# Water Effects - Cloudy Water? Some other diorama questions too.



## Silens (Dec 26, 2010)

Does anybody know how to make cloudy water using water effects? I'm planning a diorama based on the undead, and I was going to have a bit of water to the side. Lots of it is Lord of the Rings inspired, though I doubt I'm actually going to use any LoTR models in the diorama.

Can you make a fog effect without actually using a miniature fog machine? Where can I buy miniature fog/smoke machines? How much does a decent one cost? 

My idea is going to include either one man, or a group who stumble across some undead. Should they being crapping themselves? Getting into a combat position? Should I have one guy or a few? Care to suggest any models to fit the scene?

What sort of material should I be using as a base for the diorama?


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## Alexious (Apr 13, 2009)

As I am currently doing some work on something similiar for my unit fillers some advice for you with using water affects...

1). Layer it... as it will dry and shrink. 
2). The cloudy affect or dirty affect your after comes more from the base of what the clear liquid will be sitting on.

Smoke is almost impossible to do correctly... napoleonics do some of it for smoke from cannon and I have yet to find anyone who does it well and convincingly. Cotton wool and thread etc can almost get that affect, but its still very static and unkempt.

If you are building it as a display, you would be better doing a backdrop with fog, or mist painted as a picture almost... to get the affect your after.

Please show us your work and ideas. Keep it up.


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## Silens (Dec 26, 2010)

I'm currently trying to decide whether to get some Ring Wraiths and remove the weapons, or stick with a single Banshee model as ghosts in the fog. The ghosts would be at the mouth of a cave, or dark crevace which the adventurers were planning to enter..


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

to get the water looking muddy you can use dry pigment powders layered under the water effect.


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## Silens (Dec 26, 2010)

What about cloudy though? What if I scored lines all over the place between the layers. Would this make it white, or would the next layer just fill in all the lines?

Oh, and with the smoke, I'm not sure if some companies do black smoke machines, but I wanted it to be white for fog. I'd like the fog to flow out of the cave and settle over the ground, obviously it would move if being pushed away by more fog. It may sound silly, but there was a Thomas the Tank Engine model that came out a few years back in the UK with a "safe smoke" machine inside. Would that sort of thing be appropriate?

If I do end up going the route of custom building a water-based smoke machine (I found a guide on the internet) then how would I go about water-proofing the models and scenery? Would a varnish spray do the trick?


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## frogdude (Dec 2, 2011)

Small ultrasonic mist machines can be had for about a tenner, and Exo-terra branded ones designed for reptile vivariums are smaller still and cost about £22. They need to be submersed in water to just the right depth to work, and because the water goes down as the machine turns it to fog, a small body of water would need regular topping up. It's do-able, but these are the downfalls. To waterproof the water holding area, i'd use yacht varnish (or maybe just incorporate a small tupperware tub hidden in the cave).


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## Silens (Dec 26, 2010)

With the mist rolling out over the painted models and scenery though, there will still be damage from condensation if I don't protect it. Is yacht varnish suitable for miniatures?


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## Wolfbane (Oct 22, 2011)

Dry ice? That would work pretty well for fog. Using small enough amounts. Check youtube for dry ice fog videos.


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## frogdude (Dec 2, 2011)

Silens said:


> With the mist rolling out over the painted models and scenery though, there will still be damage from condensation if I don't protect it. Is yacht varnish suitable for miniatures?


Normal PVA will make scenery waterproof enough (i've used it in frog vivariums with 95% humidity, being sprayed down with water 4 times a day). I'd think yacht varnish would be too shiny for minis. Maybe a spray polyurethane varnish? Or even the normal sealing spray. Considering the effort it takes to strip paint, i don't think condensation would be much of an issue for the models themselves though.


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## Silens (Dec 26, 2010)

Dry ice is an idea... But it's a lot harder to use than topping off a tank and pressing 'on'. I can't get dry ice out of the tap.  Paint may be a pain to get off, but I've mixed dried out paint pots with water to get some paint. Normally, this is crap at first... But over time you eventually get some paint.


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