I plan on using left over blue foam board for my scenery, My question is what material do you use to cover the blue foam board ?
You are in for an artistic treat. I have fallen in love with this method. I use three different finishing styles depending on what I am after.
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I carve the rock detail directly into the foam in great detail and paint directly on the foam with artist acrylic washes.
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I cover the foam with lightweight premixed drywall seam compound. This gives a smooth finish which can be painted and covered with ground foam colors.
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I carve the general shapes in the foam and cover with my version of Ground goop. This is how I am doing Kimm’s Kanyon. I use 3 to 5 washes to get the coloring I want.
All work well, but take some practice.
What you would use depends on what type of terrain and texture you wish to convey. If you are talking about bald-butt prairie, then splash on some light grey-brown latex and pour some light green, dry-looking ground foam…add some sage bushes here and there, maybe. A few pines.
If you carve up the foam at all, to get some topographical relief, then your method of covering the seams, if they show, will depend on what you want the cuts to look like. A ditch is easy, and needs nothing more than to clean up the soring from the wire brush marks, or the nicks from the blade, and you can line it with a thin layer of patching plaster or hydrocal. Paint it up to look muddy and dank, then pour some two-part epoxy here and there to simulate pooled stagnant water.
For larger, deeper edges and cuts, including cliffs and tunnel entrances that are not cemented or stoned with conventional portals, slather on some hydrocal or wall patching plaster, let it set up a bit, and then press and carve it with a thin blade to look like limestone strata or like harder granites and metamorphic stone.
This topic is well served in various books, none of which I have. I do my research here on the web.
I’m on the same stage with my layout and like using spackle/seam compound in some of the cracks and as a cover on my foam. I first carve the topography and geographic features into the foam and then cover with the compound. I either leave jagged edges of sand smooth and round certain rock outcrops, especially in an ravine area. Also once the plaster is applied I use knives, paint scrapers…etc to make horizontal cuts in a rock wall for example then sand…this leaves the cut marks in like erosion smooths the shallower formations. I purchased fine light colored ground cover to simulate Western deserts.
I use non-shrink acrylic spackle to fill in gaps, and then drywall mud to smooth the final surface. Slap down some tan latex paint, and fine blended ground foam, and you have basic scenery. You can then go back at your leisure and finish it off.
Nick
I guess I went overboard this time. Then again, mine is on a portable module that I just had to rescenic.
This time I stacked it three tiers high and used construction adhesive to glue the tiers. I then carved it using a knife to the desired shape, sanded it to smooth out the rough edges using 80 grit sandpaper and covered it with plaster cloth and then a coat of drywall compound which I smoothed out to a thin coat with a very wet paint brush. That hides the ‘cloth’. I used the cloth to hide the imperfections in my carving and the seams between the tiers and prevent cracking during transport.
I also did a rock cut and followed what Selector said.
I redid the module cause I was not happy with the previous results and the transportation had taken it’s toll on the unprotected foam causing pink and blue land form ‘eruptions’.(it is protected this time)
Add some line green to the top or an upper layer for algae aka pond scum.
Pullman green is a great starting place for the algae color. You can drag a small wire, etc across to add critter trails. I have even used WS fine grasses dusted on top.
And, for lily pads, just dab a light green mini-blob atop the surface, and add one or two white or yellow lilies for good measure when the lily pads are dry.
Being a bit of a beginner…what is the difference between blue foam board and white foam board…or any other types of foam board…?
Sam
Sam, the white stuff is pilled and pressed together…the stuff that audio components come in. It can be used, but it is not nearly so easily carved as the extruded foam such as the Dow Styrospan. The trouble with the white stuff is that, as you carve it, it will break up into discrete little balls, and leave little partial spheres at the edges that are left for you. With the extruded foam, especially with a hot knife or with a sharp blade, and to a lesser extent if you use a wire brush (my choice because it is fast!), the edges are smoother. You can actually simulate rock surfaces in extruded foam if you are patient, but the pilled stuff…well, good luck. If your extruded surface is not to your liking, but you don’t want to remove much more, sand it with 80-120 grit sandpaper. Again, try that with the white stuff and you will surely become an exasperated modeller.
The white stuff is bad news. The blue, pink and yellow are all about the same. If you get it from construction sites, take what they have, If you buy it, get the lightest weight.
Here are a couple of pics of the foam carved and painted with acrylics with no plaster top coat.
This is how it was stacked for the canyon. This was covered with ground goop.
This is great fun. Practice helps.
I stacked and glued foam, and then carved the shapes I wanted. I then covered the foam with Durham’s water putty. (great stuff with gypsum in it)
I’ve found many advantages that support the use of ‘carved’ mountains. They can be removed easily from a layout, if you ever have to pick up and move. Also, planting trees by the hundreds becomes simple, as the solid foam is a great base to stick trees into. There are many other advantages as well.
The color of the foam didn’t make much difference in my case, as it simply became infrastructure. I think you will find that foam carving can be lots of fun!! Good luck.
I’ve been using the Pink & Green foam board for about 5 years on my layout. I get it at construction sites for free. In a large area you could start cutting the foam w/a 4" elect. hand grinder & finish it up w/a Dremel tool. Don’t forget to wear safety glasses & a dust mask. The easiest way is w/a hot knife. I didn’t have a knife at the time & used all of the above. I also made some tall bridges w/the same foam on my bandsaw. I tried many different kinds of adhesives for the foam & found that Elmers glue worked the best for me. Later if you need to take apart any of the mountains, they usually come apart pretty easy & then you can reuse the same pieces. The glue needs to set for at least a week. I use nails to hold it together temporarily until the glue dries.
That was 3 years ago on the 1st phase of my layout. Now, I only use Celotex ceiling tile cut into strips & glued together w/Elmers Glue. I don’t have any giant mountains like I use to & celotex would be kind of hard to use on large mountain scenery. I also use Pine Bark for rocks. You can buy that in 25 or 50# bags at your local garden center.
Larry