OK I give up, I've spent days peering at tiny pics on websites trying to guess the density of the stuff, I've tortured the storeman at work opening packing boxes he's just sealed and now, to cap it all, the stuff I did get and thought would work has been taken over by the cat so it's covered in black hair, All I need to do is glue a few dozen fleas to it and I've made the first 1/15000 scale diorama. So I need help again, What's the best foam to use for the basic contour work before I add the clay and where to find/buy it. Sorry about the rant at the start, I'm ok now, glad you let me get it out, thanks doc, send me the cheque.

I buy mine at the arts and craft store "Micheals" here. Comes in different block and sheet sizes.Cut, stack, plaster or celluclay over.

The white hard styrofoam not the flower arrangement green foam.

I've used the stuff they pack computers with (the white solid blocks that hold the corners still).

The best foam I think by far is the pink insulation foam you get from DIY stores. It comes in various thicknesses and cuts without leaving a trail of little round statically charged foam pellets :-) It also comes in big sheets and doesnt cost an arm and a leg. Cheers Kevin

that i think would be your best bet, as it is very easy to carve and clay over, I tried regular styrofoam and it just makes a mess and you can never get the right contor/shapes you want.

I to use the pink insulation foam. Easy to carve be it a knife or a hotwire carving tool. I recall MicroTools has/had one.

IT also takes well to plaster of paris, spackling, clay and even acrylic paint.

I've created foxholes, vehicle fighting position and even a Mortar firing pit. All 3 dio are in my personal gallery here.

The Pink Foam, made by Corning I think, is great and CHEAP! A 4'x8'x2", ok metric guess comin up- 1.2m x 2.4m x 50mm, sheet is about $12-$15US. That is a LOT of foam! Cuts really well with a hot wire tool, available at Michaels for $6.

Jim

Thanks everybody, styrofoam is a curse to use so I'll try the local DIY shop for something. The pink stuff sounds like what I want, I'm going to cut foxholes and such so it sounds best, thanks

Redskin,

The "Extruded Polystyrene Insolation" is definately what you want. It comes in pink and blue. I just happened to have a couple of chunks of the blue on my desk. This is the inch and a half thick stuff. It comes in different thicknesses.



Yeah, I was cutting some at work for a diorama I'm working on. I was on break...

Shaun