I read where people on this forum use styrene to build up an area for what ever purpose. Then someone comes along and says Styrene is Plastic. Is styrene the same as plastic? or is there a difference?
I need to build up the area where couplers mount under a few of my box cars. They came with couplers attached to the trucks and tend to derail when going over turnouts. I feel they will work much better if the coupler is attached to the chassis and not the trucks.
To get the couplers the right height I need to build up the area about 1/8". I am using Kaydee #5 couplers. The shimms I have are .010 and.015. It would take a whole tree and then some to build the coupler box up to the right height. What I hoped to do was get a sheet of styrene or plastic to use to build the area up then mount the couplers.
So, where can either styrene or plastic sheets be found?
Styrene is a form of plastic and can be obtained at any hobby shop. It comes in a variety of thicknesses so you might end up picking up a few. They have many practical uses around the layout including, but not limited to, kitbashing and and scratch building stuctures.
a cheaper source is the “for sale” or “for rent” signs @ Wal-Mart if you just want sheet styrene, they come in two sizes and thicknesses at a fraction of the hobby store price.
Evergreen is one of the great names in hobby styrene. Check out their website for more info than you can ever use: http://www.evergreenscalemodels.com/
I bought a couple of big sheets of styrene from www.usplastic.com for a fraction of the cost of buying it in small plastic wrappers at retail, or even as “Beware of the Dog” signs at Wal-Mart. It’s great stuff to have around.
I note the above replies give various rather odd suppliers for styrene sources . If you are located in a large urban centre, always check out the commercial sources for materials, the ones a professional would use. Plastics in the yellow pages can reveal any number of potential suppliers. One large supplier is GE Polymershapes but there are many others. GE sells styrene sheets in a number of model friendly thicknesses and in 4 x 8 feet for approx. $24. That size and price for styrene puts the hobby shop and even Wal Mart sources to shame. Getting to know the commercial supplies and the industrial sources in your vicinity will open up another world of alternatives.
Large sheets of styrene can be used for backdrops-- this application is well documented in one of MR’s pdf downloads.
The US Plastics stuff comes in 40x72 inch sheets. I bought 2 sheets last year, and I’ve almost finished with the first one. My layout is only 5 feet by 12 feet. Sheet styrene is just incredibly useful stuff.
A local plastics supplier sells sheets of 40x72 styrene, .020" thickness, for around four bucks…obviously this will vary but if you scratchbuild a lot or are building concrete roads you can use this much, for someone who just needs bits at a time it’s more of a “buy one sheet of styrene to last a lifetime” kind of purchase!
I’d rather not go anywhere near a Wal-Mart if I can help it, and there are always alternatives.
It is kinda like oak and tree (or wood). Styrene is a type of plastic. There are dozens of different kinds of plastic resins (like species of tree) in common use today.
Thanks for clarifying that for me. I didn’t know if it was the same as plastic or another type of plastic.
Does the styrene such as the “FOR SALE” signs glue together like the plastic parts on the rolling stock? In other words can I cut out several pieces and glue them together with the same adhesion as regular plastic?
“Styrene” can also be styrofoam, and extruded foam insulation sheets, in addition to solid sheet styrene that can be had in various thicknesses, or as shaped “I”-beams and such. I think Mr Beasley, and Cox47 head in the right direction to find large sheets for big projects.
Bill54: The only difference between the “FOR SALE” signs and the sheets of styrene you buy at a hobby shop is that one has “FOR SALE” printed on the side.
Styrene is “regular plastic”–it’s short for polystyrene, which is one of many types of plastic. Plastic model kits are generally also made out of polystyrene. Polystyrene is exactly the sort of plastic that you use MEK-based plastic glues with (as opposed to engineering plastics like Delrin.)
To put it another way: All styrene is plastic, but not all plastic is styrene.
easyaces refers to expanded and extruded polystyrene, otherwise known as Styrofoam.
Your question has already been answered but I want to put in my [2c]
Plastic is a general term. I can think of at least four kinds of plastics that are typically used in model railroading. Styrene, ABS, Resin, Derlin. Styrene is generally used in structures, some locomotive and rail car shells, kit parts and scratch building. ABS is a more ridged styrene and is usually used for detail parts and comes in structural shapes used in scratch building. Resin is a two part liquid used for casting in molds. Derlin is mainly used for rail trucks and locomotive side frames because it is strong, flexiable and oily.