. The thinned Mod Podge was too thin and didn’t work. The full strength Mod Podge turned out OK but was harder to control. It might have some spot applications.





We applied the Water Ripples to a second test section that included submerged rocks. After waiting 10 minutes we went in with a smaller brush to pull up some more turbulence around the submerged rocks.

 

[fmethorst]

The moment we’ve been waiting for, the main creek resin pour. If this goes south there won’t be any way to save the project.


We started by roughly calculating the amount of resin that would be required for the ¼” pour. It should be around 2L (64 fl oz). Next, we setup a production line and assigned each of the three people involved a role. Role 1 measured the resin and hardener (50/50 mix) and added the green paint into the mixture. Role 2 slowly stirred the mixture for the required 5 minutes. Role 3 poured the ready mixture onto the dio. The resin has a working time of ½ hour so we had to be quick considering the amount we had to mix and pour.

 

[fmethorst]

Pour continued














We were very close to the calculation for the amount of resin (~2L). As you can see, due to the viscosity of the resin, the surface tension causes issues where it comes into contact with the shore. This is dealt with by breaking the surface tension with toothpicks. Yes, it is as tedious as it looks.

 

[fmethorst]

Pour continued








Once this process is finished we covered the project with card board to prevent airborne contaminants including cats off of it. We used plastic cups to space the covering from the board. The cure time is 12 hours.








The next morning reveal.

 

[29 Let's Go]

Frank,

Wonderfully done. It can stand by itself.

Steve

 

[Louis Badolato]

Frank,

Looks perfect! Wonderful job!:salute::