1:35 Animal water trough

A drinking trough in a farmyard

A trough of water for livestock belonged to the equipment of every farm with a field track running past it. It stood by the stable, beside the well or right on the village green, and it was used every day, which its appearance reflects. The edges worn smooth by the cattle, the walls grown over with moss and algae, and all around trampled mud with the prints of hooves.

Why an object like this

A scene with equipment only starts to look credible once it has a civilian layer too. A small structure of this type immediately establishes where the scene takes place: at a farm, not on a training ground. At the same time it brings a water surface, that is an area on which gloss and reflection can be shown, a rewarding contrast to the matte finish of vehicles and to dusty uniforms.

How to imitate the water surface

You create the water in the trough with two-part resin poured in two goes, so that it does not heat up and go white, or with a transparent gel spread with a spatula. Paint the bottom in advance in a dark brownish green, and once it has set add a fine speck of dust and a blade of grass to the surface, as clean water would look suspicious in a cattle yard.

Which setting it belongs to

The piece suits European scenes from the First World War to the 1950s and will combine with figures and equipment in the same scale. The painting and the surface finish are up to the modeler, and the accessory is supplied in a raw state. It works best in a pair with other civilian fittings: a fence, a hay wagon or a pile of firewood by a wall. Place it rather to one side of the main motif: the attention should stay with the equipment and the figures, while the surrounding small items form the background of the story and show that the scene took place in an inhabited spot.