Click to visit GAUGEMASTER's home page.
Click to visit RIGHT LINES home page.

Water Artistry
Deluxe Materials Aqua Magic

Image of STUART JORDANSTUART JORDAN and Deluxe Materials shows us how to use create deep water using Aqua Magic.

See more SCENICS

The creation of a realistic water scene can be one of the most challenging tasks facing a railway modeller. If not produced correctly, water features can look out of scale and fake. Deluxe Materials produce a selection of different products that can help you produce convincing results.

In this article we will show you how to create a realistic river with both colour and depth using Aqua Magic, a new light stable water system which doesn’t require mixing.

Paint Choice.

Choice of paint: This is one of the most important parts of creating a water feature. The correct choice of paint allows you to use colour to create the illusion of depth. Aqua Magic works with most types of paint technology - as you can see in the example we have used acrylic, enamel, and oil, which could be purchased from Hobbycraft. The type of paint used will come down to personal preference. Make sure that your base is dry, and always test on a scrap piece or unseen part before you go ahead with the main event.

Paint shades of depth.

Creating the illusion of depth: Choose the right colours to create the illusion of depth. Start with lighter shades by the banks, blending into darker shades the closer to the centre you get. Do not be too uniform – you can see in the image that we have left part of the centre a lighter shade in order to add variety.

Detailing the riverbanks.

Detailing the riverbanks: Adding rocks and reeds to the riverbanks can help to create depth and will make the scene more detailed.

Waterfall and rocks.

Refreshing a tired water scene: If you have an older layout which needs some TLC, old tired looking lakes and rivers can be revitalized with the addition of a layer of Aqua Magic on top of existing water products.

Colouring Aqua Magic.

Colouring Aqua Magic: Deluxe Materials Scenic Colours can be used to add translucent colour to the Aqua Magic, as seen here. Alternatively, you can experiment with acrylic paints to get a similar effect.

Go Back To Top

Layering Aqua Magic.

Adding layers: We advise that you don’t add more that 2-3mm at a time. Aqua Magic dries fully in 48 hours at 20°C. You can then add extra layers to create more depth. Using different colourants or paints as described above, you can differentiate each layer to add further depth.

Surface effects on Aqua Magic.

Adding surface effects: Use Making Waves to add water movement, ripples, waves etc. on top of the dried Aqua Magic. Here you can see Making Waves have been used to good effect to create surging water.

Water collection.

Our Water collection: Whether it be a river, lake, pond, or sea, make Aqua Magic your first choice for your next water project.

Deluxe Materials used in this article:

Go Back To Top