Making River beds, streams and lakes with Futures Floor Wax is an
easy procedure. You can get Future's Floor Wax at any supermarket or
Home Goods store such as Home Depot or Lowe's. The cost is nominal
compared to the cost of Realistic Water by Woodland Scenics. Also to be
noted, the Futures Floor Wax won't shrink or change dimension after it
is poured and set up.
On the "New" JJJ&E, I used three inches of pink foam on top of a
3/4" plywood base. I cut out a river/stream bed and lined the
riverbed/stream bed with Hydrocal. I mixed the hydrocal and removed any
air bubbles in the mix, by tapping the mixing bowel on a firm surface
such as a work bench. Any air bubbles in the hydrocal mix will rise to
the surface. This is the technique I learned in Dentistry as I practiced
Prosthetic Dentistry for over 30 years and used all kinds of
hydrocal/plaster every day. The resultant hydrocal mix which was firm,
was poured into the River bed and allowed to set up overnight.
Once the river bed was set up I used two colors for the river bed. An
earth color around the periphery and grimy black for the rest of the river bed. I donot use the color blue or green at all. Again, I let this
dry overnight. After the paint has I dried I paint the Futures Floor
Was into the river bed. I let this first pour of the Futures Floor Wax
completely dry overnight. I again paint Future's Floor Wax on the river
bed two or three times, letting it dry completely after each pour.
Before the final pour I add gravel stones along the river bank as well
as some fallen branches into the river bed.
Then I make the final pour. Instead of painting in the final pour, I
pour in small amounts of the Futures Floor Wax into the river bed, so the
Futures Floor Wax wets the gravel and stones on the edge of the river bed.
I let this set up for at least another 24-36 hours. At this point I take
some Modge Podge and paint some on the rivers surface in a swirl like
manner (almost half moon) in the direction you want the
river/stream/lake to flow. Let this completely dry, approximately
another 18-24 hours. You then can assess the way the river/stream/lake
looks and can always add more Modge Podge.
Here are the results of this technique. The Fish Pier was built over 11
years ago and was used on the "original" JJJ&E. It was one of the "signature"
buildings on that layout.
Sepia Photo Of The Fish Pier & Monterrey River
A sepia photo of the Fish Pier and Monterrey River. Modge Podge creates the rapid water movement.
Panoramic View Of Fish Pier & Monterrey River
The Monterrey River In The Monterrey River Valley
A panoramic view of the Boat House, Monterrey River with San Marino in the background.
An overview of the Boat House and the Monterrey River. There is plenty
of activity at the Boat House. This part of the Monterrey River feeds
into the river under the Fish Pier.
A close overhead view of the Boat House & Monterrey River in the Monterrey Mountains.
The Boat House and Monterrey River is nestled in the Monterrey River Valley.
The Origin Of The Monterrey River East Of San Marino
The origin of the Monterrey River with the San Marino Freight yard
and Monterrey Mountains in the background. The Monterrey River winds
around the perimeter of the turnaround area east of San Marino. The
turnaround area of this part of the "New" JJJ&E is 50" x 50" and three
mainline tracks with radii of 23-24 inches pass through this part of the
layout.
A view of the Monterrey River at it's origin. The San Marino freight yard is in the background.
Another viewing angle of the Monterrey River which is nestled in another corner of the turnaround area east of San Marino.
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