Modeling Rippling Water
Mark Norman, Modeler
Welcome to the Saint John’s & Atlantic Transportation network (SJA). This article describes the modeling of a small but scenic part of the railroad, the Indian River.
Before getting into the details of creating rippling water, it would be useful to describe the railroad. The Saint John’s & Atlantic is designed to provide some degree of flexibility should the need arise to move it. The layout is divided into a number of sections – think dominoes. The typical section is nine and a half inches thick, eight feet long and two feet deep. These sections sit on top of base cabinets that stand just under four feet tall. The section discussed here is atypical in that it is only five inches thick, thirty inches long and eighteen inches deep. The reason for using a small, thin section was to allow it to be removable. When removed, the exterior door to the basement becomes accessible. Though thin, the segment is at the same height as its thicker brethren.
The segment being modeled depicts the Indian River near Cape Canaveral, Florida. This small segment serves to clearly separate and show a transition from Port Phosphate and the Space Center. Two railroad bridges cross the river at this location. The background bridge, the FEC Bridge, crosses the river providing access to and from south Florida. The foreground bridge, the NASA Causeway Bridge, provides access to the Space Center.
The Indian River is a comparatively wide body of water that experiences the effects of coastal winds. The result is a body of water that is rippling and often choppy. The goal was to find a realistic way to depict rippling water. Earlier attempts used methods such as blowing a hair dryer over the scene or “picking” waves with a toothpick. For me, neither method worked particularly well. The hair dryer produced broad, gentle waves. The toothpick produced individual sharp wavelets. Both tended to flatten out as the water cured.
Inspiration
Inspiration came to me late one evening as I was resting. My back was aching and I lay down on the basement floor. Fortunately, it is carpeted so this is a pleasant experience. Laying there on my back I reflected that half of the ceiling has a suspended ceiling while the other half has exposed floor joists painted flat black. After contemplating the cobwebs in the floor joists for awhile, I began looking at the 2’ x 4’ ceiling tiles and the occasional panel where the fluorescent lights were hidden -- hidden behind thin panels of plastic. I noticed that some of the panels had regular rows and columns of small square “pillows” roughly 3/16” on a side. Other panels had a more or less random pattern. Might a panel such as this be just the item to simulate rippling water? A trip to the hardware store a few days later supported my initial assessment. It looked good. The name for this pattern of lens is “crushed ice”.
Construction
The frame consists of front and rear pieces of ¾” plywood 5 inches wide, thirty inches long. The sides are cut 16-½” long, resulting in an overall depth of eighteen inches. ¾” thick, 2-½” x 16-½” stringers, mounted horizontally, run from front to back. Seven of the stringers are evenly spaced along the bottom of the module.
A bead of wood glue was run on top of each stringer. A single piece of blue one inch thick construction Styrofoam was then placed on top of the stringers. The edges were carefully sealed utilizing latex bathroom caulk. Wood glue was spread all over this Styrofoam base and another one inch thick piece placed on top of it. The foam was weighted down overnight with various canned vegetables.
“Crushed ice” lenses can be readily found at most large lumber supply stores. You will need to handle these lenses with care as they are extremely brittle. I cut the plastic to size using a table saw though a sharp utility knife could be used. Wood glue was generously spread over the Styrofoam base with particular attention given to the edges. A thin bead of latex bathroom caulk was placed along the outside edge. The crushed ice plastic was then put in place with the smooth edge facing down. Once again, canned vegetables were used to weight down this layer. After removing the weights, it is critical at this stage to take your time and ensure the edges are sealed completely. Failure to do this right will result in the water leaking. In my case, I was satisfied with a visual inspection. If you have any doubts though, now is the time to pour in a small quantity of real water and identify and fix any leaks.
Appearance
An embankment was formed from -- what else but Styrofoam. In this case a thickness of 1-1/2 inches was needed. Pieces of one inch thick and one-half in thick Styrofoam, glued together, were used. As we all know from experience, rivers banks are not straight. They follow lazy, sinusoidal curves. To simulate this, simply take a shoe lace or heavy string and gently stretch it across the general area where the bank should be. Now gently push both ends toward one another. The string should bend into a number of curves. If you don’t like the results, simply do it again or nudge the string this way or that. Pencil in the river bank. Next, using an old serrated knife cut the embankment at an angle appropriate for the river you are modeling. Don’t worry if a few small chunks of Styrofoam break loose. This happens in real life too! The river bank was painted a sand color to match the surrounding land area.
My initial intent was to paint the crushed ice plastic lens silver. After drying, it would then be painted blue. The thought here was to give the blue more “sparkle”. In the end, this idea was abandoned. An inexpensive can of “Royal Blue” latex paint from the local hardware store was located and applied. Care was taken to cover the entire river bed and the lower edges of the embankment. Be sure to leave some of the embankment soil colored as we are usually able to see the first few inches of the bank through the water.
While the paint was drying the two bridges that would be crossing the river were being built. Each of these bridges rests on a series of “concrete” piers – actually, 1/8” diameter styrene tubing. The details of their construction may be the subject of a future article. Once the bridges were completed and test fit, they were placed upside down and a dab of Gorilla Glue placed on the bottom of each pier. The bridge was then turned right side up and put into position. Rail joiners secured either end of the bridge. The aforementioned vegetable cans were once again employed to weight down the bridge. A spray bottle was used to mist the base of the piers to activate the glue. This set-up was allowed to set overnight. The following day, the cans were set aside. A toothpick was used to remove any glue that had oozed out. The bridge was then extensively weathered. This same process was repeated on the second, foreground bridge.
For good measure, the glue was allowed to cure for several days while I worked on other projects. This step might be unnecessary, but seems prudent. I have no idea how uncured Gorilla Glue might react with Realistic Water. Moreover, it is far easier to let it sit for several days than to research the matter.
When it came time to pour the river, the entire area was carefully vacuumed. Following the manufacturers directions, Liquid Water was poured into the riverbed to a depth slightly above the top of the crushed ice. The initial appearance was milky blue.
This was anticipated and I walked away from the river. Each morning though, like a child anticipating Christmas morning, I went downstairs to check out the Indian River. With the cool winter temperatures, results were slow coming. Each day, the river was only slightly less cloudy. Finally, the river began to clear. Excitement built. Two weeks after the pour, the river was clear with a distinctive rippling, windblown appearance!
Conclusion
This simple technique using an inexpensive material has resulted in great results. I encourage you to give it a try on your layout. Let me also encourage you to keep your eyes open, always looking for opportunities. Opportunity often is hidden in plain site awaiting one of us to just recognize it.