Placing a Tug and Barges on a River

Please post a picture of what you have. What type of "water" are you using and how deep do you intend to pour? I would suggest starting with a realistic-looking riverbed. Contour the river bottom with thin layer of plaster, paint multiple shades of brown, then glue down layers of real dirt, brown/dark brown ballast and talus of various sizes with matte medium or diluted yellow glue. You also might consider cutting a piece of basswood (1/16-inch thick) in the shape of the hull, gluing it to the riverbed where you want the boat (to give the hull a flat surface), and painting it to match the riverbed. Then place the boat in position when you do the pour. I have a "river" on my layout (without a boat). Based on my limited experience, this is how I would do it.

MELGAR

Melgar,

Thanks for your suggestions.  I am going to use woodland scenic e/z water.  The pictures show the place holders for the barges. The seaboard coaler is on the workbench.  The tug is currently buried under the layout. I rescued the old time steamship from a clearance store. I intend to remove the stand and cut the hull at the waterline. 

 Thanks 

You could put the boat in after the ‘water” cures but to make it look like it’s in rather than on top, you can add acrylic gel around the hull and create small wakes. Alternatively, depending on how EZ water cures, you can put the boat in during that period where it still soft enough but will hold the shape of the hull. Then just take it out before it fully cures. You may still want to play with a little gel around the hull, however for the most realistic effect. 

Jerrman posted:

You could put the boat in after the ‘water” cures but to make it look like it’s in rather than on top, you can add acrylic gel around the hull and create small wakes. Alternatively, depending on how EZ water cures, you can put the boat in during that period where it still soft enough but will hold the shape of the hull. Then just take it out before it fully cures. You may still want to play with a little gel around the hull, however for the most realistic effect. 

jerrman, Thanks for your ideas.

dkdkrd posted:

If you are inclined to use WS EZ water...heat it up, pour, let set until cools.........DON'T!!  We (LHS) don't stock it anymore based on our own experience, preferring their Realistic Water (C1211) instead.

Your project situation is on my to-do list, too.   Let us know what was successful for you....with photos!

KD

KD,

Wow, thanks for the heads up. I invested in 5 bags of this stuff.

How many bottles of realistic water will it take to cover 8 sq ft?

Let me suggest that you google ship model websites for waterline dioramas.  Those guys have raised such endeavors to a high art.

I used WS EZ Water to create an inner harbor scene that included barges, tugboats and ships.Some items I just placed on semi dry ez water, others I cut the hull of the ship to get the water level higher, the big sail ship was added later and came with a pre-built water base of plaster paris.  I  painted the water lbase to match my harbor colors and just set this ship in place. This water base was laid in 2015 and does not show any signs of age.

Palallin, Thanks for the tip.

Jim,  Thats an impressive layout, thanks for the pics and the info on EZ water.

Maybe someone else can share their experience with this product.

Could the environment have something to do with the performance?