Mod podge, funny name –great water effects
Mod Podge Crafts products: glue, sealer and finish that is trusted by crafters everywhere for their most treasured crafts and project ideas! The ultimate in all-in-one convenience.
When I decided to remodel a section of scenery to give a home to my lighthouse, I initially thought that I would use the same ‘water’ technique that I’d used on the Cassett Bay harbour and some ponds, clear resin.
However I’ve never been completely satisfied with that result, ripple free surfaces are fine for a pond, but a harbour that is open to the sea is rarely flat. I’d also tried to create a polluted waterway by painting the bottom with browns and greys; it just didn’t work. A few years ago I used Woodland Scenics water effects to add some wave etc. I got the waves but overall it was still rubbish.
So when I came to my new project I went looking for other techniques. I found one modeller who used toilet paper soaked in glue that he then pushed and prodded to create the waves and ripples, then when it dried painted it and then applied many layers of gloss. The results were surprisingly good but too much work.
I found another modeller who used a product that I’d not heard of, Mod Podge to create ripples on a river, just one coat required. I bought some gloss (not the matte) at an art store. The base of the harbour is MDF so I sealed it and then turned my attention to the base colour. Of course the colour of the sea is incredibly varied, dependent on so many factors. I wasn’t going to repeat my previous approach so I decided on green. I had the colour in my mind but I couldn’t find a tube of green that suited, so I resorted to mixing black and yellow and that gave me what I wanted. Two coats on the base and ready for the Mod Podge. I actually think that this material is very similar to the Woodland Scenics product. I poured some out and started working with a 10mm brush. Mod Podge is a milky colour so its easy to see the waves/ripples being created, once left for a few hours it dries clear and glossy with the green showing through, a great result. If only the Cassett Bay harbour looked as good.
This experience prompted me to actually think of pulling Cassett bay out, but when I created it years ago I had set the wharves and some boats into the resin; not a recommended approach.
However difficult it may be something had to done, there was no way I could live with such poor scenery now that I had a comparison.
I actually had the hammer in my hand when the ‘want a coffee’ call came. I often find that removal from the problem prompts inspiration, during that break I began to wonder if my green paint would stick to a resin surface. It did! So I painted it, of course the paint dries matte so it initially looked very odd. But then the Mod Podge brought it to life, even the waves that I’d tried to rescue it with actually contributed to the result. After it dried I used a small roller with white paint to accentuate a slight choppiness, at last it looked like a harbour open to the sea. For the first week or so I would go down to the layout expecting to see the Mod Podge peeled back like hair curls. It’s been a few months now and its still in place, so I’m confident it has worked.
I do have a couple of ponds on the layout and the resin is perfect for them, but anything that requires waves or ripples, Mod Podge is brilliant, despite its funny name.
Mod Podge Crafts products: glue, sealer and finish that is trusted by crafters everywhere for their most treasured crafts and project ideas! The ultimate in all-in-one convenience.
When I decided to remodel a section of scenery to give a home to my lighthouse, I initially thought that I would use the same ‘water’ technique that I’d used on the Cassett Bay harbour and some ponds, clear resin.
However I’ve never been completely satisfied with that result, ripple free surfaces are fine for a pond, but a harbour that is open to the sea is rarely flat. I’d also tried to create a polluted waterway by painting the bottom with browns and greys; it just didn’t work. A few years ago I used Woodland Scenics water effects to add some wave etc. I got the waves but overall it was still rubbish.
So when I came to my new project I went looking for other techniques. I found one modeller who used toilet paper soaked in glue that he then pushed and prodded to create the waves and ripples, then when it dried painted it and then applied many layers of gloss. The results were surprisingly good but too much work.
I found another modeller who used a product that I’d not heard of, Mod Podge to create ripples on a river, just one coat required. I bought some gloss (not the matte) at an art store. The base of the harbour is MDF so I sealed it and then turned my attention to the base colour. Of course the colour of the sea is incredibly varied, dependent on so many factors. I wasn’t going to repeat my previous approach so I decided on green. I had the colour in my mind but I couldn’t find a tube of green that suited, so I resorted to mixing black and yellow and that gave me what I wanted. Two coats on the base and ready for the Mod Podge. I actually think that this material is very similar to the Woodland Scenics product. I poured some out and started working with a 10mm brush. Mod Podge is a milky colour so its easy to see the waves/ripples being created, once left for a few hours it dries clear and glossy with the green showing through, a great result. If only the Cassett Bay harbour looked as good.
This experience prompted me to actually think of pulling Cassett bay out, but when I created it years ago I had set the wharves and some boats into the resin; not a recommended approach.
However difficult it may be something had to done, there was no way I could live with such poor scenery now that I had a comparison.
I actually had the hammer in my hand when the ‘want a coffee’ call came. I often find that removal from the problem prompts inspiration, during that break I began to wonder if my green paint would stick to a resin surface. It did! So I painted it, of course the paint dries matte so it initially looked very odd. But then the Mod Podge brought it to life, even the waves that I’d tried to rescue it with actually contributed to the result. After it dried I used a small roller with white paint to accentuate a slight choppiness, at last it looked like a harbour open to the sea. For the first week or so I would go down to the layout expecting to see the Mod Podge peeled back like hair curls. It’s been a few months now and its still in place, so I’m confident it has worked.
I do have a couple of ponds on the layout and the resin is perfect for them, but anything that requires waves or ripples, Mod Podge is brilliant, despite its funny name.
