Richard, as the 'surface' of the water is there already, try this method. I use it and it turns out just fine.
If you want to show the Sherman being there for some time (i.e the water has settled) After priming, dab the surface of the water along the water's edge with darkish green, this simulates shallow reeds ect. just under the surface....
Then dab Dk. green around the rest here and there. Repeat with Dk.brown then black until all is covered, with the exception of the green shallow bits, here just add a couple of dabs of the brown and black to break it up a little. Try and end up with a sort of cammo. effect in the middle (the more black the deeper the water will appear)
If the tank has just been dunked use different shades of brown around the hull, instead of green and black.
When this is dry, get some ordinary household gloss varnish and give all the water several coats until you get a good shine.....More coats the better, but make sure each coat is dry or streaks will appear and will ruin the effect. You will notice that with each coat, you will see the water appears to get deeper and looks almost 3D.
One last thing, go easy on the green in the main part of the river and when you do around the tank, just use black...This will give the impression of depth and shadows and will reflect the tank bob on.
It looks like a very nice diorama and I will be watching it develop. I hope the above will be of some use to you....
I know it's not really ethical to post pictures on someone elses thread, but I thought it might give you a better idea what I'm blithering on about! Mine is is stagnant water, yours should be nice and flat! lol
Cheers,
Ron
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