Thanks.

I have a pair of magnifying glasses that I wear when I am doing the details.

https://www.amazon.com/Magnifier-Professional-Head-Mounted-Binocular-Magnification-1-5X/dp/B0BL7VMJLR

And I also have a magnifying lens with a built in light.

The next step was water effects - both ripples and waves on the surface of the ocean, the stream running from the cliff into the ocean, and the waterfall.

First, I got the whole thing back into the hobby room/workshop. It's awkward to carry, because the resin is HEAVY, but of course all of the landscape is foam, so the weight is really uneven at this point.



Again, I watched some Youtube videos, and decided to purchase some products specifically made for water effects.  This stuff (as it says on the label) is for ripples and waves on the ocean surface.


And this stuff is for the waterfall.  Basically, you pour this out on a flat surface (like glass or acrylic), and then when it's mostly dry, you can peel it off and shape it.  


So first I did some ripples on the surface of the ocean.  It's definitely tricky to work with this stuff, since it will try to level somewhat, so there's definitely some trick to how you apply it, and how much.


Then I started to build up the waves I wanted.


After that, I mixed in white paint in order to create whitewater and wave crests and water breaking/splashing, and effects on the surface (including on the stream and waterfall)

After the water effects were all done, then it was "just" a matter of painting all of the figures, and putting them into position ... along with additional stuff like salvaged planks, oars, shields, swords, spears, etc.

And that's it; the two-and-a-half month project from start to finish, bringing us back full circle to the finished photos - with everything in place - in the first post of this thread.

I hope this was interesting to anyone who read it.  It was very enjoyable and satisfying to make this diorama, and I am glad I did it.  

As an aside, I absolutely LOVE that someone identified a screenshot of John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in the background as being from that greatest.of John Ford movies, "Rio Grande"

Thank you!



I was thinking about this diorama for years before I actually got off my ass and did it.

Maybe you'll be posting about your diorama next year!