To get diorama water effects in the miniature world, you could make them, for sure, the way that I explained it in this long article of mine.
In that article, there are already a few products that you can buy in a craft shop or online, that are being used to create wonderful miniature waterfalls, beaches, or rivers.
But if you really want to be sure of the special effects to create diorama water effects, and it is just easier to do, then there are all sorts of products available on the market for you!
Today I am going to review 4 of them. (from up to 4 stars and more, as usual, because we want the best quality)
Product Number 1.
Product Name: Woodland Scenics Realistic Water
Place(s) To Buy: Amazon
Owners: Woodland Scenics
Overall Rank:
Warranty: not found, please contact the seller on Amazon
Product Overview :
This product is ready to use and doesn’t need mixing. Squeeze it straight from the bottle onto your diorama to create all kinds and forms of water. 1 bottle = 16 fuid ounces of liquid gel and covers 17″ diameter area at recommended depth.
Beware: Follow the instructions carefully to have it turn out well! This means that you really need to follow the guidelines and poor the product in thin layers at a time and let it dry overnight to do the next layer!
The Good And The Bad :
The good:
- dries clear and realistic
- does a perfect job of simulating ocean and sea effects
- easy instructions
- can be dyed
- creates few bubbles
- Amazon’s choice
The bad:
- dries very slowly
- the viscosity of this product is not very high, so you have to use in several thin layers
- more on the expensive side
- if you want blue water, you need to add dye
Support: Contact the seller on Amazon.
My Final Opinion :
Perfect for what it is meant to do and that is creating oceans and beaches and so much more. But you do need to be patient!
Product number 2.
Product Name: Vallejo Still Water
Place(s) To Buy: Amazon
Owners: Vallejo
Overall Rank:
Warranty: Please contact the seller for info on this
Product Overview :
This contains a bottle of still water of 200ml (acrylic, watercolor).
The Good And The Bad :
The good :
- can be used for any kind of water-effects
- easy to use and cleans up easily
- cures faster
- seems like a great product for miniatures and things that don’t need a lot of product
The bad:
- Beware: as with the previous product, you need to apply it in thin layers and let it dry in between, or it will crack. Just so you know!
- Make sure to remove any bubbles before you let it dry
- You need to add dye if you want colored water
Support :
Contact the seller on Amazon.
My Final Opinion :
I think I would buy this product if I was working on small surfaces. Beware again to at least let it dry overnight in thin layers.
Product number 3.
Product Name: AKI Diorama Effects – Pacific Blue Water
Place(s) To Buy: Amazon
Owners: AKI Interactive
Overall Rank: 
Warranty: Please contact the seller.
Product Overview :
As you could see in the previous shops, these water-effect products do not always have a color, but mostly they are clear transparent. This is why I am adding a product and brand that is already mixed with a color to give it all kinds of (water) effects.
It comes in a can of 250 mm.
The Good And The Bad :
The good:
- This brand has a large variety of colors and effects. A list: wet/dry ground terrain, wet mud splatter, snow sprinkles, dark earth terrain, puddels, snow terrain, and so much more
- easy to apply
- affordable product
The bad:
- you need to let it dry for at least 24 hours
Support :
Contact the seller on Amazon
My Final Opinion :
If you are looking for an already mixed and ready-to-apply product, without having to worry about adding the right amount of dye, this product seems to be a fine one!
Product number 4.
Product Name: Clear UV Resin, Water Effect, Bluewyvren
Place(s) To Buy: Etsy
Price: $18,99
Owners: BlueWyvrenLLC
Overall Rank:
Warranty: Returns and exchanges accepted
Product Overview :
This product is a single-step gel with crystal transparency, applied directly from the bottle to create water effects.
The Good And The Bad :
The good :
– Easy to apply
– no need to mix
– ultrafast drying, cures in about 3 minutes
– can be built up in multiple layers
– quick shipping
The bad :
– no bad reviews were found
Support: Contact the seller.
My Final Opinion :
Seems like a perfect shop to buy this water-effect product! Not having to mix it with a hardener looks great to me as well!
My Final Conclusion.
I was going to review 5 products to create diorama water effects, but I could only find 4 with a few reviews (there’s not a lot of company’s producing these), so it is hard to tell in this article which one to buy to create your miniature water, but I do hope I could help you decide by providing the pro’s and cons/rates and prices and amounts of gel that you get for that price.
If you have any observations or questions, please do tell me in the comments below or why not join my new Facebook group?
I wish you happy crafting,
Kind regards,
Lizzy
One of the difficulty that it is in buying a commodity is the fact that it has a lot of products from different makers which makes it hard to know which one to buy or not. The water effects products you reviewed here are nice ams it’s really good that you specified the good and bad aspects. Thanks for sharing.
What a gorgeous website you have going here. I have always wanted my own dollhouse, and still do, except now I want to make one, not just play with one. I would love to see some photos of the different types of water effects that these products create, as I am sure it is hard to pick by just reading what the product does. Do you have any completed projects to show us? You have inspired me to go ahead and start building right now, but where to start?
Hello Michel,
Thank you for the compliments. As you can see in this article, there are a few pictures and videos of finished projects 😉 I would really advise you to also read the guidelines before you start your own projects ..
Happy crafting !
Lizzy
PS : you might start with a miniature kit, they are very handy for beginners, to learn the tricks and tips 🙂 I will be finishing ‘Millers’ garden’ from Robotime soon !