Working on tunnel portal in foam. UPDATE

[wd8jik]

Here is a Portal I started on today.
The overall size is 14" wide by 15" high.
The opening is 7" wide by 9" high.
I’m using 1” foam blue board.
Haven’t decided if the finish will be cut stone or concrete work.

I’m taking pictures as I go along so I may do a page or article on a “how to”



I burnt the pattern into the foam today. But can't decide on the finish. I may try the concrete work look.

First, I thought I would try a couple of paint schemes and see what it would look like.



One was with a base coat of black, one coat of brown and a wash of gray.



One a base coat of yellow, two light coats of brown with a black wash.

.

[tangerine-jack]

Very nice! Blue foam seems to be the latest thing for construction. I'm using it on my viaducts and I think I'll use the scraps to make some buildings or something.

I'm interested in seeing how your project turns out, I've been wanting to build a tunnel on the "east side" of the Dixie D and you may have solved some problems for me.

[Ray Dunakin]

What are the advantages to using blue foam? Where do you get it?

[tangerine-jack]

Blue foam is weather proof, light weight and easy to cut. It is cheaper by square foot than wood or plastic. It is used as insulation, so it's available at any Home Depot or other building material supplier. The downside to it is that it comes in 1/2" or thicker sheets of 4x8ft and it does not bend very well, it's hard to glue effectively and it's blue so you'll have to repaint it every so often or when it chips. Being foam it's not very resitant to damage from large objects, but it is easy to repair. You can also get it in 2x4x50 ft acordian fold at about 1/8' thick, that is too thin to be it's own structural support, but does well for wall board materials with a frame, plus 50ft of foam is a lot.

My viaducts will be constructed of the foam, covered with chicken wire and stucco. If you notice the photos of the Dixie D you'll see that the track is 100% supported by the pylons and plywood. The viaducts are just window dressing and do not make structural supports. I'm using the chicken wire so the stucco has something to grip and give the foam a little more strength against damage.

As with everything else in Garden RRing, blue foam is just another option to think about, it's neither the right or wrong way to build something. I'm using it because it suits my limited skill level, it's available and fast.

[Ray Dunakin]

I like the brown version, nice contrast.