Step 5 Final Details

Around the diorama base I built a dam of sheet styrene to hold the polyurethane resin, which will simulate the water. The center of the base was painted Model Master Dark Tan (FS30219) which matches the color of the Mekong River perfectly!

Then I glued down the boat and painted a few light areas on the base with white oil paint where the water will splash around.

I then mixed the ENVIROTEX Lite resin with a few drops of the dark tan paint and poured it into the dam. Once the resin was nearly dry I formed the waves using an old wooden ice cream stick.

Before the resin dries you must work fast to hit every area with your wooden stick to make a wave. Be prepared for a serious work out as you race against the clock! Also, have lots of old towels around because the resin can be quite messy.

Once I had all the waves formed I then added the "white caps"using Zinc Titanium White oil paint. The engine froth on the stern is made with spackle. Once it dried I zapped it with a touch of hair spray to keep it all in place.

The effects of the resin water is astonishing!

Here is a little trick to make bullets hitting the water using cotton balls and sewing needles. The first step is to paint the sewing needles white and just before they completely dry, wrap some cotton around them. Once the paint has dried you can pull the cotton up and presto, you have a splash!

To make the mist hitting the water from the splash I also use a wisp of cotton and flattened it out. I then attached it to the water using a glue stick.

I wanted two splashes for this diorama. One a little higher than the other so I cut one sewing needle down with a pair of heavy-duty shears.

I then placed the splashes on top of the glued mist and pressed them down into the resin water with a pair of pliers.

Here is the finished effect ...quite impressive don't you think!