AK Interactive offers three types of foam for dioramas.

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Thanks!

Is this the same material used on buildings for heat insulation?

No the carving foam I bet is the same was used a lot in the special effects industry now with the new technology not much any more,is still used in theatres or for master for the production of masks and stuff like that, is called Balsa foam ,you can find it in shops sell casting materials or arts,there’s different grit and from soft to hard,probably you can buy cheaper than AK but bigger slabs but isn’t a very cheap material ,is similar to the green foam the florist use but a lot better,very easy to work

The other 2 for me look a lot like the ones you mention used for insulation in the building industry

A modelling friend, and I, have tried the "balsa foam" material. It carves and sands very well, but it's drawback is that it is like a sponge. Any amount of paint either brushed or sprayed on just soaks right in and hardly leaves any noticeable color. You will have to use a lot of primer, or make the first coat with a house latex paint to seal the material. Even though the material is easy to work, pink, or blue, insulation foam is much cheaper when you can buy it in 4 x 8 ft sheets.

Personally, I wish AK or anyone would do a generic Renshape product. Hard to get in small quantities and fairly pricey while fantastic for carving complex shapes.

30 euros shipping to Canada???? What the heck!???

XPS/styrodur is often sealed with either white-glue/water/black craft paint (to see that you get all places) or Modgepot/black craft paint mix when used by crafters in the role playing/wargaming scene. Maybe that works with the carving stuff as well.

And anyone working with this stuff - take a look at the templates done by Gerard Boom. He is the "styrodur guru" but the templates would work with the carving stuff as well

Oh and the XPS foam can sometimes be obtained for free just asking at a construction site. In many countries any leftovers/cuts must be disposed of and that is costly so the foreman will likely give you free access to the dumpster

Yeah, thats why I asked You can also buy it in construction shops in 1*1m tables, a few bucks and enough for 10 dioramas.

One tip for those dont want to make the same mistake as I: dont use spray basecoat on this! The propellant of the spray simply eats the material!

Same for some airbrush thinners/cleaners, glues, paints...

Basically white glue and water based acrylic paints work. Covering it in white glue might protect it enough for spray painting.

Anyone interested in some more detail:

Black Magic Craft

and similar crafters work a lot with the stuff. Gerard Boom has vids as well but mostly in "sound mostly like german" (he is Dutch but speaks better german than I speak dutch ) Facebook has a few groups dedicated to this like the The Tabletop Crafters Guild and "crafting for tabletop" (mostly) works for diorama as well