What kind of styrofoam is best for dioramas. I hear about stuff that can be sanded, painted etc. Can styrofoam be painted with enamel and not desolve? For Canadians out there what would this special styrofoam be called here and where to get in Vancouver?

Godfather

I think I can Answer this for you
First to get to your answer. The Styrofoam that I use has a big density it`s really one big piece of foam ( I get it in blocks) Not the white variant with the white balls. It`s easy to cut and to work with. It`s light weighted, you can sand it easily and you can scribe in every detail with an ordinary pen. So it`s ideal stuff.
Where to get it: I have heared here several times on Armorama of people using foodtrays to cut out their walls and stuff I personally don`t work with that (never did also) but I know that here in Holland there are different ways to get your hands on the "blue gold" I know that you can get it at garages ( the ordered carbumpers are packed with it and they ussually throw it away) You can try companies that lay those wooden floors ( they use it as a shockabsorbing layer under the wooden floor) but you might have to pay for it there. Another option is that you go to your local carpenter he gets his prefab window and door frames packed with it ( and he is throwing it away too the barbarian).
My foam with a bigger density than normal comes from the hospital where my father works there they use it to make molds for artificial knees but herefor you need some "sources"that work in the hospital

hope this helped you out in some sort of way

by the way here is a link to my photoalbum at MSN where I have pictures of my contest dio that I made for the Armorama dio contest the building and the base are made of the "blue gold" Distraction progress pics

It has been my experience that no Styrofoam is good for dioramas as the top layer. It is okay if you are going to use it to build up the base but I think you need to cover it with something like Celluclay.

Just my thoughts…

Godfather, this is going to sound funny. I use the Woodland Scenic system for model railroading for my dios. Im not sure if youcan get it up there, but it is great and easy to use. Loke Robert said, you have to cover it with something like Celluclay or plaster clothe. I use celluclay to cover my foam and then build up the ground material from that.

I use florist's green foam.....sounds like the same sort of thing Faust is using......in Vancouver any Craft or Florist shop can sell it to you.......Micheal's would have it.
Also...yes Woodland Scenics can be found in Vancouver.....any good hobby shop....Imperial Hobbies in Richmond has everything....I'd call them 1st though and check.
Look in the yellow pages under Hobby.....you have most of the answers right there.

I've used rigid foam insulation (i've seen it in pink, green and blue )
Home Depot should have it.

i use the foam that you can by at Revy or home depot. it is kept near the shingles and is dirt cheap. its pink or blue, real good stuff. it is the stuff they use for roofing, but i cant remeber what its called.

Cheers,
Paul

Matt is right. This would be the best & most common to use. It's very inexpensive and one sheet can make quite a few diorama base's. It's available at any home improvement store's like Lowe's - The Home Depot - and most local Hardware stores.But like also mentioned, the top surface should be covered with "sculptamold " or "celluclay " and the side's should be sealed/painted. Francois Verlinden use's it quite often in his diorama book series, but in Europe it's more commonly known as "MARINE STYROFOAM " .......here in America just ask for "RIGID FOAM INSULATION "
The regular white styrofoam is better used for adding a raised mound or hill, etc. etc. on the surface of a diorama. This should be completely covered over with sculptamold or celluclay.

- ralph