Looking for an alternative.

We live in a world where if you have a hobby and need something people will make something for the hobby and charge a fortune when you can normally find the same or an alternative for a lot less.  

I was told about an alternative to make water effect and thought I would try it out and show you all the results.

 So to start off with the Alternative method is to use transparent silicone that you would get from most builders yard.

Here are the first comparisons about the two. First off you get a lot more than you would with the Water Texture and if you compare the cost of the two it might surprise you.

Vallejo Water Texture 200ml : £9.50

EverFlex Silicone 295ml : £2.39 

(You can get it a lot cheaper online this was from a builders merchant)   

So for the experiment, I chose to make two almost identical areas and see how long it took to dry and the effect.

So I got two lids that I planned to fill and make wave like. I added the silicone to the purple and water texture to the clear one.

  

The silicone came out like spaghetti, but I was able to shape it very easily. 

The Water effect which I have used before in another project come out like a hair gel also it is not as easy to shape as the silicone.  

The two together.

Right now for drying time and final look.

The Silicone was dry within the first hour and here it is.

The water effect after the first day had lost most of its shape and only dried a little.

Day 2 and it has lost all the shaping I added to it from the start.

And here are the Two side by side dried.

Both, I feel have their uses, but I feel for this experiment the winner has to be the Silicone for the cheap cost drying time and overall effect not being lost from the start. One Issue that I did have with the Silicone was that the lid tube I used and it did not stick to it. But that is no real issue on models.

Hope you enjoyed this and maybe this might be able to help some of you for your next project.