How l Am Doing My Ponds

[Beano Boy]

The 12.5Kg large Lump of Air Drying Clay has arrived to do Pond`s,Bases for Tree`s,and Whatever! Now were talking supper fast Modelling,and this stuff is reinforced with nylon fibre and will set hard in 10-12 hours and supper hard as if Kiln Baked in 24 hours.No messing about now it is possible to make a pond not needing a base,paint it and create the water effect in less then two day`s.They use this magic stuff in school`s so it has been well recommended as a top product.It cost £11.95 + £2.95 postage. Yes quite a massive Lump for that small amount of money. Can`t wait to get my hands dirty! Another update soon on the small pond`s in this Topic.

[Beano Boy]

Wow! That was heavy! Not good for me to lift it,but I just wanted to show you guy`s My LUMP!
Getting back to these Pond`s I did feel early`er like tossing them in the Bin,but didn`t.What I did do was this. This is the smaller pond,and I wanted to show how the corner piece I cored out at the beginning work`s. Place the tree on and push it into place. You might well ask Why? Simple really.Making a tree takes a lot of effort and placing it onto a base like this pond would mean having to work around it,because it`s in the way all the time. So I came up with this system where the tree is fitted last,but here is also the logical reason behind my thinking this up in such a way.The tree can be used on other pieces of work too ,just like it will be used to good effect here on the lager pond. The same right hand side tree is being used again here,saving me from making another tree.Place the corner pieces on and push them into place like so. The ponds are not finished the water level needs doing. However here at this stage my mind is working in supper drive and I`ve dressed these little pond`s up to show just how one can model a natural pond,a pond that is set in place by the water running from off the high ground. I think just the one horse here work`s well with the peaceful theme set in place after the the battle by me.The horses on the side of the other pond are that of Scots Grey`s their riders fallen upon the field.later I can add the trooper`s upon them giving me opportunity for another photo shoot.By placing bit`s and pieces in such away help keeps the eyes focused on the model without hopefully them flying off and into the beyond. The work done so far with using the cheap clear gloss Varnish has worked a treat,and the next two shot`s are of the reflection qualities of this stuff........... I hope some might like these tiny pond`s that seem to have been a little bit of Buffed Up with Shine!

[Peter]

I my opinion those pieces of wood are to large for your ponds. The horses look like dwarves in comparison with the wood. And do the comparison with the trees you placed on it and you see what I mean!
This sounds a bit negative maybe, but I just want to tell how I see it!

[Beano Boy]

Yes Peter I will take into consideration your honest opinion upon the subject of rather large dead tree`s. Where I live in the Deepest Greenwood of England us Gnomes are surrounded by Huge Tree`s. I will see what else FiddleWood can produce that might well please the eye of my Camera. One must play around with idea`s when Scratch Building,and a funny thought comes to mind."Perhapes a Huge Plastic Cat could be added to chaise after those Little White Mice! A picture will follow shortly I do believe,but where do I find such a Beast?"As for the horses they are the Smallest Heavy Horses that I have seen in 1/72 scale. ( Although the early Airfix horses of yesturyear were smaller.) Compered with Italeri Huge Light French Cavalry Horses they are little more then Tiny Circus Ponies! This is the company that produced each Set. Well it could be worse,I could have 191 of these Horses to paint up instead of the 190 that I do have. My! Oh! My! Is not painting Italeri Model Figures a Share Wonderment?

[Beano Boy]

Always being one fit for fun.Here we begin!
Once Upon a Time there was a Big old Tom Cat,called Puss by his friend`s ,and Pussy by his enemies, who just loved to eat Italeri Little Mice! It was indeed a feast to hungry eyes and bright tummy to chaise down such splendid tiny things. Overjoyed with such a sight he exclaimed,"Gosh! They are so Tasty Nice!"
He too, like Italeri was very short sighted,yes indeed.

Of course I found this one in the Grand Children`s rather Large Toy Box.Very Odd Eccentric idea`s must be well acted out and quickly too,before they are forgotten forever upon the Stream`s of Time. BB

[Beano Boy]

Here are a few photos of the little pond. I thought you`d like to see the weird reflections in the water...... I held it up to the window and the light filtered through the Ferns in the garden and the light played trick`s upon the pond......Tiny bubbles I left in after pouring because as Mrs B said it`s natural to have bubbles in water...... The pond has like a blue haze to it,and this was not expected at all,but then I gess that`s just me trying out a system that I have never done before. The pond`s were painted as shown before, however the cost of this water effect is so expensive £23 a small bottle,so I part filled the pond`s with Clear Gloss Varnish. It took a while to harden and clear.Looking at it I could see it was possible to achive some cheap little pond`s just by topping them up with this cheap clear gloss stuff.So that is what I did.OK it took a few week`s to harden and clear but time I have a plenty. Now as it dried it shrank down a little,and so I added a thin layer of the water effect stuff. It took four days to clear and I added another tiny layer on top. This is what I have now at this stage..... Only I could end up with a blue pond after painting it a dark brown and green. So my pond`s are not muddy,but I like them, and so does Mrs B. What to do next is add grass and other stuff ,and hopefully both pond`s will soon be finished. The learning curb while doing this project now means the Waterways on the Honeywell Layout can now be started hopefully before the end of this year,and they will all be cast in Clear Gloss Varnish and have two skim`s of the water effect applied on top. So I am going to save tons of money by doing it that way,and all thank`s to my two little ponds.Sorry no Cat this time. BB