Modelling A Harbour or Quayside Scene In OO Scale

A trip to the seaside is always a great day out. Exploring the coastline, estuaries, stunning coastal views, as well as the many coastal harbours, provides endless enjoyment & pleasure. It's also an excellent opportunity to photograph and make notes for modelling your inspiration. Harbours, quaysides, and estuaries are fantastic subjects to model. I'm certain that many of you have witnessed numerous stunning layouts and dioramas showcasing these scenes at model shows and other events.

If you've never modelled a scene like this before, creating a small diorama is an excellent way to learn, practice, and experiment with new techniques. I wanted to hone & explore different modelling techniques to improve my modelling skills. So I decided to try modelling a harbour scene at low tide  The diorama below showcases the outcome of this practice session. Now, let's delve into how this was accomplished.

Harbour Diorama Baseboard

The diorama's base is made using 4mm baseboard MDF material. Five additional pieces of MDF material were cut and used for the following components:

• Two side end pieces
• Front side piece
• Rear side piece
• Upper top piece

These pieces were glued together to form a sturdy box section to support the harbour wall or piling as it's known. The box section was then glued & fixed to the rear half of the base section. Thus creating a solid foundation for the harbour side wall, harbour bed floor & ground level section. 

Modelling A Harbour Wall

I selected the LX364-OO Dockside/Harbour Piling for the harbour wall. This kit allows me, due to its height, to represent the harbour during low tide. The piling is designed to resemble the modern steel corrugated pilings commonly found at quaysides and riversides. Assembling the kit is straightforward. Glue the front vertical strips and long horizontal top strips into place. Use the laser-engraved guidelines on the wall to align the vertical strips. Additionally, ladder sections are included in the kit, so I fitted & glued one ladder section into place as well.

The retaining wall was then primed using an aerosol can of Red Oxide primer paint. After priming, It was then painted with a matt acrylic dark brownish-red colour spray paint. This paint I obtained from the arts & crafts department in 'The Range' store. Once the paint had dried, the retaining wall was then glued onto the diorama board.

The harbour floor

The harbour floor, as mentioned, is designed to resemble a low tide featuring a wet, sandy, muddy look. During my visit to Mevagissey Harbour in Cornwall, I observed the harbour during low tide. The inner harbour is pretty much completely void of water during low tide so it's possible to see the sand, silt & mud clearly, making it easy to get reference photos for the colours and textures. This served as the inspiration for this project. To achieve this effect, I applied PVA glue to the lower level of the diorama board. Whilst the glue was still wet, I sprinkled a combination of coarse and fine earth scatters, along with sand powders, onto the wet glue. This created an uneven texture, mimicking the natural variations found on a harbour floor. I then allowed sufficient time for the glue to dry completely.

An earth-coloured undercoat paint was then applied over the scatter/sand mix and left to dry. To prepare for the addition of a water modelling product, I needed to seal the lower level of the harbour scene against any leaks. To do this, I applied a few coats of Woodland Scenics Water Undercoat. I used the Olive Drab colour, which I had remaining from a previous project. This effectively seals the harbour floor section and dries to a wet and muddy finish, as seen in the image below.

Weathering the Piling

Before applying the modelling water material, the harbour wall piling was given a healthy dose of weathering. Using reference photos as a guide, I began by spraying a coat of inexpensive unscented hairspray onto the piling. Next, I applied weathering powders in different colours. Starting with black, I then added dark greys for additional depth. To create rust effects on the piling, I applied red oxide-coloured weathering powder in various areas on the piling. I used a flat brush and a makeup sponge applicator to soften and blend the colours as they were applied.

Next, I switched to using weathering pastel packs by Tamiya. One pack I used was sand, mud, and dirt, while the other I used was for metal effects. The sand and mud are applied with a brush and then blended and softened using the sponge applicator. After that, I used very small amounts of orange from the metal effects pack to highlight rust spots. Once again, I brushed it on and then carefully blended and softened it using the sponge applicator.

Returning to the weathering powders, I once again applied a light grey and finally, a white colour using a brush. I used a sponge applicator to soften and blend the colours. Intentionally leaving some heavier deposits of white and mid-grey weathering powder, I was able to create streaking effects using downward strokes with the sponge applicator.

For the lower section of the piling to represent algae-type growth, which can be seen on harbour walls at low tide, a liquid weathering pigment was used. A dark green colour was chosen for this.  A number of coats are applied to vary the depth & colour of algae-type growth. Going from almost black at the bottom to a lighter shade of green further up the wall. A further layer of algae-type growth was applied to represent the higher tide watermark

A sealing coat of non-scented hairspray was then applied over the wall to seal and protect the weathering powders.

Water effect

The next part of the project was to do the water effect. There are various ways of modelling water, from resins to Mod Podge Gloss, to ready pre-mixed model water products. I opted for Deluxe Materials Aqua Magic, as I had some leftovers from a previous modelling project on my own layout. Aqua Magic is pre-mixed and ready to pour.

A couple of boats were then placed on the harbour bed prior to doing the pour.

Masking tape was placed around the edges of the harbour bed to create a temporary dam. The diorama was then placed on top of a plastic bin bag to protect the work surface in case of any leaks. Aqua Magic was then poured onto the harbour floor section. The diorama was then covered over to prevent dust from getting onto the setting water material. After approximately 36 hours, the cover was removed. At this point, I decided to add a second pour of Aqua Magic to increase the water level. Once again, the diorama was covered and left for an additional 36 hours to fully set. Once set, the masking tape dam was removed.

Detailing The Harbour Scene

No harbour is complete without some form of a boat or two. I decided to have a couple of boats moored up in the harbour. For these, I used our LX435-OO Full Hull Version Rowing Boats. We also have a waterline version of the rowing boats. These have a flat bottom. With the water being modelled at low tide, I obviously needed the full hull version, as the boats will be sitting on the harbour bed at low tide.

The LX435-OO is a very easy kit to assemble and also includes the oars too. They can be left unpainted or painted if required.

The harbourside upper-level ground cover

Moving up onto the harbour's top side, the ground level was first painted with an earth-coloured undercoat paint. Next, PVA glue was applied by brushing it on. Then earth powder was sprinkled onto the glued area. This was followed by applying another layer of glue, this time using static grass glue. 2mm static grass in various colour shades was applied using a static grass applicator tool. Next, 4mm and some 6mm static grass again in various colours applied in patches to give a natural look to the grass. Once the glue had set, I ran a vacuum over the static grass to remove any loose grass fibres.

Top tip: Place an old pair of tights over the end of the vacuum nozzle. This will catch the loose grass fibres, allowing them to be reused again as needed.

Once the glue had set, some small areas of grass were scraped away to remove & expose the earth powder. Glue was applied to the exposed areas. Coarse turf was then sprinkled onto the glued exposed areas. This gives the impression of thicker grass & vegetation as well as adding further scenic interest. The whole grassed area was then given a spray-over with scenic spray glue as a final fixing and left to dry. The photo below shows an area of static grass and coarse turf.

Lobster Pots & Additional Harbour Detailing

To finish off, additional scenic items were assembled, painted, and installed. To secure the boats, the mooring rings were painted in a steel colour and glued into place, as highlighted in the photo below.

Large mooring bollards were painted again in a steel colour and glued into place, as highlighted in the image below.

Fishing gear in the form of the lobster pots/creels kit LX351-OO Lobster Pots / Creels was assembled, glued, and fitted on the harbourside.

Having seen storage cages & gas cylinders on many harbours I've visited over the years, I added & installed the AX134-OO Gas cylinders, plus the LX261-OO gas cylinder secure storage cage to the diorama.

To enhance the working aspect of the harbour scene, some AX165-OO 55-gallon oil drums were glued to the diorama on the harbourside.

Two additional LX435-OO Rowing Boats were assembled, and one of them was painted. The other was left unpainted to create a varnished effect on its hull. These were then glued into place as seen in the image below.

To finish off, to give the impression of the boats being moored and tied up, some fine cotton thread was cut to length and glued to one of the mooring rings. The boats were then placed on the floor of the harbour bed, as seen in the image below.

In conclusion

Making the diorama was a very enjoyable exercise, as it allowed me to practice weathering and modelling the harbour bed floor at low tide. Making dioramas is a great way to practice, learn, and try out new modelling methods. They can also be made as modules that can be fitted onto a larger layout too!

Is there anything else I should add to this diorama? Yes, there are other items I'm still looking to add, including seagulls, figures in the form of fishermen or workmen, lobster pot buoys, boat fenders, and fishing nets. On the harbour wall, I would also secure car tires onto the wall to act as bumpers for the fishing boats. Additionally, I might consider adding a small hidden MP3 sound player at the rear of the diorama playing harbour/ seaside sounds.

If you're thinking of modelling a harbour on your layout, browse our OO Gauge Harbour Accessories.

Happy Modelling