Gentlemen: As a rule I never stick my nose into anything, I'm a lurker. But, I feel bad about something, years ago I promised to find the perfect way to model water, I found it, and in the process lost some friends. So here goes, while taking some art related courses, mold making, lost wax to be exact, I cast an 18 inch chunk of ocean in glass, with a bronze whale diving through it. Next was the "proof" piece, a 6 inch wax square with a 1/700 Alpha. Perfection! The only other model I built was a "from scratch" Cyclops from a Stan Mott, Road & Track cartoon using telephone parts. The tools you need are a wood burning tool with changable tips, metal double ended scupting tools(cut them in half and fit into wood burner). A variable power source. These are for smaller scales. For larger scales an alcohol lamp and an assortment of spoon sizes. When you work the wax it's liquid, as soon as you remove the heat it freezes in place. You can move large amounts or very small bits, vary the heat to change the effects. Use low heat and "pop" the tool off the surface and you get the amazing vein texture that makes the water come alive. The more you work it the more tricks you'll learn. Stipple the foam with white paint, no gloss, all the other water is glossed over. Experiment with differant waxes & paints. Dyes/tinted wax will bleed into paint, you can play with white drier lint (after you remove the hair & dingleberries), and cut brush bristles for spray & splashes depending on scale. Any time you want to change it, repair it, add to it, you can. To tint you might try blending crayons into melted wax. You can use a solid chunk or any base you want, use glass or plastic and sculpt above and below the surface with the ship suspended in it. To melt larger amounts you need a crock pot, don't inhale the fumes, wax will stay in the lungs, it smells nice! Got that off my chest, I felt bad all these years reading about the problems model makers have with water. I have seen some great water, but no matter what you use if it don't look like the picture..... Good luck al
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