Styrofoam - Any Negatives?

[UNCLEBUTCH]

Foam is all I use for table top and landscape,all mine was reclaimed from the dumpster. I stay away from the beaded stuff because of the excess mess, and the fact I have so mutch of the pink and blue.

 

I glue mine together with plain cheap caulk. To cut; score with a knife and snap. Any kind of sawing is more mess to clean up. I cover mine with drywall mud,in case of a joint, use drywall tape over seam.Smear the mud on,work it with a water wet brush. You can carve the mud or foam with any thing sharp and pointy.Myself I wouldn't spend money on any kind of ''hot knife''. You'll use it a few time and then it sits.

I just tore down my layout and the tape/mud joints were stronger then the foam.Had planned to reuse what I could but found a pile of nice clean stuff. 

The only neg I found was mounting the ground throws for turnouts, Now that I got that figured out, no problems at all.

[Attuvian]

Thanks, Dave, Bundy and Mel. This is a good start.

John

[RR_Mel]

I built my mountains with the type that creates snow storms and have been happy with the results.  It is messy but super strong.  As with most Styrofoam you have to use the proper glue or it will melt.

 

I covered the carved Styrofoam with Paper Mache and wouldn’t recommend it because it shrinks as it dries.  I learned through the process by covering the Styrofoam with plastic wrap first prevents the shrinkage from screwing up the Styrofoam.  After the Paper Mache has fully dried remove the plastic wrap and glue it in place, that works very good.

 

The guys on the Forum put me onto Sculptamold and it works very great, much better than Plaster of Paris or Hydrocal for ground cover.  For rocks I use Woodland Scenics rock molds with either Plaster of Paris or Hydrocal cemented to the Styrofoam with the same.  I bought a cake decorating applicator for applying plaster or Hydrocal as the glue to hold the rocks and fill in any gaps between the rocks.  Don’t let the plaster set up in the cake goodie or it’s a goner.  I keep a bucket handy to dunk it in before the stuff sets up.

 

 

 

By inverting and cutting the castings of several rock molds you can make a pretty large rock scene without all the rocks look alike.

 

 

Have fun!

 

 

Mel

 

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

 

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

 

I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

[Bundy74]

1) I use knives and saws to cut foam shapes.  Keep your shop vac handy, and perhaps wear a dust mask if you're gonna get crazy.

2) I used gorilla glue at work for a foam project.  It's very strong, and is also gap filling.  The molds I made had gaps between the layers, and the glue flilled them well.

3) As for surfacing, you can simply paint it with latex paint if you're going to use ground foam.  Or you can add a thin layer of paper mache or plaster cloth.

4) I'd suggest using the pink board for the subroadbed, then the white beaded chunks for hills, etc...

[dknelson]

I have used some styrofoam, the white beadboard kind that is pretty messy to cut but can be shaped neatly using a hot knife or hot wire tool -- in a WELL VENTILATED space, preferably outdoors.  The smell is considerable and unpleasant, so warn others in the house beforehand.  Do take precautions.

It doesn't take long to learn how to make the shapes and contours you want, and I am very happy to use it.  I model the midwest with mostly gentle rolling hills not mountains.

What I like is that you can experiment with little risk.  Does the hill look too high?  Use the hot wire tool to lop off the top.  Change your mind?  Glue that piece back on.    

Woodland Scenics offers their own line of the stuff, in a large selection of thicknesses, rather more dense and less "beedy" than the usual packing material you can get "for free."  

Woodland Scenics's Foam Tack Glue works well on all kinds of styrofoam in my experience.  

Dave Nelson

 

[Attuvian]

All,

I searched for a thread on this subject but couldn't find one right off, so . . .

For the last seven or eight years I've collected a tidy amount of styrofoam used as packing for furniture kits and other items.  Thought that it might make an appropriate foundation material for hills, other scenic items and who knows what else.  Most is in sheets of varying thickness but I also have some modestly sized blocks.  Most of the stuff has a relatively fine "grain" and is a bit more dense.  Some is a bit more coarse and can create a small snow storm if handled roughly.  I'm imagining that Gorilla glue or another common adhesive will do to aggregate it according to need and design.  I'd like to make use of it as disposal will be a pain in the neck - or elsewhere.

I expect that there will be some amount of "fluff" producted in the cutting and sculpting of it.  Not sure I want to pony up for some hot wire cutting gizmo that might be out there.  I'll just have to keep a small vacuum handy as I have at it with blades or whatever.

Except for the down side of the chaff produced, are there any other liabilities for this use of styrofoam?  And while we're at it, once it's been contoured, what materials and techniques are best for surfacing it in preparation for grass or other applications?

I will not be using it for rocky outcroppings, cliff faces or anything else that will require finer surface detail.

I know that there's a lot of current chatter on the forums about pink foam.  But i'd like to get rid of this stuff first.  And so would my Sweetie!

Obliged, as always.

John