First layer is ON! (Patreon)

My friends, today is the day when we write history! 😆 My first pour of epoxy water was a (partial) success (for the most part).

Let me start with the most obvious mistake. I was too afraid to tint the resin too much and make it overly opaque. This turned out to be my downfall, because you can still see where the tank was cut in half. I'm not 100% desperate at the moment because I still gotta pour a second layer that will make the water deeper and thus, more opaque... hopefully? Needless to say, because this is murky water in a shell crater, I could've made it completely opaque and it would still look alright. 

Also, it's important to try which paints mix with the resin. Vallejo doesn't work, neither does Ammo Splashes or Heavy Mud (these will fall apart into tiny pigment grains), regular AK or Ammo enamels work fine, but I didn't have a suitable color. In the end I went with Tamiya Khaki acrylic paint and I used 7 drops for 90ml of resin. Yeah, I should've added a LOT more drops! 

BTW, this is Resin Water from AK we're talking about. I bought the smaller 180ml package and half of the contents was enough for this first pour. 

It's not easy to pour the resin over such a complicated surface. I had to do it in small sections, creating small pools and letting them connect together. In tight places, such as around the barbed wire, I had to help the resin with an airbrush needle. Once everything was covered with resin and the surface tension was gone, I carefully poured the remaining resin. In some places it creeped up the terrain in an awkward way, but I partially blended that by pushing the remaining resin with an airbrush needle, because it tends to bead up where surface tension gets higher. 

I stirred it very carefully to avoid air bubbles, but there were still a few very small ones here and there. I completely obliterated them with a quick hit of Dremel blow torch/gas soldering iron. 

Now the diorama is sitting on a level surface covered with a box to protect the resin from dust. I'll let it sit overnight and see if it's safe to pour the second layer in the morning. In the meantime, I'll start painting the soldier!