new Woodland Scenics "Deep Pour Water"

[arbomambo]

I've been watching, with lots of interest, reaction to the new Woodland Scenics (They've changed the corporate name to "Woodland", over their three 'divisions' now-'Woodland Scenics', 'Pine Car', and 'Scene-o-rama') 'Deep Pour Water' system...
apparently, this new product line is their answer to the issues they've had with the 'realistic water' system introduced in the 90's..
My previous water effects have all been done with gloss medium over a smooth, painted surface until this point. I decided to try the new system on a T-TRAK module I've had ready for a while. it's not really a 'throw away' module ( I designed it to fit between two existing modules) but it wouldn't be a tragedy if it were ruined beyond use.
I wanted to replicate a creek with a silty/sandy creekbed that is overgrown with brush, bushes, and trees...similar to many of the creeks that populate the coastal South-like "Burnt Corn Cree", a few miles from our home in Coastal Alabama...








the water is 'murky', but relatively clear, compared to a lot of muddier creeks...
WS makes a pre-tinted Murky version of their Deep Pour Water, but, after viewing their posted youtube videos, I decided I wanted something a little more clear, so I used the 'Clear' version and tinted it myself with their 'Murky' tint...
I used their free app to determine how much i would need (My creek bed is not perfectly flat-I modeled it as realistically as I could based on my photos of Burnt Corn Creek) and determined that I'd need two packages to make sure I could cover it in one pour...turns out I needed 1-1/2 packages.
I followed the directions to a 'T' and poured the water after mixing and tinting. My results were remarkable and I couldn't be more pleased. The videos and instructions make no mention of dams for open ended modules, so I contacted WS via Youtube and Facebook-they suggested polyethylene sheet, so I used that, backed up with wood 2x2s clamped to the module. This worked perfectly. the 'water' was fully cured within 24 hours and the polyethylene dam peeled away with ease. I will add some of their water 'ripples' over the surface, but that, along with all the foilage, will have to wait until we return from the National Train Show in Orlando next week.
I highly recommend this new system (I failed to mention how non-noxious the two part mixture is)
~Bruce

[ljudice]

Wow - that looks great!   Looking forward to trying it.

Thanks for the review!

[Jbub]

I'm curious on the comparison between envirotex lite and this.  Aren't they both two party epoxy systems? And do you think ws tint will work in envirotex?

[randgust]

I'm looking forward to trying this product myself as soon as I finish repairing all the damage from my ill-fated attempt to use Michael's Castin' Craft 2-part casting resin to do deep river water.   It may have worked well years ago on a 7x9" log pond, but it broke loose and split in three pieces on a 33"x8" river T-trak module.  So I can tell you what not to try.   I came agonizingly close to a 'ruined beyond use' issue myself, managed to peel it all back out like soft rock candy before it completely set up.

I'd heard enough stories about 'realistic water' not to try it, and this Deep Water is still so new few people have tried it, and I thank Bruce for posting these shots or I might have just given up.  I figured I'd stay with what I knew worked before.   Well, that didn't work either.  Deep Pour here I come.

[metalworkertom]

Thanks Bruce, I'll have to give this a try on my Gulf Coast layout. Though I may want mine a little Darker.

[MichaelWinicki]

"Magic Water" works like a champ... I've used it several times.

[casmmr]

Come on Bruce, where are the fish or at least a gator?  later, Craig

[arbomambo]

Craig,
lol...we don't see any fish any of the times we stop here with the pooches, Brewton, AL, but I'm sure there are fish throughout "Burnt Corn Creek" and in close by "Murder Creek"...it would be a simple thing to pose and suspend fish 'shapes' just above the creek bed before a pour (I would place a few in the eddies behind a rock or two). I'm sure I'll do something like that in a future module
As for gators, one has only to walk a few hundred yards from our home to see any amount of gators on any given day! Lots of gators in the brackish waters, and in the estuaries, here on the coast. But this type of fresh water creek (this sandy-silty fresh stream/creek) rarely supports gators; not saying that it doesn't happen here and there, but not very common. I do plan to do a 'South Louisiana'-style module soon (Think Southern Pacific's Sunset route across a wooden trestle and girder bridge, spanning a 'marshy' bayou, bordered by Cypress trees). Water Hyacinths, a couple of turtles sunning on a raised log, a Blue Heron, and yes, a gator upstream would fit right in on something like that! I grew up in New Orleans and the small communities on Hwy 90 to the west...
I excited about the possibilities of using this product much more in the future!
~Bruce

[randgust]

Three boxes of the Deep Pour Clear stuff went into the Allegheny River for the West Hickory Bridge module.... so far it seems like its working.... stay tuned for final results.

[chessie system fan]

Having tubed down the Styx River and kayaked similar creeks I'd say you've got it down pat.  If it wasn't the SF Southwest I'd say it needs to be filled with dead trees falling over from the sides and damming everything here and there.  I'm familiar with murder creek but not burnt corn creek.  Looks like a good place to railfan and soak up some sun.

[randgust]

It's not 24 hour full cure yet, but it's looking like a complete success.  Completely clear, rock hard, no issues at all.  I followed the directions (including the cover and restir for 5 minute part) exactly, and I worked out on a glass-enclosed front porch that kept the temp up around 80.  And covered it in a foil tent.

This stuff is VERY exothermic as it cures, the instructions didn't mention that that it's almost warm enough during that last stir that it's actually hot.   It's obvious to me that you need to keep the material warm to cure properly.  This is not something that would be easy to do in a cold basement.   It also didn't outgas much, nothing compared to the Michaels stuff.

I poured a portion 1/4" deep by 8 inches by 33 inches, used almost three boxes worth.   It hard-set in about 4 hours.   After it fully cures I'll pull off the containment dams and get some pictures posted.

[arbomambo]

Excited to see your results...
I failed to mention the exothermic aspect...it definitely heated the thin plastic cup supplied in the kit!...I also chose to mix the 5 minutes, cover for 5 minutes, then mix another 5 before pouring.
Bruce

[peteski]

Is it perfectly colorless clear or does it have slightly amber or yellow tint>

[randgust]

Completely colorless.    No shrinkage at all, no cracking, no film, and no odor that my wife complains about.  No visible attacking of any of the paints, or any of the other materials I left submerged on the bottom, including the Chooch bridge piers.

I highly recommend using the online volume estimator.  That's a neat tool to convert depth and surface area to ounces.   I had very little surplus.

I had a little material left over in the mixing cup and let it harden.   When I'm testing compatible materials, or otherwise messing around with the stuff to see how it does, it helps to have some destructive test material. 

Like most of the two-part resin products, you've got 'creep' up on the bank edges that can sometimes be unsightly.  I can use vegetation in this case to hide that edge, but I also want to find out if it can be painted over, so I'll test paints on my sample. 

[peteski]

Completely colorless.    No shrinkage at all, no cracking, no film, and no odor that my wife complains about.  No visible attacking of any of the paints, or any of the other materials I left submerged on the bottom, including the Chooch bridge piers.

Thanks!  From what is described here it sounds like some sort of epoxy resin (and not urethane or polyester). I need clear resin for making clear headlights and other lenses for my other hobbies.  If this really is colorless (and hopefully won't yellow over time) that would be perfect for making those lenses.  I should pick up a package and try it myself.