Ideas on how to make this type of water body. I am not very good at this sort of thing. I have used Woodland Scenics "Realistic Water" before but it all leaked out before it dried.
Now I have just bought the type that you melt in a pan and pour into the area you want the water to be but I use styro for my bases and am afraid that it might dissolve them before drying.
I thought that Vallejo made something that came in paste form and dried clear but I cannot remember where I saw it. Thanks, Rob

It looks like poured clear resin to me.
Anything you pour, I'd suggest trying out plain water first to make sure the dikes or dams, retaining wall- pick a suitable name here, are water tight before pouring the resin. Can't help you on the effects of clear resin and Styrofoam, so again maybe a test on some scrap would be a good idea.

Check out this feature -it gives some really nice tips on water and lillies and such
sokol

"but it all leaked out before it dried. " well bad luck with that. how much did you get the water for because i found that same product for AUD $30, and i wasnt sure if it was a rip off or not

Rob, I really like this - especially the first pic with the lilly pond...

Hi Rob.
I remember Ulf´s explanation on how he made his previous diorama, and there he used resin for the water effect. Whatever he used, he ordered it from the states, so it wasn´t scenic water as that is available here. Unfortunately if you want to use the same items to get these effects, you´re gonna have to change from styrofoam as your groundwork media ... at least in the surrounding areas. If the walls are molded spackel and then scribed, and as you can see, he has used the wooden frame on the outside, this should still be easy enough. You could still use styrofoam to build up the banks, but these would need to be coved with spackel to protect them, and also fill any gaps between wall and outside frame, so the resin doesn´t leak.
The resin will need to be self-levelling to get this smooth effect and also be able to add some colouring to get it darker. This has the advantage of taking on the colours of the surrounding walls and reeds, exactly like natural water would. The water lillies can be added on top and sealed with future to give a gloss finish.

Edit. Just read the article on Ulf´s previous dio, and it was "Envirotex Lite" that he used for the water.

Hey guys check this out, lots of useful info on this site.


http://www.hirstarts.com/tips15/tips15.html#pools

Hope this helps out.

Amazing job once again guys! Thanks to you all.
To answer the question regarding the Realistic Water purchased here in the states I paid $11 US. This product has a slightly "slimy" appearance after it has dried and fairly high viscosity as it tends to "gather" around the items rising above the water line. It was designed for use, of course, on RR themes so the quality of appearance is not what we are accustomed to seeing in mil dios.
Thanks again,.....rob

Would anyone happen to know about the "lillies" are they made from PE? I see them quite a bit and do not have a clue. Thanks, Rob

Rob,
I use styrofoam as the build up base on my dios but cover it with plaster of paris and paint. For the water I have used a product called enviro-tex. A two part clear resin that you must mix . I paint the bottom of the bed black or dark brown and add color. As the pours build upyou add less color and you will see that embeded objects will desapear into the depth of the water like in real life.CATION!!! The stuff gets pretty warm so pour thin layers as you don't want to melt you plastic model. To get ride of any air bubbles, blow through a straw gently as it has a chemical way of rising the traped air. Add ripples with artist acrylic gel medium. Make sure all your plants and weeds are added before pouring as it is impossable to add latter. Hope this helps.
bob