Make a lake, part 3 – It’s all water under the bridge for this episode of the Back on Track mini-series, hosted by Gerry Leone on his HO scale Bona Vista RR. With the lakebed colors applied, Gerry shows how to add water effects, as well as a few special details a keen-eyed visitor might spy. Be sure to keep your membership current to monitor Gerry’s efforts and progress, along with all the other content found exclusively on Trains.com!
Getting to know Gerry Leone
Back on Track host Gerry Leone is just as clever as he is comedic! But even better, he’s a masterful model railroader who’s knowledgeable in numerous areas of the hobby. In his MR Video Plus/Trains.com series Off the Rails, audiences enjoyed learning many of the helpful tips and techniques he used to assemble various layouts over the years. Exclusive Trains.com video highlights much of his previous Bona Vista Railroad HO scale layout, and even examines specific details of his scenery construction in his Spaces to Places series.
With so many of Gerry’s talents at hand, we wouldn’t want any of them to go to waste! You can be sure to find him lending assistance in the construction of several other Trains.com projects, including work on the O scale (1:48) Olympia Logging Co., the HO scale (1:87) Winston-Salem Southbound, and even the N scale (1:160) Canadian Canyons.
If you’re looking to find some of the tools and supplies Gerry uses in his path to modeling success, look no further than KalmbachHobbyStore.com. There, you’ll be able to further examine and directly purchase products he and other notable model railroaders frequently reference in Trains.com videos!
Use the WS water product and wanted to do fish but did not do so as I could not figure the way to do it. I also did two pours and now wish I had waited for your ideas. Oh well, next layout maybe?? I used the murky water and it turned out okay considering it was a first try but, yup, I had a bigger leak than you but only on a small area so was able to catch it. That stuff finds the smallest of holes! And yes try Miniprints – being a Canadian, I highly endorse their products – q
Another great Gerry video! I’ve used EnviroTex Lite for both a river w/waterfall and a pond, and also tried Woodland Scenics Realistic Water in a large pond with good results. You mentioned in your video that you probably could have used even more vegetation on the lake bottom. I tried sprinkling Noch Foliage leaves onto my water pour in an attempt to create areas of lily pads. You being from Minnesota Gerry have doubtless seen many of our 10,000 lakes with large areas of lily pads. In fact, if memory serves, some guy named … Gerry Leone, wrote a great article in the March 2001 MR about lily pads, pond scum and cat tails. Anyway, I sprinkled the Noch leaves onto the water surface too soon and they sunk to the bottom. Not the effect I was looking for, but it actually created wonderful weed areas under the water. Chastened, I waited some hours longer and again sprinkled more leaves onto the surface. By now the pour had partly cured, the leaves remained afloat and I had my areas of lily pads.
So hard to come up with fish in HO scale. Think your method is a great way to make it look real. I cut little slivers of aluminum with tin snips. But should have painted out some of the shiny parts.
Thanks for comments, everyone! The fish are always a subject of discussion. I’ve found, though, that visitors love discovering them. People marvel at all the details on the layout, but when they get to the fish, they’re blown away. And you guys saw the close up of the fish — nothing to write home about. But the fact that the waves obscure the lack of details helps a lot.
Donald — I’ll have to give WS Deep Pour a try. Which is harder to live with: a high pricetag now, or discolored water for the rest of the life of the layout? And yup, the water in the back of the boat was an accident, but it makes for a better story with the sleeping fisherman!
Robert — NOW you tell me…! Next lake I make, i’ll check out Preiser and Miniprints.
Good video using a great product. As an aside, both Preiser and Miniprints make HO fish.
As a replacement, I’ve used Woodland Scenics Deep Pour. It is kind of pricy. I hope the boat doesn’t sink with the water in the back. It is a beautiful lake.
Very nicely done Gerry! I think the fish are a great touch and are sure to be a conversation starter. It’s been a wait, but well worth it. I learned several things today and might be able to apply them to a pond I have planned.
Gerry – I love the series, but with respect to HO scale fish – I think you may have “jumped the shark”.
Jack M.
Hi, folks — I’m deeply sorry to hear about both the passing of the man who owned Magic Water, and the fact that it’s not going to be available anymore. It’s got an infinite shelf life, so if you see any in your local hobby store, grab it!
Alan — I don’t know of an equivalent. As I mentioned in the video, the “E-T” stuff I used turned light brown, and I have other friends whose rivers and lakes did the same with that product.
Artie — I’d guess the final depth of the lake was between 3/8” and 1/2”. The painting on the lake bottom makes it look a lot deeper than it really is.
Steve — As always, thanks a million for your overly generous comments! 🙂
Hi Gerry – I always look forward to your videos! I ordered Magic Water and got an immediate refund. The owner passed in November and the company is no longer in business. Do you know of any equivalent product? Do you recommend anything else that might not turn the color of “root beer”? Thanks for your help. Alan
Thanks Gerry for another informative and entertaining video! Quick question – how thick/deep was the resulting 2 pours of the Magic Water to form the lake?
Love the fact that you do “audibles” every once in a while – and explain them in the videos – gives added confidence/incentives when we try the techniques that you demonstrate.
Artie
I really appreciate this 3 part series on the little lake. Especially value your helpful hints and test runs with the laytex gel, and the suggestion and advantages of using Magic Water. Great suggestion. Steve Moore, SLC