Warbird Information Exchange

First, a brief background: I am currently working on a display for our museum that involves a basic recreation of the aerial torpedo attack problem. I am currently planning on basing it on a slightly modified version of the diagram that appears at 15:00 in this video. The idea is to use a scale model of a TBM Avenger in a pose somewhat like this and some Japanese ship.

Obviously, I want to have something resembling water to cover the bottom of the display. However, I don't know what to use. I was hoping you guys could maybe offer some suggestions on what that could be. The display is a glass case that is roughly 4 feet square, so it has to be something that can cover a relatively large area. It also has to be something that can have some form of lines placed on top of it to represent the lines in the diagram from the video I linked to above.

I would like to point out that I have zero experience making any sort of models or displays. There is another person at the museum that has a good deal of model building experience, and he can assist me with finding and building aircraft models themselves (although your suggestions would still be appreciated), but we are kind of at a loss for how to cover the bottom of the display with water.

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

Here's what I would do:

Cut a sheet of 1/4 drywall to fit the bottom of the case.
Lay out all of your 'action'. Locate the ship especially. - I'm going to assume a waterline model. Trace the bottom of the hull onto 1/8inch thick something. Acrylic would be best, but plywood, or even cardboard would do. If ply or card,seal the edges with tape and pin it in the exact location of the ship.
Trowel a thin skim of drywall joint compound over the base. You could use gesso, or acrylic modelling past from the arts store, but drywall mud is cheaper. Lay it right up to the top of your ship cutout.
Use a long trowel (or even a piece of scrap wood) to 'skip-trowel' some texture on. Keep the texture parallel, this will be the start of the wave action.
Use a wet sponge or rag to smooth the waves out. You want to almost wipe it app away. Less is more, you want scale movement, not a gale.
Carefully remove you ship cutout. Cut around it with a knife, and/or dampen the mud so as not to crack it.

Walk away for a full day at least. Let it dry.

Once dry, raid the craft store for acrylic paint in sea colours. Blue, green etc. Get a couple of sponges cheap kitchen ones will work. rip them up into random shapes. Squirt a couple of different colours of paint on to a plate, or pieces of waxed paper - whatever. Dip your sponges into the paint and start dabbing it all over the base. Be random. Working with a sponge will let you adjust colours as you go, and avoid the brushed on look.

Once the colour is you your liking, let everything dry.

The paint section of you local DIY store will have gloss clear latex, probably under "Faux Finishing Glaze" Put at least three generous coats of the glaze over your base. Use a short nap roller kept well wet with paint (ie, don't try to 'stretch' the amount you can roll before going back to the pan). It goes on white, and dries clear, so don't freak out.

Finally you can add your ship model, model the waterline , bow, and stern wakes with a little flat white acyilic, add your diagram lines and Robert is your mother brother

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Lest Hero-worship raise it's head and cloud our vision, remember that World War II was fought and won by the same sort of twenty-something punks we wouldn't let our daughters date.

This is so excellently detailed, I may have to take some time to understand it. Thanks.

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster