28 replies to this topic

[fieldarchy]

Hey guys,

I'm thinking of doing a water effect on Shaedra the paladin making it look like she's going through a swamp or something. What should I use? What is the best product out there that I can get relatively easily (ie at Michael's or Hobby Lobby)?

[dargrin]

Are looking for a resin based thing or something simular?

[fieldarchy]

I don't know. I've never done anything with water effects before. Just any recommendations would be great. The easier it is to use as well the better. Not looking for anything overly complicated

[dargrin]

I am sure there are others out there that can pipe in better than I can but most "water" effects I have dealt with require you to have a the fig lower then the rim of the base or you need to make a retaining wall or sorts.

I have used Woodland scenic’s realistic water. I would NOT recommend this for something like this. It comes in a bottle. The water remains soft and tacky.

[fieldarchy]

what about just going to a hardware store and getting a clear epoxy mix? You know stuff that you can mix up, will dry clear or whatever color you tint it and is usually hard as nails to break?

[Adenosine]

water tip

Looks like it works pretty well to me, I have not tried it but if I needed water I would give it a try.

Hope it helps some

Adenosine
The New Guy

[fieldarchy]

The only problem I see with using PVA glue is that the stuff I use can dry with a milky color (not clear) if it's too thick and it dries matte (not glossy). It's a good thought but I wouldn't know what glue to use really and I know that both bottles of PVA I have do not dry completely clear.

[Adenosine]

The comments at the bottom address some of those issues. It appears that going with thin coats to build it up is the way. Heck take an old base and try it out.

[Whizard Hlavaz]

I've heard a lot of recommendations for Envirotex Lite Pouron High Gloss Finish for use as water effects. Haven't used it myself, but I've seen examples of it. It looks great. You can get it at Michael's.

[fieldarchy]

Well I use PVA glue for my basing on all other minis. And if I spread it across an area it still tends to have a milky looking finish to it . . . Besides, I've actually had the stuff peel off before. Yeah, I know, it's weird but an entire mini came off a base and everything that was glued to it went with. I mean the base just came clean off . . . it was the owlbear I did a while back.
But I do thank you for the tip New Guy

[dargrin]

I've heard a lot of recommendations for Envirotex Lite Pouron High Gloss Finish for use as water effects. Haven't used it myself, but I've seen examples of it. It looks great. You can get it at Michael's.

How thick is this stuff? Do I need a dam?

[Stubbdog]

Here are a few possible tips to help depending on what you are trying to accomplish..

http://www.hirstarts...ps11.html#resin

http://www.hirstarts...ps15.html#pools

http://www.hirstarts...ips17.html#plan

[Zinzig]

Just used the Envirotex Lite Pouron High Gloss Finish for a diorama with the turtle dragon. Make sure you use something "water-tight" as a container on your mini...mine seeped through the cork walls and made a mess. End result is what I wanted, but cleanup was not fun. You can also use paint/inks to tint the stuff, I'll get pictures up sometime over the weekend so you can see what I did. I unfortunately did not seal it before hand and ended up dulling the high glossiness of it. A brush on gloss solved that well though.

-Z

[Sanael]

We have a couple of water things...

For single minis that will see tabletop use (think 1" bases), I use a couple of bottles labeled "water effects," one from Vallejo and one from Woodland Scenics. The Vallejo comes in a tub and the WS in a squeeze bottle...this is a lot like white glue in appearance, but dries clear and is much more moldable. I've used both for a variety of things from wave points to clouds, and the main reason I pick one up over the other is how much space I have to work with; the squeeze bottle gets into tighter spots more easily than spreading with a popscicle stick. I do find that the Vallejo is easier to sculpt into points, and I thinnk it shrinks less as it dries.
Both layer transparently, so you can put down a layer, let it dry, and put down another layer for increased depth. There won't be a visible seam between layers, unless you paint the first layer before putting down the next. That can actually create some interesting effects, if you want to give the impression that there's more than just water (streaks of yellow or green floating downstream in a sewer, for example).

For figs with larger, scenic bases, I use the above goo, as well as Vallejo's "Still Water." The still water is a thin polyeurethane, which will self-level and dries clear. It's great for large, deep puddles, but it isn't sculptable. It also has a tendency to shrink over time, so if you are filling a hole with it, expect the still water to peel away from the sides within a year or so. I avoid this effect by going over the top of the (completely dried) still water with sculptable water effects, making sure to put a bead around the borders of the still water.
The other difficult thing with the still water is that it runs everywhere. If you have a pool enclosed by your base, this is no big deal--just fill the hole. But if you want your body of water to "run off" the edge of the base, you'll need some kind of dam around your edge. For smaller scenic bases, I'll just build up a few beads of Water Effects to create a wall before pouring the Still Water. For larger bases, or plinth-based minis, you can use tape and plasticard as though you were pouring clear resin (and the resin might be a faster way to go for water that's more than 1/4" or so in depth).

Hope this helps a bit.

Oh, yeah...there's another thing from woodland scenics that looks like little plastic beads, which you melt and pour. They're fine for BIG (think terrain boards) projects, but unweildy for smaller stuff, and they burn easily, which gives you sickly yellow water (great for sluggish sewage! Bad for babbling brooks). I'd steer clear of it.

[Madog Barfog]

THIS IS THE PRODUCT YOU WANT:

If ease of use is paramount and a swamp is your goal, look no further than a Woodland Scenics products cleverly called "Water Effects". I'll even go so far as to say that anyone recommending anything different has never tried it.

Here's a look at sone of my experimentation: http://www.hackloped..._tutorial.shtml

My camera is dead, so I haven't been able to update the tute, but the Water Effects was by far the best and easiest product to use.

Pros: nice and thick, no mixing, no heat, easy to clean up, paintable, goes where you want and wipes off of what you don't.

Cons: can take a while to dry if put on thick (I learned this when using it to make a blobby slime monster), is not self-leveling.

The only time I wouldn't use it is when I wanted water with some depth and a flat surface. My choice for that is Envirotex Lite Pour-On. However, it's hard to control, and has a high viscosity, which means it likes to crawl up the sides of its container, hurting the illusion of scale.

Both products dry glossy. The Envirotex is very glossy, and the Water Effects should be glossy enough. However, if you like even more shine, you can put some polyurethane varnish on it.

BTW, the varnish itself can be used for water, but I wouldn't recommend it for any depth, unless you want to very patiently build up layers.

Product link: http://www.woodlands...s.com/index.htm Look for C1212.