A small pond

There's a pond deep in the woods, the locals say it's dangerous. No one goes there. There's no fish in it, it stinks, and a filthy mist floats above it like mould on old bread.

Legend has it that an afanc lives in it, there are bones and turds that speak of a carnivorous beast, but no one has been foolish enough to hang around and see what lives there. No one has seen it, at least no one who's seen it has ever lived to tell the tale. 

Beware the afanc.

Beware the afanc pond.

The pond was made from XPS foam to create the contours, this was stuck on a mounting board base. The XPS was coated with a PVA and exterior filler mix, with a bit of black craft paint in it, so if it chips there wont be white bits. I then painted it up and added sticks, rocks, tufts and a bit of leaf litter.

The resin is just some two part crystal clear stuff from ebay with a bit of green ink in it. Mounting board can warp if it gets too damp, I tend to liberally coat both sides with watered down PVA to seal it up before I start work on it. The XPS is cheap 3mm laminate floor underlay from B&Q, it's really easy to work and build up contours. Just be aware that water based adhesive like PVA can take forever to dry when it;s between two non absorbent layers like foam. Best to use a waterbase tacky glue or lightly use a contact adhesive on both surfaces like 3M 77 spray. Beware of brush on solvent based contact adhesive, it will melt the foam.