Boatmill model construction

The river is on a flat MDF base covered with a thin layer of uneven brown builders plaster which is then painted with emulsion in various brown/green colours to simulate underwater of a shallow fast flowing river. The clear fibreglass resin was poured in thin coats over several days to avoid the risk of cracking and is probably less than 5mm thick in some areas except in depressions in the plaster where it might be 10mm or more, the dimples and ripples to the left of the boat unexpectedly occurred with the last resin pouring and luckily add to the realistic appearance of moving water.

To make the river look fairly deep on a flat board the centre is painted darker down the middle and lighter towards the bank, this gives the impression of a deeper channel for boats. The effect of moving water turbulence against the front of the boats and strings of bubbles are done by sprinkling white sugar into the freshly poured clear fibreglass resin which then completely envelops it and sets hard and it works really well