Build a watermill

George Dent usually shies away from creating running water effects, but he decided to have a go at creating a watermill scene based around a Wills plastic kit.

George Dent creates a watermill scene based around a Wills plastic kit.

nless it’s a stagnant pond or a modest stream, the thought of creating lifelike water features fills me with horror. And yet it’s something I’ve always wanted to ‘crack’, having had mixed fortunes in the past, to the point that I’d begun to avoid them like the plague.

Being in the midst of an international pandemic seemed like a good time to try and conquer my ‘aqua-phobia’, so I set myself the goal of recreating a watermill scene, complete with water wheel, sluice gates and white-water effects.

Richard actually gave me the idea, having mentioned the Wills watermill kit a few months ago, the main structure of which I built for last month’s Skills Station. The kit also includes a full set of sluice gates, plus materials to create piers,

U14 hrs (excluding the mill building)

a footbridge and the all-important water wheel. I initially thought that the latter was a little small and I wondered if it might make things a little tricky, but it actually looks fine within the finished scene.

While it took some time to think about the composition of the scene and how to create the running water effects, the project proved enjoyable and – dare I say it – might just have broken my phobia of modelling water. It did require lots of time, though, mostly spent waiting for stuff to dry in-between stages, but I’m very pleased with the results. Maybe a grand waterfall will be next…

The Wills watermill kit (MR276) consists of materials to create a mill building, plus sluice gates, water wheel, footbridge and brick piers. Printed plans are provided, but the building and accessories can easily be customised.

I spent time thinking about the layout of the mill scene, planning the route of the watercourse and how the water would be channelled through the wheel. Once satisfied, the scene was laid out onto an A3 sheet of foamboard.