Pattern Techniques for Foam Builds?

RichardWoodard

New Member
Currently working on Iron Man Mk7 from Darkside501st Foam Templates, specifically the lower forearm piece which features a couple of very narrow pieces. I notice that when I have these smaller, more narrow patterns the level of difficulty tracing the pattern over to the foam is horrible.

I have tossed around the idea of maybe cutting the pattern out on paper, and then using a spray adhesive to temporarily fuse it to the foam to make more precise cutting of the patterns onto the foam, but then I wonder if I'd be able to remove the paper from the foam later?

I know the more precise and more clean your cutting is, the less cleanup and seam repair you have to do later, so I am looking for any and all suggestions that other have done, specifically dealing with foam and foam builds. TIA.

BTW - my current method is just holding the cut out paper pattern down onto the foam and trying very, very carefully to trace the outline over onto the foam with a sharpie. For larger pieces, it works out fine. My question is more about the smaller, more detailed, narrow pieces that you may encounter.
 
I believe that pinning the pattern to the foam is what either Evil Ted or Punished Props do, both are YouTubers who post numerous tutorials on woking with foam.
 
What about a water based glue stick (like kids use in school)? That stuff should hold the paper to the foam and if you wet it later, should just lift off. PVA glue for that matter would also work.
 
Printing the pattern on to adhesive paper is also an option. When the foam shapes are cut soak them in warm soapy water and the adhesive paper will just peel right off.
 
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