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The Courtesan Koi Sisters

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  • Member since
    November 2016
The Courtesan Koi Sisters
Posted by Harrytheheid on Monday, November 28, 2016 8:17 PM

These beauties in white metal are from Alexandros Models. The basic 75mm size figure is supplied with different heads, so two of them just cried out to be done and placed into a vignette. The bridge is an item for an aquarium, the weeping willow, various flowers and static grass are from Scenic Express and Reality in Scale, the stream is "magic water" from Unreal Details and the vignette base is another of those Chinese miniature display tables that I use so often.

Cheers

Oh yeah, and here's the Koi....

And here's an additional snap I found on my PB account:-

  • Member since
    April 2007
  • From: Amarillo, TX.
Posted by captfue on Monday, November 28, 2016 9:15 PM

Real nice work, turned out great

Rules are overrated
  • Member since
    November 2016
Posted by Harrytheheid on Monday, November 28, 2016 9:20 PM

captfue

Real nice work, turned out great

 

Thanks - glad you like the vignette

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Tuesday, November 29, 2016 7:29 AM

Yeah, that's amazing Harry. Love the detail work on the kimonos and the whole scene you've created there. And having them on the bridge does make me think off the description used: 'the floating world' as to the whole um.. 'entertainment' side of Japanese culture of that time. 

 

Oh and I don't know if this is any interest to you but I recently used some of this stuff and was really impressed by the look of how it came out:

http://www.sceneryexpress.com/JAPANESE-CHERRY-LEAF-PETALS-24-OZ-ECO-PAK/productinfo/653-6543/

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    November 2016
Posted by Harrytheheid on Tuesday, November 29, 2016 8:51 AM

Gamera

Yeah, that's amazing Harry. Love the detail work on the kimonos and the whole scene you've created there. And having them on the bridge does make me think off the description used: 'the floating world' as to the whole um.. 'entertainment' side of Japanese culture of that time. 

 

Oh and I don't know if this is any interest to you but I recently used some of this stuff and was really impressed by the look of how it came out:

http://www.sceneryexpress.com/JAPANESE-CHERRY-LEAF-PETALS-24-OZ-ECO-PAK/productinfo/653-6543/

 

Hah....Big Smile....I've got a pack of that stuff. It's what I used to detail these....

....which were for a 54mm fantasy Samurai diorama that I'll showcase fairly soon on a separate thread.

Cheers

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Tuesday, November 29, 2016 11:38 AM

Awesome, I'm looking forward to the new dio. Yes

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    June 2014
  • From: New Braunfels , Texas
Posted by Tanker - Builder on Thursday, January 12, 2017 10:22 AM

Hmmm;

 Can you say simply ethereal ? T.B.

  • Member since
    May 2015
Posted by Griffin25 on Thursday, January 12, 2017 11:38 AM

Very cool. The stream and koi look superb! How is that water product to work with? It looks really nice.

 

 

Griffin

  • Member since
    November 2016
Posted by Harrytheheid on Friday, January 13, 2017 12:56 AM

Griffin25

Very cool. The stream and koi look superb! How is that water product to work with? It looks really nice.

 

Here's a link to the "Magic Water" webpage:- http://www.unrealdetails.com/

It's easy enough to work with, but when you add Part A to Part B and then pour it into the diorama it literally has the viscosity of water, and if the groundwork is porous then it will completely wick away and you'll end up "Magic Watering" the workbench, and if you're really unlucky, the entire floor....Surprise

If you seal off the edges of the diorama, then the initial very low viscosity of the mixed resin is actually a bonus if you want to depict a swamp, but not much use if you want a stream or a pond.

The manufacturer recommends applying a thin initial pour to seal a streambed or pond; they also sell plastic pond bases, but I'm cheap and I've had better results using Woodlands Scenic Flex Paste as a sealant. Here's a link to it on their website:- http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/Item/C1205/page/1

Curing time to the stage where you can work with the resin and add movement effects is around 12 to 16 hours depending on ambient temperature and humidity -- and then you have to be quick, because the working time is only around 45 minutes. Full cure then takes another 4 to 8 hours and it will cure crystal clear -- if that's what you want.

Tinting the stuff with acrylic paint doesn't work all that great, but you can do it with oil-based paint or pigments. Here's a frozen pond I added to an as-yet unfinished diorama.

The "ice" is tinted with a tiny drop of white pigment, but is still transparent enough for the blue/grey painted Flexipaste to add the illusion of depth.

Hope this is helpful.

Cheers

  • Member since
    November 2016
Posted by Harrytheheid on Friday, January 13, 2017 1:14 AM

Tanker - Builder

Hmmm;

 Can you say simply ethereal ? T.B.

 

Yeah, it's pretty simple, which is probably why it's one of my favorite little vignettes. Here's a few updated photos.

Cheers

  • Member since
    March 2007
  • From: Michigan
Posted by tonka on Friday, January 13, 2017 11:34 AM

Very sharp and different. Not something you see every day in figs!

What did you use for the Koi?

]

  • Member since
    November 2016
Posted by Harrytheheid on Friday, January 13, 2017 3:24 PM

tonka

Very sharp and different. Not something you see every day in figs!

What did you use for the Koi?

 

The Koi are available from Scenic Express. I used two sets of them.

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Bethlehem PA
Posted by the Baron on Monday, January 16, 2017 12:25 PM

Harrytheheid

...The manufacturer recommends applying a thin initial pour to seal a streambed or pond; they also sell plastic pond bases, but I'm cheap and I've had better results using Woodlands Scenic Flex Paste as a sealant. Here's a link to it on their website:- http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/Item/C1205/page/1

Hi, Harry!  How would a liquid acrylic work, as a sealer under the water material?  I'm thinking of Future, specifically, since many of us have it handy on the bench.

Best regards,

Brad

A PS with an additional thought--whether acrylic gel would work, too?  Or is stuff too harsh while curing, so it would eat through or dissolve Future, gel, etc?

The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen.

 

 

  • Member since
    November 2016
Posted by Harrytheheid on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 8:11 PM

the Baron

 

 
Harrytheheid

...The manufacturer recommends applying a thin initial pour to seal a streambed or pond; they also sell plastic pond bases, but I'm cheap and I've had better results using Woodlands Scenic Flex Paste as a sealant. Here's a link to it on their website:- http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/Item/C1205/page/1

 

 

Hi, Harry!  How would a liquid acrylic work, as a sealer under the water material?  I'm thinking of Future, specifically, since many of us have it handy on the bench.

Best regards,

Brad

A PS with an additional thought--whether acrylic gel would work, too?  Or is stuff too harsh while curing, so it would eat through or dissolve Future, gel, etc?

 

I've no idea whether you can use "Future" as a sealant Brad; I've never been able to get my hands on the stuff in China, although I'm sure that it exists here.

I'd think any kind of sealant will work okay just to provide a barrier between porous groundwork and the magic water. The resin itself is pretty inert when it's initially mixed and even when the catalyst starts visibly working and it begins to harden after around 12 to 16 hours, it doesn't generate any heat, so I'd think it's fairly benign stuff and won't attack any kind of sealant you choose to try.

I've occasionally used silicone caulking as a sealant, and even tried a few coats of cheap varnish slapped straight onto the groundwork, although it's difficult to ensure there's no pinholes present that the resin can leach through. Heck, I've even used the plastic lids off various sizes of yoghurt cartons as a barrier for the resin when I wanted to depict puddles in my groundwork.

Anything that's non-porous will do the job, and as previously mentioned, I've found that Flex Paste from Woodlands Scenic works best....for me. 

Cheers

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Bethlehem PA
Posted by the Baron on Thursday, January 19, 2017 11:52 AM

Yeah, I've got Woodland Scenics' water product, for filling fountains and troughs.  I haven't tried using it yet to make streams, but it's pretty easy to use.

The first product I ever got, to model water, consisted of pellets that you had to melt over a heat source.  They were a pain in the butt to use, because of that.

The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen.

 

 

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