I am wondering if the cheap 3/16" foam board available from Dollar Tree is okay to use as a base for a relatively flat scenery area? Does anyone have any experiece with this product? Will acrylic paint or glue effect it? Will it hold up if I plant trees in it with glue? Can you put any plaster over it to form small hills, etc.? According to the website, you can buy it for $1.00 a sheet in a 20" x 30" size. There is another thread going on right now that talks about Gator Board, but that is much more expensive!
Thanks for any help you can give.
wdcrvr
The paper backed foam that I used curled when it got wet. (with paint) LION has subway platform that curls up at both ends. Well him straghtened it back down again, but no, LION does not think that you will be happy with that.
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Do you have any thing else that you would recommend for building up an area that works for you?
3/16" seems kind of thin if you want to do anything more than open planes or desert. How well will it be supported? Have you checked it out in person?
Paint and glue should not be a problem. (unless there is a paper coating)
I don't know about plaster or trees. Some products are heavier than others and idk how much you are going to put. You could try doubling up sheets for more stregnth. If you do this then make sure there is an even spread of glue between them.
I agree that it would be rather thin for most purposes. It might make a useful replacement for cork sheet in a yard. You'd want to remove the paper from both sides before using it. While you're at the Dollar Tree store, go to the cleaning supples section and buy a bottle of LA's Totally Awesome cleaner. Spray it on both sides of the foamboard, wait a minute, and then peel off the paper layers.
It's closed-cell foam, so once the paper's off it shouldn't soak up water.
Steve S
wdcrvrI am wondering if the cheap 3/16" foam board available from Dollar Tree is okay to use as a base for a relatively flat scenery area?
Maybe you should explain why you want to use this (or similar) product. Is the product going to be placed over plywood, foam, or homasote, or is it your wish that it be self supporting? Would it be your intent to make up a scene on the product on your work bench and place the completed scene on the railroad?
As with most discoveries of this type, the best thing would be to purchase some and try it. If it doesn't work out as expected, it's usually no big loss.
I am mostly looking at laying it on top of a plywood base alongside my tracks to build up the level of the ground at that area. My tracks (HO) are laid on top of cork roadbed, which is on a rubber camper sealing product, and that is on top of a 3/8" plywood sub roadbed. The plywood I am seeking to build up is an extension of the sub roadbed. I am definitely open to suggestions of other ways to do this. I need something that will support scenery materials and buildings. What other materials should I be looking at?
It should be obvious by now that I am new to building a layout. Suprised, huh?
Thanks
I think it will work pretty well for that. As long as it's glued down, painting it won't cause it to curl. It will support buildings easily.
Some years ago, I built a yard. Without thinking much (if at all) I used roadbed for the tracks. This kept them at the same level (good) but I had a high-profile raised track, more main line than yard (bad.) I ended up filling the spaces between the tracks with foamboard, getting rid of the raised track look.
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You can get 2" beaded foam for free from most places, works great and you can't beat the price!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
wdcrvr I am mostly looking at laying it on top of a plywood base alongside my tracks to build up the level of the ground at that area. My tracks (HO) are laid on top of cork roadbed, which is on a rubber camper sealing product, and that is on top of a 3/8" plywood sub roadbed. The plywood I am seeking to build up is an extension of the sub roadbed. I am definitely open to suggestions of other ways to do this. I need something that will support scenery materials and buildings. What other materials should I be looking at? It should be obvious by now that I am new to building a layout. Suprised, huh? Thanks wdcrvr
The foam core board will be stronger , if you laminate-that is glue two sheets together. Do this off layout and put plenty of weight on top until the glue is dry. This will prevent curling and give you a more stable surface to work your scenery . When I have used layers of paperboard to give flat areas a sense of dimension, I cover it with plaster cloth before painting, planting, etc.
Don H.
There are some cases in which cheap is just that -- cheap. I'm not sure what the product is. Is it a paper-faced lightweight foam product, like foam core? If so, I'd steer clear. They make things cheaply by using low quality materials and adhesives, which will likely fall apart at the first touch of liquid. If it's beadboard styrofoam, it will probably work, but at 3/16 of an inch, you'll have to use a lot of it to get any real relief in your terrain. So long as you don't need any structural support, pretty much any stryofoam will work as a base for plaster. I make hills with chunks of extruded foam insulating boards. $24 sounds like a lot, until you realize that you, re buyinabout 2300 cubic inches, so it costs about a penny a cubic inch. Not very expensive from that perspective. The two inch thick stuff is even cheaper on a per unit basis.
I cover those foam chunks with a thin layer of Sculptamold to round out the terrain and fill gaps, then paint with cheap latex interior paint.
Gator foam, BTW, is like foam core, but using thin wood laminates instead of paper as the backing material.
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wdcrvr I am mostly looking at laying it on top of a plywood base alongside my tracks to build up the level of the ground at that area.
I am mostly looking at laying it on top of a plywood base alongside my tracks to build up the level of the ground at that area.
Since your base is a rock-solid plywood -- Ground goop may be what you need to build up for scenery, etc. Here's a PDF describing Lou Sassi's recipe for ground goop (compliments of DuckDuckGo.com).
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I use this 3/16" foam board from Dollar Tree for making building mockups for planning purposes and also as ribs or bulkheads to line my tunnels. I use hot glue to keep it together but IT IS NOT GOOD FOR ANYTHING PAINTED OR PLASTERED OVER. I say this because it is paper covered and the paper seperates from the foam when wet. My building mockups (see photo of rebuild shop mockup) are usually just taped together and spray painted to give the overall color. I add window and door representations with a Sharpie. Sometimes I paint the walls with an acrylic but just quick light coats. At $1 as sheet it is a bargain if used properly. I would NOT recommend using it for any support of scenery in flat sheets. Another difference in this product from Gatorfoam or Gatorboard is that it has ripples across the surface at about a 2" pattern; something from the manufacturing process I guess. This makes it unusable for any display applicatons as these ripples are noticable. These are my observations from using this product (Dollar Tree only) for the past several years. I hope this helps.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
Extruded foam board is the best bet for scenery, and comes in a variety of thicknesses 1", and 2" being common in either 4'x8' sheets or 2'x8' sheets. You may be able to find thinner sheets of foam board, possibly 1/2. I cannot reccommend the stuff with the metallic looking vapor seal layer (jlwii2000 had a video about that on his first layout..didnt turn out too well).
OP here.
I have been experimenting with the foam board. I have not really had any problem putting wet plaster tape over the Dollar Store foam board. But I did have a problem when I put it over the Elmer's brand (more expensive) brand. I also found that it is very easy to peel the paper coating off of the cheap stuff from Dollar Tree which just leaves the foam core. So I will probably continue to use the stuff from Dollar Tree.
Well I am glad it worked out for you. Scenery is an aspect of this hobby where you have lots of different ways to do things
Just for information, extruded foam board can be gotten in 3/4" thickness. If it comes thinner I don't know. Would think 1/2" would be the limit. I'm thinking of using 3/4" as valances
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There is an extruded foam product called "fanfold" (I think it's an Owens Corning product name and not a generic term) that comes in 1/4" thickness. Here is a link. Tony Koester had an article in MR a while back where he used this stuff in pretty much the same way the OP wants to use it. I thought it sounded very promising, until my next trip to Home Depot I went into sticker shock when I saw the price tag. $46 is kind of hefty if you're not doing a large area.
I've bought the Dollar Tree foam board before for other purposes, and if you peel the paper off, I don't see why it couldn't be used as a scenery base. It might be a bit softer than regular pink/blue foam, though. I'd think it's at least worth a try on a small area.
Dan Stokes
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I have used bead board that has been coated with Elmer's yellow carpenters glue to seal it from fiberglass resin when I was building duck boats. It was used for insulation in the bottom of the boat. 30 degree water will transfer through a fiberglass hull, and after two hours on your back waiting for a duck to fly by it becomes rather cool. Most foam boards will dissolve when exposed to fiberglass resin, the glue prevents this.
herrinchoker