When's my water set?

On a recent project, I made use of Woodland Scenics "Deep Pour" water system.

It's easy enough to use, mix the two chemicals and pour into the stream or river bed. Leave to dry and the job is done, assuming it hasn't leaked out of course.

The hardest part is stopping yourself prodding the "water" to see if it's set.

By chance, I avoided this. Judging the amount to mix is difficult (OK, there is some maths in the instructions, but it all seemed too complicated to me) so I tend to err on the side of generosity. Better to have some left over then run short.

A flash of inspiration saw the leftovers poured into a little plastic bag. In there, they could set at the same rate as the mix on the layout - but I can poke and prod the bag without risking leaving fingerprints on my stream!