Great job Alan. Love the cruise ship. Did you scratch build it?

Fantastic.  I had wondered about building a similar "fold up" river section in my layout.  I may copy what you have done.  Where did you get the water's surface

Nice job Alan!

 

Cesar

Wow, Alan!!  You hit this one out of the park.  A game-winning walk off grand slam.  Great work as usual.

Alan,

 

Looks Great!

That is awesome. I love the color of the water. Can't wait to get the details on how you built it and the color you used. I always enjoy seeing pics of your layout.

 

Bob

Really nice work Alan, you never fail to please.

 

Let us know how you did the water. I don't plan anything as involved as your deep water port, but there is a small barge lagoon where your thechnique would be a big help.

I would like to get the effect of the boat at rest in the water. That's the part that gives me pause.

 

Also, I would like to add that this should appear in the OGR magazine.

Alan, just great. The water color is nice. Perhaps you could think about tide marks along the wharf and around the bridge support.

Alan, another wonderful design by you all in Arkansas. Several of the pictures look very real. I cannot wait until we come down to see this harbor scene. Hope everyone has a Very Happy New Year !

Fabulous scene !

A deep water port in Mountain Home, Arkansas.

Wow !

 

Eliot

Alan, Awesome piece of work, er labor of love!! Fold down idea is great. gets me to thinkin'..... Have a great new year!!

Hey Alan, I was just looking at your pictures of the ocean-liner and it looks fantastic. Is that a kit you bought, or did you build it from scratch?

In any case my bet is that it is not 1/48 scale and if that is true I think if you used HO or even N scale people on board the viewer would never know the diffrence.

Other then our most ardent rivet counters the vast majority of people would suspend their disbelief and make it work in their minds eye.

 

You apologized for taking to many pics, but I'm having a blast getting into them.

Yeah Man! Great work.

Great job Alan.  It looks like you used the shower door glass for the water.  Good color choice underneath.  Did you paint the back of the glass or the table top underneath?

 

Joe

Hi Alan, I just clicked on the site because I was in my shop most of the day working on a project, and I see this beautiful thread, of your harbor scene. It looks awesome

I love it superb craftsmanship. I love the color of the water and, like Mario asked above what scale is the ocean liner, I really like it.

 

 

Thanks, Alex

Excellent!!

 

Alan,

 

That's awesome.

Awesome work!  But one thing:  When do you ever see water that clean near

a big city?  LOL!

 

     Hoppy

Alan Outstanding!!

Top notch work!!

 

Like the guys above asked, I'd be interested to know about the water and the ship. What products did you use for the water? If the ship was scratch built, what materials were used and could you post a how to on ship building?

 

Thanks!

beautiful pics and great work !! the water looks perfect ,,

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thats cool, great work.

The more pics the better! I would like to see it fold away also. Is the water a shower door glass?

Awesome job!  The cruise ship looks like it's a full hull model, not just a waterline model.  Is it (the cruise ship) just a static display piece or an rc model?

Alan:

 

Your excellent work continues to amaze us all. Very nice job with your water scene.

I am happy to see good work with the water scene.

 

What color paint did you use to do the water? I am presuming that is a shower door glass you used there.

Holy Cow guys!!....thanks to all of you for the really nice comments!  I will take the questions one at a time as I have an opportunity...(in the office today and some clients are gearing up for final mark down sales...)

 

First...the ship.  Lots of you like the ship.  GHEEZZZ!...wish I could take credit for it but it is not something I put together.  It is a hand made model of a passenger cruise liner.  Way out of scale as it is only 40 inches in length instead of 15 feet long if it were 1/48th.  BUT....my plans are to perhaps try to make it a waterline model and then turn it into a yacht.  The funny thing about it....as Mario mentioned above, because of its position with respect to the scene, for some reason folks have not had a problem with it being not even close to scale....I think the mind sort of accepts what it is supposed to depict...??

 

Phone is ringing so I'll be back with more answers to your questions above...

 

Thanks,

Alan

Again...thanks to all of you for the nice comments and suggestions. 

 

Dave Allen:  I will be adding tide marks per your suggestion as well as water splashing along the edges using silicone chalk.

 

Those of you that were wondering about the color and what I used for the surface....  First, the surface is in fact untempered shower door glass.  This particular glass has more texture on one side than the other so I put the shiny side facing up.  I do not paint the bottom of the glass because I found that by doing so, the water looks more shallow.  In other words, I used smooth masonite as the surface to paint and then I mounted the glass on top of the masonite.  This makes the water look deeper.  The side benefit is it is easy to change the color by simply repainting the masonite. 

 

Many of you asked about the color of the water.  I wanted a color that represented deeper and cleaner water...perhaps either a large lake or even ocean water was what I had in mind.  So off to the paint stores and finally I came across a color I liked at Lowes.  The color was a Valspar product in their signature series.  The color is: Stilettos ar1906.  I wanted to keep the cost down to a minimum and so I took the paint sample card to a friend that works in the Walmart paint department and he mixed a quart for me at about a third of the price.  It was a perfect match.

 

A couple of you suggested an OGR article....don't know if Mr. Miller would be interested since it may have limited appeal but I would be more than glad to submit it if he is interested.  As I add details I will update you all....

 

Thanks,

Alan

Hi Alan, I know it's your layout and as always I respect the owners view on things, but I have to tell ya that ship is magic just as she sits. 

Sometimes things just work as they are and as the old saying goes; if it works don't fix it. 

Hey, Alan -

 

That turned out beautifully, and the water and water reflections are astonishing. Great work!

 

Alex

Mario...I have been thinking about what you said above and perhaps you are correct.  Rather than cutting the hull at water level, maybe I should think about cutting a hole in the glass and top within which I could lower the ship....???  Or perhaps a dry dock scene where the ship is being repainted...???  What do you think...?

 

Again, thank guys...I really appreciate you taking the time to encourage and comment.

 

Alan

Just to make sure I understand your answer, is the side with more texture is facing down?

 

Joe

Joe....yes, you are correct.  One side is has a more satin look and the other is smoother.  The smoother side is facing up which gives the surface a "wetter" look.

 

Alan

Very cool Alan. Sounds easyer than the gel water I've been using.

Dan

Drodder....I think the gel looks great too but I decided to go this route since I had success with it on my first layout 20 years ago.  There are several other kinds of glass one can use other than shower door glass...

 

Thanks,

Alan

Hi Alan, I like the dry dock repaint idea. I fear cutting the shower door glass can be a little problematic unless you have alot of experience with it. But, in no way would I cut the boat, it's just to pretty.

Is it possible to build a gated dry dock for it. They used them at the old Philadelphia ship yard. They would float the aircraft carriers in, close the gate behind her, then pump the water out letting the ship settle down on a wooden cradel.

They look and work like a canal lock, but once the water is out the crew can go to work on the hull.

 

Have fun, I can't wait to see what you come up with. I'm sure it will peg the OGR "COOL-O-METER".

Thank you Alan.  Even though the smooth side is up it still appears as though the water surface has the waves and ripples.

 

Joe

Joe...you are welcome.....actually the "smooth" side does have waves in the glass...in addition, it looks "wetter"...

 

Alan