Hello,

I've read a few articles on here about building rivers and creating water effects, they've been very useful because i have idea where to start. I'm planning on building the river Isen with three fords. I was wondering what's the best material to use for the river banks? (this will be a river that sits ontop of the gaming table)

I was going to use polystyrene foam sheets cut into strips with a hot wire, but i think i've read somewhere that the water effects liquid eats it away. Is that correct?
If so, what would you advise please?

A friend has suggested i use polyfiller, but i'm unsure.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks


PS. for the water i was going to use a pot of "realistic water" from Woodland Scenics

Some resins can eat polystyrene. A few others are 2 components that you need to mix so that it gets hard, but they kind of heat up (some chemical reaction) during the curing process and might melt the polystyrene a bit.

I used Woodland Scenics Realistic Water and, while I never poured the stuff right over polystyrene, I think it wont be too bad. I recommend that you try first though, instead of going straight for the pudding.

If you use polyfiller over the styrene you wont get any problems for sure. Even cheap air dry clay like Daz will work. Besides, you can get a much more realistic look for the banks using filler than just 'naked' foam. Again, even with the filler, its best if you try it first in a spare part to get the hang of it.

Dont forget to paint the river bed, making it darker where you want it to look 'deeper' and make sure you dont use thick coats of Realistic Water. Its better to do a few 5mm deep layers than one thick one. It takes less time to cure and reduces the bubble effect.

If you want to go fancy, Woodland Scenics has a nice complement to that water. Its called Water Effects and is a white gel that gets transparent when dry. You can 'sculpt' the gel to look like waves, rapids, waterfalls, etc... anything that has water motion.

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Mac's tips are excellent and cover a lot of ground (well, water).

I will add to them by suggesting you pour your water during warm weather if possible, with low humidity. Doing it during periods of high humidity (winter, during rainy period etc), will trap moisture in the resin and it won't set with a very reflective surface.

Also, make sure there is very little dust in your workspace.

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