The river has been poured, and despite having a lot of apprehension about this step, I'm very happy with the results. (Note - the viaduct coloring and detail is far from finished!)
The river base and nearby banks are painted - these pics don't really show the true river base color, but it's a greenish-brown, and purposely is kind of mucked-up looking. Rocks, debris and sand are then glued in to what will be the shallower areas, where they will be mostly submerged.
Then it's time to pour! I use the
Magic Water product, a 2-part resin. I tint it with more brownish-green (or is that greenish-brown?), enough to still barely see the bottom in spots. It's only about one quarter of an inch deep, but when you find the right balance of color and translucency, let's call it "murkiness", it appears much deeper. I did do a test pour in a mock-up I made earlier, and learned a lot from that.
Water it about the only thing you want glossy on the railroad model! Here are a couple of shots showing how it reflects the other scenery, and how some of the debris protrudes from the water.
Next, I'll be adding ripples to the surface, putting down lots of dirt on the surrounding terrain, and adding vegetation.
