How to do shell splashes. . .

QUOTE: Originally posted by ga.retread I was to do a diorama of an amphibious landing. . . .maybe Omaha Beach, or one of the Pacific islands, doesn't reallymatter right now. Problem - I can't figure out how to represent explosions in the water. Has anyone done this already, and can you give me some pointers?

I don't know how it was done but check this out. http://www.pasadenamodelers.com

Heres how i did my dio of a ground explosion, and it turn out pretty cool. First I applied a toilet paper cardbord thing(whatever holds the toilet paper) and cut it to alittle bit smaller than the hieght I wanted. Then i cut some wire and superglued it to the inside of the cardboard thing. next I covered the wire with plaster cloth. then I used Celluclay to cover the whole tthing up. THis process takes a few days but it works pretty good. enjoy.

Maybe a stupid question, but... what is saran ???

Mark_Henry, have you got some pics of those? I'm pretty curious to see how they look.

Thanks for the ideas, guys. Both methods sound good. I'll try them both and see which one looks the best. Yes, I would very much like to see those pics you mentioned, Jake.

Those are some good ideas.

I made a 1/72nd dio. of PT-109 several years ago for a client. The scene was the '109 making a run at a Jap destroyer launching a spread. I drilled several holes 1/8 inch through the base and positioned them to strattle the model as if the Japs were taking shots at the '109. I used sculpty mold to shape up the "water gyser" from the 5" guns and smaller one for the .50 cals. I will try to scan the pictures and email to those who want them. I re-post a notice when ready, you should really like this one.

Thanks for the tips Guys.
mark956

The splashes are actually pretty easy. Take a small section of saran wrap, say 6"x6". Then take your hand and circle your index finger and thumb to form a circle; lay the plastic wrap over the hole. Now, poke the saran wrap down into the hole. From below grab the saran wrap and twist it some - this ends up forming a funnel.

Fill this with 20-minute epoxy. Give it about six to eight minutes to dry then pour the excess epoxy out of the funnel. Give it another ten minutes to setup hard and then peel the saran wrap off the funnel.

I usually like to color the epoxy a dark blue/black color and then paint on accents in light blue and white. You can use a dremel (or similar) to cut off the point of the funnel and clean up any major imperfections - but remember that a splash wont be nice and clean with rounded edges, so keep it rough.

I've seen cotton batting used to represent spray in ship models. The "rings" and aftermath of the splashes could be molded in gesso or what ever medioum you are using for the water.

Mike