Foam board for dioramas

[Stokesy44]

Hi All

I've been bitten by the diorama bug so my brains a boggling with ideas and I'm buying kits specifically with dioramas in mind.

I understand a lot of modellers use foam board in diorama base construction so my newbie questions are what is the best stuff and where (UK) is the best place to buy it.

As always I stand on the shoulders of giants and am grateful in advance for any and all replies.

[Fridgy]

You mean foam board as in polystyrene board??

[digger303]

Not a diorama builder myself ....yet !
Cat litter....good for small rocks
Garden......small trees...some herbs
beach........sea ferns...trees and such.
Old blinds....bass wood....for building structures.
I believe coffee stirrers are used in the same way
J's works silicone molds for making bricks, brick walls, paving roads, cobblestones and small bridges.
There is a good book ( on my wish list ) called making buildings for railroads
https://www.bookdepository.com/Making-R ... 1847974600

cheers

Ps....Extruded Polystyrene Insulation is the type your looking for...note not expanded although it also can be used and pva glue is all you need.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6mm-10mm-UNDE ... 1438079888

[Stokesy44]

You mean foam board as in polystyrene board??

I think so, yes

[Fridgy]

Instead of buying it, you could try white good retailers. There is always polystyrene protecting fridges etc in their boxes

[ForbesHutton]

Take a look in building suppliers. The pink and blue foam, for our purposes, are the same. Their prime benefit (for us) is that they can be cut with a hobby knife without turning into a million little foam balls with a heavy static charge (like the "regular" beam foam used in packaging). It comes in different sized and thickness sheets. The bigger the size (4'x8') should be the best value, but you'll have to deal with getting it home and storing it. I just borrowed a knife from the cashier at the building supplier and sliced it in half to fit it in the car. 3/4" and 1" (20mm and 25mm?) should be able to support light scenery and models without a wood base, the thinner sheets will give you more flexibility to build up your diorama without having to cut off (waste) foam like you would with the thicker sheets.
Also get some glue while at the building supplier. White glue won't dry between two sheets of the foam, and some adhesives will melt the foam. I use Gorilla Glue and IIRC others use yellow carpenter's glue, but a good building supplier should have guides and staff that can tell you which glues are foam safe and effective.
The other "foam" that modellers use is called "foam core" over here. It's thin (5mm?) and has paper on both sides. It's mostly used for scratchbuilding buildings and walls, but again care must used in picking a glue, most glues will soak the paper and rinkle it, pulling it away from the foam and crating problems. Because of that, this stuff isn't good for building the diorama base.
You could buy sheets of the bead foam (the packaging type stuff) but unless you want to deal with the foam beads everywhere, you'd need to get hot electric carving tools that melt instead of cut. The problems that come along with that are the smell/fumes, burning yourself or stuff (up to and including the house) and being limited in how you can cut and carve compared to the blue/pink foam and a hobby knife/box cutter.

[digger303]

the packaging foam is called expanded foam.
the insulating type foam is extruded ...
I have glued expanded foam together just using normal white pva glue...works fine. . It may take longer to dry I'm not sure about that cause I left mine a day.Don't know about the extruded and how it performs with glues.
Check utube out . I think Coen's got a clip building diorama's.
As forbes suggest the building hardware places are best.

[Smiffy]

How's this?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/modelling-foam

[Stokesy44]

Thanks for all the replies Gents.

I think I'll probably go with the modelling type stuff. After a search the builders stuff seems to be too thick for me (no pun intended). The thinnest stuff I found seems to be 25mm, I'm really after sheets that are a 10mm or less. I've found what I'm after at a hobby store about 20 miles away so I'll be off there later today.

I've really caught the bug for dioramas I have kits for a LRDG desert truck scene, a Sherman with 101st Airborne troopers for a Band of Brothers set up and Airfix's marvellous Battle of Britain set which includes a new tool 1/48 Hurricane, ground vehicles and RAF personnel - for £20 - AMAZING value.

Thank goodness I don't pay the community charge in Feb and March, I can hide the costs in my monthly budget plans

Once again, thanks for your help and advice, you guys are aces

[Tomcat64]

Hope I'm not too late but it's also worth checking stationery stores if you've got one closer than 20 miles away.

I picked up my last pack at Staples in the "Display" section.

[digger303]

did you not see this.....6-10mm
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6mm-10mm-UNDE ... 1438079888

[Stokesy44]

Hope I'm not too late but it's also worth checking stationery stores if you've got one closer than 20 miles away.

I picked up my last pack at Staples in the "Display" section.

I've just got back. Drove past Staples on my way out of Leicester. Its a mile from my house! I'll know for next time.

[Tomcat64]

But at least you had an excuse for a trip to the hobby shop

[Stokesy44]

But at least you had an excuse for a trip to the hobby shop

Indeed. 1 Tamiya SAS jeep, 2 packs of DAS clay and some desert colour lichen for a desert SAS dio I have in mind. Oh, and the foam board too

[Lysus]

Jeep followed you home, eh?

Read with interest, need to get started on my own for End is Nigh. Glad you asked so I didn't have to

[Twokidsnosleep]

Jeep followed you home, eh

I need a Porsche Carrera Targa to do that for me......just cause I do; full size mind you

[Lysus]

Jeep followed you home, eh

I need a Porsche Carrera Targa to do that for me......just cause I do; full size mind you

Agreed. Maybe there's a Porche pound somewhere full of cars that need loving homes.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Indeed a Porsche pound..cars taken from underserving a holes and donated to blessed lambs like myself.
Oh and foam.
I kept a ton of packaging, mostly harder density foam and cardboard stuff from things from the house build.
Case in point, a little stash under the short workbench in The Studio..OOoooooo like how that sounds; very highbrow

If you know someone buying furniture, TV's, new appliances those big kind of things, they have some great packaging materials. Maybe snooping around a big box store or electronics store??? One man's garbage is another's treasure
If you are a little resourceful and use your head and hands, can find lots of really cheap stuff for dioramas

[Augustus]

[Stokesy44]

did you not see this.....6-10mm
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6mm-10mm-UNDE ... 1438079888

Sorry Digger, missed these (and your reminder post). They would have been great although a minimum order of five sheets may have seen me making a 1:1 dio to use them all up.

Thanks for looking the stuff up

[Twokidsnosleep]