Hi, does anyone here know where I can get hold of the high density pink foam used by our fellow American modellers? I’ve tried the usual B&Q, Jewsons plus 2 of my local builders merchants with no luck.
Shaun
I’ve tried too but alas no luck. Closest I’ve found is basically polystyrene in B&Q but it doesn’t cut well. It’d work for building up areas, providing its covered up.
Other than that florist’s Oasis could work for smaller areas.
I know what you mean, it seems prety scarce although alot of buildings use it for insulation.
But, i found this the other day while trawling
http://www.peninsulaplastics.co.uk/shop/index/erol.html#1614x0
Another thing that ive so far drawn a blank on is laytex caulk. Is it called something else in the U.K?
Hi gary many thanks, I think the caulk is the stuff we use to seal kitchen tops? etc
Shaun
Hi Shaun,
Its not available here in the U.K. Someone might disagree with that statement but I couldn’t find it when I built my layout. CPPedler
Shaun, is it silicone, the variety that absolutely stinks and takes your breath away until it cures?
Hi, it must be. I will ask my family back in the US to find some for me and send it over, maybe then I will be able to see what latex caulk is? The US refers to latex paint alot which I asume is what we call emulsion? Wouldn’t it be nice if the names were the same over here.
Shaun
As far as i can tell none of the UK or Eu building foam materials are the same as the US varieties.
Whatever you come up with you need to beware of the fire risk(s) and be cautious about solvents.
Sorry to be “boring” but I don’t want your modelling to end with a disaster.
Hi
The Styrofoam modelling board I think you are after is commonly used in schools for design & technology product modelling. We get ours from a company appropriately called Technology Supplies Ltd. It’s not cheap but the quality is excellent.
Try here
http://www.technologysupplies.co.uk/acatalog/Main_Menu_Styrofoam_813419.html
You can’t order on line unless you are a school but if you phone the sales office you can order by phone. I suggest you download the pdf catalogue to see all the modelling materials they can supply.[:)]
Hi, and thanks for that link I will give them a call tomorrow.
the silicone caulk that stinks is solvent based I think, the kind you want is the kind as stated for sealing the crack around a sink or bath when installed, the other uses include sealing the gap between the wood trim in the house and the walls , ie , door casing, dado/chair rails, skirting board(baseboard for those in the US) and other household applications, you need to get the water based variety, I remember using it when I was back in the UK so I know it is available there, try the paint section @ B&Q, thats where its comonly found in Home Depot(US equivelant to B&Q, and strangely the corporate colour schemes are the same…)
Hope this helps,
hows the weather back home, currently clear blue skies and 85 here in Mississippi [:D]
Karl.
Hi, Karl many thanks for the info. I have found these 2 web sites but I’m not sure if it’s the same stuff, maybe I will put the question to our American modellers to see if the product offered by these companies are the same or similar to those back in the US.
polyboard by Knauf http://www.knaufinsulation.co.uk/
Dow http://www.dow.com/styrofoam/europe/uk/proddata/styrofoam/gbpdfl02.htm
And finally the weather back home is rather nice and mild for Autumn, it’s quite pleasant out here in the countryside. So I now have to go outside and clear leaves.
Shaun
Shaun, that’s the stuff. We would tend to use the wall grade foam in the US as I suspect that the floor grade will be a lot stronger and possibly more expensive. Dow is one of the brands regularly seen here.
Simon many thanks, I will no pass this matter over to the railroads financial dept.
Shaun
Except for completely hidden uses, you don’t want to use silicone caulk / sealant on your layout. Besides the smell, it is virtually un-paintable. So, you will be stuck with whatever unpleasant color comes out of the tube. Other glue won’t stick to it very well, either, so it’s hard to cover up.
The one use I have found for it is mounting hydrocal castings on styrene backings. I have to be careful not to get the silicone on the front face, though.
Shaun, There are ways to save money using these foam products. I was fortunate enough to have a friend who had new siding put on thier home. I was able to salvage virtually all my foam needs free of charge from left-overs from the job. Of course construction methods are completely different in the UK and no-one would dream of using the vinyl siding used in the US, but who knows, you might be able to find some at a building site. The other consideration is if you are using the foam for construction of hills/mountains. I like the extruded foam for the surface as it is easier to carve and shape. So I used white bead packing material foam for the core and my limited supply of extruded foam for the surface. You can see the method I used if you look at the link to the picture trail site in my signature.
Hi, Simon as it happens I have just built a purpose built model railroad building and I have just finishd insulating it with 50mm (2") Cellotex, last night we watched a TV show about a guy who built his own workshop using the same materials as me except he used 90mm (3") insulation for the roof. After watching we decided to order some more insulation before we finally linned the roof so I will just order a bulk load for the roof plus a couple of extra sheets for my proposed layout (once the plans arrive from the US).
Shaun