Riptide build part 8.1: Base Update

I picked up a Secret Weapon Miniatures (SWM) Masterclass Scenics: Mud and Water kit about a year ago as well as a collection of SWM's weathering pigments. 

Until now I had not used any of them. 

Pro Tip - If you follow the instructions and you mix some of the realistic water with some of the pigments and or the sand or plaster..... mix just a little bit and set it aside for about 4-5 minutes to allow the pigments/sand/plaster to soak up the realistic water. 

I just mixed some up, thought it looked great, started applying it to the base and suddenly (4-5 minutes in) I had a rather solid and hard to do anything with clump of brown (see 4th pic). I then thought..."Gee, I'll just add more realistic water to thin it back up." That sort of worked but by the time I got it thinned out again so I could apply it to the base...I'd used 70% or so of my realistic water and had WAY more brown mud than I could possibly use on this base.

So take your time mixing it up so that you won't wind up wasting a lot like I did.

All that said, I think it's great, works really well and is easy as heck to use even with little or no experience. Like I said, I'd not used any of it before so this was my first go at it and I think the final image in this post shows how well it looks even when done by a novice like myself. Granted there's still more I want to do to the base but I could just leave it as it is.

Note that there's several days between a lot of these pics as it takes about 24 hours for the realistic water to dry. Because you should only apply it in very thin layers, it can take multiple applications (days) to get the depth that you want. I believe if you pour it too thick it will dry and be foggy looking. I wanted a clear look so I've been taking my time.

I did mix in 2 or 3 different sizes of model train gravel/ballast. I have some Army Painter stick on bushes/weeds etc as well as some other foliage items that I may use on it. I'm sort of liking the minimalist look that it has currently with just the two tiny weeds/bushes.

You'll see in some of the pics where the recessed/lower areas or puddles got darker...that's just where i airbrushed on some of the Army Painter dark tone.

As always, CC is welcome and appreciated!

Thanks for looking!