I would like to build a sunken boat, and obviously, it requires some water. I was thinking about leaving it off (I've seen a incredible dio of a crashed Zero underwater), but I though the fact that the thing is actually under water, it needs the effects that water gives. (The colors differ, for one. But the light behaves completely differently under water, so I thought enclosing the whole thing in some kind of a water-imitation, it would make it look more convincing.) Since it'll be in the Pacific theater, in shallow water, it'd be really clear, if somewhat bluish (or greenish -I'm not sure yet). So I would weather the craft, rust it, and submerge it.
How should I do that? Just enclose the whole thing in clear acrylic resin, tainted with subtle colors of green and brown on the lower part? What about bubbles that form when pouring the resin? How about the weight? How should I build te walls for the mold, and how can I polish it smooth? Are there any other ways to convincingly imitate water? Transparent plastic walls? Where do I get them, and how do I attach them to each other without marks?

Thank you for your attention. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Hi there,

It depends from what side you want to look at the dio. If you want to look at it from the water surface, you have to use some kind of resin. But if you want to make waves you'll have 2 problems. 1) you need a resin which allows you to make waves. 2) When there are waves in the real ocean, it is very hard to see what hidden beneath them. The other problem with resin is air bubbles. You could try pouring in layers but I have no experience with that. It would be also be very heavy and expensive. A dio of 10 x 10 x 10 cm is already 1liter of resin (it comes overhere in 0,25 liter bottles) and would weigh around 1 kg. So If you would make 1/72 dio you would need already about 4 times that volume of resin.

If you want to look at it from the side you could use a method I have seen with a shipwreck of Titanic. The builder put the shipwreck in an empty "aquarium" of blue glass. This might sound a bit stupid but it looked VERY realistic.

I hope I've helped you a bit,

Cheers,
Matthijs

I used casting resin from the local craft store to submerge my jeep. Read more here
I used a bit of Ritt fabric dye to alter the color of the water a bit. This stuff does not disolve quickly so do not mix the hardner in too soon.

You can also use multiple layers of resin and paint a progressivly darker (as you go deeper) color of transparent blue.



One thing to note is if you use this type of two part resin - it produces heat. Test pour on scarps of the same plastic you are going to submerge to make sure the resin does not melt the plastic.

Here ya go....

http://www.network54.com/Forum/110741/message/1181767057/Herr+Hauptman%27+Champagne.

Sorry, not sure how to do the linky thing.

Yeah, I completely forgot that it was an exothermic reaction... Nice. I'll probably have to go in small layers.
One more question: 1/35 tropical fish and diver... I guess there are SEAL sets I could make into civil divers, but do you have any idea about the fish?

Thanks.

"I used a bit of Ritt fabric dye to alter the color of the water a bit. This stuff does not dissolve quickly so do not mix the hardner in too soon."
Scott- you were very close.Next time mix the RIT dye with acetone and a little de-natured alcohol until it is disolved. Then mix it with your un catalyzed resin. Mix this for a while until the solvents evaporate,leaving the resin/dye behind. Then add the hardener(just a couple drops more than a clear batch) and proceed as usual.
To deal with the heat byproduct,use barrier materials like sand,grout ,or spackle.These are not affected by the heat and can protect the styrofoam from heat shrink if you use it for build up.
Cheers!

Rick, Nice tip on the Ritt disolving deal, thanks.
A barrier for the water is key when you can use one, like in mine I had to pour water right over the kit. Luckily in test pours the heat did not melt the plastic.

I made my own fish out of sculpy. You sould try the local pet store and see if they have any decorative elements you can use for fish.

I've seen Herr Hauptman's Champagne and it's great. I had forgotten about it.

How big of a "box" are you looking at? It might be lighter to build your dio then build a plexiglass box around it, and make that your water. The top of the box can be made with the resin to make waves & such.

Just an idea.

Jim

Andras, I have to agree with jimb's suggestion. If you haven't checked out the build on the website I posted earlier you should take a look, it's VERY well done. I believe that since these pics were taken Rhodes has re-worked the surface water.

Thank you all for the answers. I'd like to build this dio as a wreck in shallow water (5-6m), so the waves will definitely be a problem. Not to mention all the sealife and the divers.
You all have been very helpful. Thank you again

Hi Andras,

it might be too late, maybe not..
but in case it's only 5-6cm deep, you can try Vallejo's water products, one is still water, one is for waves.
Big advantage is, that if you pour it on non-absorbing surfaces, eg. glass or plastic, you can peel it away without damaging it.
So you could do the main mass around the plane with still, still water perfectly levels to flat, allowing you to do the waves separately, when done, peel it and just cut it to size and put it on the still water, hence nothing happens if you don't get the waves right for the first time. It produces no heat, but recommended to apply in 0.5-1cm layers, as it dries quicker.
Another option I saw in a magazine for deeper water, to put the thing in an aquarium and fill that will shower gel! Get the right color mixand just pour the aquarium up, cheap, but gonna be heavy and you better to glue and seal the top, a drawback, that you cant do waves, but looks absolutely amazing!
No idea for the diver and doubt that you could get scale fish for that.

Hope it helps
Denes

Thank you all for the suggestions! The project is still in its infancy - it will be a while when I actually start to build it.
I'm checking what kind of species populate artificial reefs in the Pacific