Violinist diorama base work part 6

Well painting the figure didn’t really happen.  Too many nights of broken sleep for that which makes the eyes rather fuzzy at the end of a work day.  I did get the first cut of the face done and I’m pretty happy with that.

Looks super clear...

On the base side things are all coming together.  The resin pour for the pond worked really well.  It looks totally clear.  However from the side there are some tiny micro bubbles (or maybe dust?) visible.

...but not so much

So not sure if I’ll box in the sides or keep them visible.  I’ll be covering the top now with the Vallejo Water Effect gel to get some water ripples.  I painted up three leaves to be floating on top of the pond water.  Lastly I’ll be putting on the water effect to the pond with the leaves (the water effect can be used as a glue for the leaves) on top.  Should get that finished off tonight.

Autumn leaves painted up

For the fountain/wall I varnished the fountain in a gloss varnish to add to that marble sparkle effect.  I use Vallejo Gloss varnish which I apply via an airbrush.  I find approx 50/50 varnish to water works best.  I normally do 3-4 coats but keep them very thin and let them dry (which only takes a few minutes) between coats.

Diggers casting resin and catalyst

With the fountain then varnished (and left for a day) I mixed up some clear casting resin for the base of the water in the fountain.  This was because using the water effect would take ages to build up.

Plastic lid to keep the dust off while the resin dries

If you apply the Vallejo Water effect too thick it dries white, not clear.  The Diggers brand casting resin cures without any bubbles.  It's a two part product and you buy the catalyst separately.  You have to be careful not to add to much catalyst otherwise while the resin cures it can get quite warm (or in one test case I did, too hot to touch) and potential damage items.  Too little, it may not set.  The only problem is that it the resin is slightly yellow, hence why I didn’t use in in the pond.  When the resin is dry then I’ll glue on a piece of fishing line from the fountain spout to the basin and use the water effects to make the stream of water.

Basin full of "water"