Question on depth of cut out for harbor scene

ALAN the esteemed ad-man uses wavy glass to simulate water to a great effect.

I use a rather shallow cut filled with , I first place crumpled aluminum foil on the bottom painted green/blue ( blue at the center) to a green at the exterior, Then fill with layers of Mod Podge. Take a while to dry but no noxious fumes.

If you want still water leave it alone; otherwise as it drys use a fork to rough up the surface for rapids effects.

Alan,
Thanks for the suggestions.  Does this mean I only have to cut out the 1/2" Soundboard and use the aluminum foil over the plywood? If I want an effect of any piers, I might just raise the ground area a bit.

Thanks,

Michael

I'm not sure where your water scene/harbor display is going, but your picture suggests a pond enclosed on all sides.  I've done a lot of water scenes, and I allow myself a minimum of 2 inch height to create the realism I'm after. I also build the scene at table edge to allow for the depth to be considered as a realistic element.  In the attached photo for example the dock height is 2 1/8th inches above water surface...this equals about and 8 1/2 ft. pier. Hope this gets you thinking Mike...have fun.

Bob

Bob,

This is very helpful. This is the look that I intended to have, so I will probably cut down through the plywood to get the necessary depth. For the water effect, do you use the approach described by Alan, or some other method?

I attached two more photos of the temporary layout to better describe the harbor scene. The harbor will have an entrance under the Bascule bridge. I intend to have the exterior edge appear as a shoreline.  May be a bit odd to have the control shed on the shoreline side, but not sure I have enough room within the harbor to have it there.  As you can see, I have lots of stuff in this small space (typical??).  The second photo shows more of action within the harbor. I intend to have 2 magnetic cranes unloading scrap material onto some sort of barge (just a lego boat in the temporary setup; grandkids love to operate the cranes), and the coal loader dumping directly into a coal barge.  Hope this helps.

Thanks,

Michael

For the water effect in my photo I do the following...base is a sheet of 1/8" thick Masonite hardboard I get at Home Depot....cut it to the size I need and glue in down to my table work base. Paint it a dark water like color with acrylic paint. Once that's dry I also use Mod Podge Glossy...Wal-Mart has it...slightly thinned with water, and applied in a few coats allowing drying between coats obviously...I sometimes dab it on or stipple it to create the effect of rippled water similar to my photo. I finish by coating with Minwax water based Polycrylic protective finish to make it more finger friendly....these are all the steps to a proper water in my opinion...and so many variation are possible and you will learn by doing...all part of developing the skills. Don't be afraid to fail...now go get to work... 

One more comment....less is more...right now your emphasis seams on more is best.

Bob

You might find something useful in my wharf scene construction, Michael.

Just click on the Port Elderley link under my signature.

Cheers

Bob,

Thanks for the details on creating the water scene.  Very helpful.  As for fear of failing, I have already ventured into areas I have never been before, such as clouds and backdrops.  Practiced lots before committing to the set up.  Actually fun learning new skills.  So far so good!  I know I'll try some practice water scenes before doing final version on the layout. 

And yes, I know less is more.  I actually eliminated several vintage accessories b/c they were too large.  Already sold some of them...with original boxes.  Still under construction, so I'll see if I have enough real estate to accomplish my intentions.  As you might detect, I'm an operator, not a collector. 

Max,

Thanks for the link.  Always helpful to see and learn from others work. 

Michael

Michael, Max's Port Elderly thread turned out to be a tutorial on the whole harbor/wharf building process.  And as AlanHN has stated Alan, the OGR Forum Ad Sales Manager has a fantastic harbor scene on his layout.  Search on using shower door glass for water.

Coach Joe,

Thanks for the additional info.  I've seen descriptions of the shower door glass approach before.  Like other new skills for me, I'll probably try a few different methods before choosing what I feel most comfortable with.  I've got a few other layout tasks before I tackle this one.

Thanks again,

Michael

A variant of the "shower door glass" approach is to use an ordinary piece of flat glass (painted on the bottom), with waves painted on the top using Mod Podge or other mat medium. The advantage of this is that you can paint your own wave patterns.

Pete,

This is also helpful.  I intend to have some barges being loaded along piers and a tug in the harbor, so it might be good to have still water in some areas and some ripples in others. This approach might work nicely.

Thanks,

Michael