Plaster Hard Shell vs. Carved Foam

[stebbycentral]

overall

I tried using a product called Great Stuff, a spray expanding foam for some scenery on my layout. I was building a small hill and I used two cans. Maybe it was the way I was trying to do it , but the stuff fell in on itself and didn't hold it's shape. Then it started to expand ...and expand...and expand.. and expand over a period of several days. I would go out into the train room and find something entirely different every time. Give me profile boards, cardboard strips and plaster gauze. It's simple and easy to control.

George,

FYI, spray can foam comes in two formulas.  What you probably should have used for your purpose is the kind called "minimal expanding" foam.  That kind of foam is designed to be used to insulate the cracks around doors and widows.  It does not expand as aggressively as the standard kind of foam, which is designed to fill large cavities in walls. 

[overall]

I tried using a product called Great Stuff, a spray expanding foam for some scenery on my layout. I was building a small hill and I used two cans. Maybe it was the way I was trying to do it , but the stuff fell in on itself and didn't hold it's shape. Then it started to expand ...and expand...and expand.. and expand over a period of several days. I would go out into the train room and find something entirely different every time. Give me profile boards, cardboard strips and plaster gauze. It's simple and easy to control.

George

[Major]

 Using foam on my son's layout has been an advantage because we really are winging it as we go along. We test where we want to place scenery, track buildings etc and just build up or remove the foam as necessary.  Plus the foam is actually supporting the track on the upper level.  We did not know how high the track was going to be or needed to be. Before with hard shell I had to plan every thing out ahead of time.  In some circumstances I didn't really like the way it ended up. But relocating track and the supporting framing and redoing the hardshell was more than I wanted to do at the time.

 

I watch your videos of the old layout You did a nice job on them!

[stebbycentral]

OTOH, hardshell is friendlier on the pocketbook I'm sure.  The most expensive component is the plaster, and in my experience a container of plaster can cover a lot of terrain.  The rest of the required materials; newspaper, cardboard, etc., are readily available at little or no cost.

With foam you not only have to buy the foam sheets, you also need to purchase tubes of adhesive @ several $ a pop. 

[fredswain]

The nice thing about modelling is that there is no right or wrong way to do things. Pick up Pelle Soeborg's books. He does a great job of showing how to use foam in various ways. He is one of my modern influences and makes things look so easy. Here are his books:

http://www.soeeborg.dk/books.html

 

[Timboy]