STEP BY STEP

1

To make the canal bed, cut away part of the 5mm foamboard sub-base. This is easy to cut and shape with a sharp craft knife, but you might find that some areas are glued rather too well to the baseboard below.

4

After the paint had dried I wiped the area with a damp cloth to remove any dust. I use Noch Modellwasser because it has given me excellent results. Apply fluid to a maximum depth of 2mm. Mine was nowhere near this thick.

2

I used Woodland Scenics Water Undercoat Olive Drab acrylic paints to colour the canal’s base. Looking at the picture, I should have spent more time removing those traces of stubborn foamboard.

5

Use a wooden coffee stirrer to drag the freshly poured water fluid to the sides of the canal and burst any bubbles. Leave each layer for a day to dry. Apply further thin layers and leave to dry to achieve your required depth.

3

You must ensure that the sides of a water feature are fully sealed before pouring in the fluid – it’ll leak everywhere if you don’t. I’ve found that Gorilla tape (available in most hardware stores) is most effective for this.

6

When the Noch fluid is dry, stipple Woodland Scenics Water Ripples gel onto the top of the dried water fluid with a paintbrush. Take your time – I wanted to create the effect of a light breeze ruffling the canal’s surface.

7

This is how the Water Ripples gel looked after drying for 18 hours. The water in the canal was about 1.5mm deep and it took four days to get to this stage because of the drying times of the two types of fluids used.

9

Laser-cut plants come on a backing sheet. Cut them from the securing tags and hold each with a pair of fine tweezers. Press a hole in your baseboard with a bradawl or pin vice and affix with a dab of PVA. These are Noch reeds (14102).

8

Once I was happy, I lightly covered the canal in kitchen clingfilm to protect it, as I was about to finish the scenic areas by adding more static grass fibres, including on the canal banks.

10

I also wanted to use several Noch water lilies (14140). These plants are made from laser-cut card but other plants are available, such as Busch’s moulded plastic models. Noch’s plants don’t require any paint, and they’re really dainty!

11

Two of the Noch water lilies on the bank. I need to add another dozen of these to make an eye-catching cameo. I used Noch Water & Riverside plants (pack 14052) and Gaugemaster GM176 (includes water lilies and reeds).