Harlem River Waters

A few days ago, I decided to complete the water body. It's my first time modelling water even if I've been doing model railroading for over 25 years now. Harlem River waters are your
typical greyish/brownish color found on any urban setting According to pictures, the surface is moderatly rippled.

The first step was to add the bridge pontoon. It's basically a block of MDF. I rusted it using acrylics and cosmetic sponges. These work wonders. I started by applying a base coat color mixed with chocolate brown and green. When dry, I airbrushed the seawalls base with a mist of alcohol and India ink. I made sure the water near the walls was darker to give the impression waters are deep there.

Next step was to apply acrylic gloss medium gel. After a few minutes, when starting to get thicker, I dabbled the surface to create the ripple. A lot of air bubbles got trapped into the mix and it was really annoying to remove them. It wasn't perfect, but still decent. The next morning, another coat was added and dabbled. For this second coat, I added some acrylic paint to the medium to get a darker shade of my base color. I used it to create shadows on the water. I often saw that kind of shadow when St. Lawrence river's waters are muddy. Some highly were also added and I dramatized the shadow near the walls.

 
Finally, today, I added two coats of Future Floor finish. I heavily diluted Citadel washes to make this layer muddy. It really helped to subdue my crude painted shadows. They are quite cartoony I must say. At least, when the tug and carfloat are there, it looks better. I'm aware it could be better, but show must go on. I have to fit against my improductive perfectionnist state of mind for once. Anyway, the layout is already beyond Jérôme's expectations.

I also built concrete walls with cardboard. These will surround the property on 148th Street and Exterior Street. They were painted with Krylon flat camouflage beige then weathered liberally with oil paints. When dry, I dullcoted them. I love those easy technics, they really bring life to the most generic structures.

The carfloat is also getting a coat of paint and rust. More to come.