Styrofoam model ideas...

[Jennigirl]

So I accquired a bunch of styrofoam pieces, and I want to make something out of them. I am looking for ideas, and suggestions.

 

[19narvik40]

So I accquired a bunch of styrofoam pieces, and I want to make something out of them. I am looking for ideas, and suggestions.

A great deal depends on what you plan to put on the bases. The first thing that comes to mind are multi level or layered diorama bases. You could make hills of various angles or flat surfaces depending on what you want to portray in the diorama. There are lots of products out there to add texture to the styroform surfaces. You could even make walls or other structures as need be.

 

[laellee]

Look into buying (or making) a hot wire cutter, it's pretty amazing the stuff you can cut and shape in no time at all. The fumes are NOT GOOD, but you can shape out the styro like butter and it doesn't make the mess that traditional cutting and shaving does.

 

[Rogviler]

Oh man, I'd be making LotR castles and WH40k bunkers... It's also good filler for scratchbuilding larger ships so you don't have to use so much precious styrene sheet for structure.

The two caveats with "bead" sytrofoam is that it's more fragile than insulation foam, and the texture means you'll have to do a little work to disguise it, like spackling over it or using your favorite paint mixture for texture.

 

[Jaitea]

Is Styrofoam the same as expanded polystyrene, can’t get that brand in UK

J

 

[Joseph C. Brown]

I'm used to working with the sheets of pink or blue insulation foam; the bead-style of Styrofoam in your pics are good for making bases for other things to sit upon. The bead-style Styrofoam, (in my experience, for my builds) has been too prone to shedding parts of itself, or unexpectedly breaking or loosing dimensional integrity. Sure, we are all makers here and and can create anything with stuff that we possess instead of the stuff we really need.... but. That bead-style of Styrofoam is a bear to usefully model with.

I'm trying to not be the one with all the negative waves and all - definitely best of luck!

 

[TazMan2000]

I agree with the above posts for that type of foam. It's relatively useless as a building material. You can use it as a filler where you would use the high density foam as a building medium. You can also make your own glue using this foam and acetone.

TazMan2000

 

[JPH]

Make a spaceship, like a Star Wars frigate.

Make a sturdy base, then use the styrofoam for panels

Coat it with glue or something to harden the outside so it doesnt shed.