I want to try scratch building stuff that I see in the magazines. The problem is I don’t know where to buy styrene. Can someone let me know of a good place? Like can you get it at home improvement stores or what? Thanks.
Any well stocked hobby shop should carry whatever you need or can order it.Look in the back of MR or RMC or the Yellow Pages for a shop near you.Check at the store for the Evergreen,Plastruct,or Midwest display. Good luck & good modeling.
Some art supply places might have it as well
Dave Nelson
You may also want to check out HOME DEPOT…IF YOU HAVE ONE IN YOUR AREA…MIGHT BE CHEAPER THEN HOBBY STORE>>>>>>>HAVE MUCH FUN…
www.plastruct.com
Order catalog and then order all items you need
and you do not have to go to the store.
Great Modeling
Ron
it’s also availible from Walthers
Why buy when this stuff is thrown in the trash daily! Gas stations ans similar businesses have promotional advertising, especiall by tire companies, printed on very serviceable styrene sheets. Also, if your jurisdiction allows the front licence plate for vehicles to be “freelanced”, the material often used for the fancy front plates is sheet styrene. Try an auto wreckers. The last one I picked up was from a local grocery store where the manager had a Lions Club plate he didn’t want. Great modeling stock, and the price is right!
While I can understand the using of free stuff out there, and I have too, you still need a good source for your styrene needs. There are so many different shapes, thicknesses, and styles of styrene that you need, a good source is essential. If you are in a large city, look in the back of MR and see if there are any good LHS’s near you. If a city isn’t too far away, then considered driving in once every two months.
Don’t be surprised at how expensive some of your first scratch building is as you will be buying everything for the first time. Its kind of like one of those deals where you need 8 screws but they make you buy a hundred. My first scratch building has been expensive but the good news is that I have enough left over for several more projects, so amortized over several projects the price comes down.
The other great news is that you realize how easy it is to copy some of the Walther’s structures, or take your design from them, once you get even mildly skilled in scratch building. You will make mistakes, but in generaly the mistakes are fairly easy to hide.
There are two different types of styrene, cellular and expanded beadboard. Most of the styrene used in packing is cellular which is made with chemicals and will give off very toxic fumes when cut so if that is what you use, make sure you take precautions. The expanded beadboard is the safest bet and, as someone has already said, Walthers will probably carry all you want. You could also contact Woodland Scenics, they have a great little book on scenery modelling and you can also buy whatever you need there. Have fun.
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Originally posted by Scottydog
There are two different types of styrene, cellular and expanded beadboard.
Pop – I believe you’re talking about Styrofoam, not styrene. Styrene looks like thin, hard “plastic” sheets.
Another place to look for disgarded styrene sheets is record stores – the dividers between CDs (and LPs) get replaced often and it’s good styrene.
-Gerry
Great tip Gerry, thanks. And Rick you are quite right when it comes to special shapes (and much else besides judging from your multi-posts to these furums 
) I’m cost sensitive to styrene for my new layout since I’ve got to hide two levels stacked in a corner with a cityscape of tall buildings. These are represented by card mock ups right now, but will have to be modelled some day. Hence the need for a cheap source. Actually it’s three levels that are stacked there, but the lowest one is already hidden, so no styrene needed for that one!
DER,
I don’t know how contemporary you want your buildings, but MR had a good article, which is sitting on my to do stack of MR’s at my work bench. I can’t remember it right now, but if you can locate it, I highly recommend it.
For example, at my LHS, there is a smoked piece of rectangular plexiglass or something; I’m not really sure what it is. But using the article from above, I know I can use wood for the sides, cut the smoked what ever it is into two pieces, and I have a high rise in the making with dark windows. Run strips of styrene down and across the structure front, to add the “floors”, add styrene to the sides (on top of the wood) to give cement sides and your in business. My local LHS guy wants a $1.50 for the smoked whatever it is - he thinks it junk!
Check your yellow pages for a local plastic distributor. They probably stock styrene in large sheets (4’ x 8’) and cut to size for customers. I know its a big piece and you might think the price is high, but on a price per square inch basis, you’ll be way ahead of what you’d pay at a hobby retailer. You might even talk them into letting you take scrap for free!
Bruce J.
Rick: I seem to remember an article much as you describe from when we lived in Spruce Grove AB. That would be over 5 years ago. Does that fit the time frame? Anyway, I’ll see if I can track down some smoked whatever it is and play around a bit. I’ve at least one high rise mocked up in card. The other tall buildings may be grain / feed facilities. Truro NS has several of these, and I’ve freelanced something along those lines. One of the things I’m appreciating about N is the ability to get fairly large structures on the layout without taking up the entire room.
Most larger arts & crafts stores carry styrene. I get mine either at Michael’s or Pearls. These two stores have a huge selection of styrene sheets and shapes and are much cheaper than the LSHs.
Styrene is extremely cheap, with the price for plain, smooth styrene getting ridiculously expensive if cut and sold in smaller pieces. You might be interested in going directly to a source of bulk plastic that sells direct:
http://www.usplastic.com/
Click on: “Sheet/Rod/Shapes” in the blue menu box
Then click on the “Styrene” link.
Click on “High Impact Styrene Sheet”
Large sheets (40"x70") at cheap prices. 020 Thick: $4.66 ; 040 Thick $9.92 / sheet.
I’ll be ordering a lot of this to use for profile boards on my new layout as well as tons of scratchbuilding projects.
Wayne