Modular Canal Terrain

Well, some things are happy accidents like the caustic pools....and some things don't turn out the way you'd like. These modular canals were basically one big experiment to see just how far I could take the gloss medium-as-water technique. The answer was not this far.

It's partially the fact that I missed a step during construction. The bases are all 6"x4" Masonite sections, except the collecting pool and 90 degree turn. The sides were formed with 1/2" foamboard, covered by some old brick-textured plasticard for durability. These were then painted. The problem is I forgot to lay down thick clear acetate sheets inside the canals to "build up" the water depth (like I did in my Pond Hockey vignette) and instead just started pouring the gloss medium. This led to the medium being too thick and drying irregularly. If you look closely you can see the "cracks" in some sections, where the medium dried quicker than the area surrounding it. Lesson learned.

The nice part about these canals is that I made them purposely ambiguous so they could be used in a variety of eras and settings.