A numerical model has been developed to investigate water films or shells on ice pellets and hailstones with radii from 0.1 to 0.5 cm. The model considers a hydrometeor consisting of a rigid, spherical ice core of density 0.9 gm cm−3 surrounded by a shell or film of water. The water volume of the hydrometeor is assumed to be conserved. A set of deformation equations for the water film is constructed from a series expansion of an equation which is based on the balance of pressures acting on the hydrometeor. The results indicate that an ice pellet or hailstone with radius 0.45 cm radius a rather unrealistic water distribution is obtained from the present model.