[Archive] Modelling material question

zobo1942:

Hello all,

So, I was doing some crafts with my three year old daughter, cutting coloured sheets of foam that are about 2 or 3 mm thick into different shapes and gluing them together, and i realized that the stuff might make the perfect material for doing very fast and easy irregular brickwork or metal plate shapes. After gluing this stuff onto cardboard, etc… it could be a REALLY inexpensive and fast way to create terrian, especially if you were going to paint it after the fact.

Has anyone ever used this type of material before?

Grimstonefire:

It probably would be good, but there are other ways that are probably even quicker.

If I understand correctly, you’re talking about cutting irregular bricks out then sticking these down onto card?

Foamboard for instance, you can press in the dents between bricks with a pen really quickly.  High density foam is quite good as well, especially for bricks that really stand out (that would be harder to achieve with anything else I can think of).

Whilst I happen to think of it, if anyone gets a chance to use balsa foam for terrain I’m interested to hear how it turns out.

zobo1942:

It probably would be good, but there are other ways that are probably even quicker.

If I understand correctly, you're talking about cutting irregular bricks out then sticking these down onto card?

Foamboard for instance, you can press in the dents between bricks with a pen really quickly.  High density foam is quite good as well, especially for bricks that really stand out (that would be harder to achieve with anything else I can think of).

Whilst I happen to think of it, if anyone gets a chance to use balsa foam for terrain I'm interested to hear how it turns out.

Grimstonefire
I've used foamcore and high density foam before, and although they are quite good, I' ve always found them to be quite messy. This other stuff is flexible, can be cut with scissors, and could be glued to curved surfaces, etc... And, it's crazy cheap.

I might try to make something using this in the next few days - I'll try to post some pictures to get some opinions.

Ronshank:

It works well just don’t use the black spray paint to undercoat it. It tends to eat into the stuff.

If it looks like it will work give it a go you soon find what works best for you. Just remember though when you use anything remotley plastic steer clear of melted plastic rivers (if you find the stuff it’s capable of making waterfalls and comes in little pebble like granules, not worth the risk unless you used wood) and don’t use spray paint for the base coat and all will normally turn out well.