Tool recommendation wanted for working with foam

These box cutters come in handy.  I'm building a Christmas layout right now and I'm using them a lot.

Also, check out @chris a videos on spray foam terrain

MikeH posted:

These box cutters come in handy.  I'm building a Christmas layout right now and I'm using them a lot.

Excellent suggestion.  Thank you.  I forgot to mention that I have them as well.  

Of course, I could use a couple more.

George

MikeH posted:

Also, check out @chris a videos on spray foam terrain

That's definitely worth a look!  Thank you!

George

MikeH posted:

Also, check out @chris a videos on spray foam terrain

Mike,

What is the foam material he is using?  

And the batting?  Do you have a product name?

Many thanks!

George

The foam is regular Great Stuff foam that you can buy in the spray can at Lowe’s, Home Depot, Menard’s, Walmart, etc.  Be aware that there are both 12 Oz. & 16 Oz. cans.  On a per ounce basis, Home Depot has the best price in my area (St. Louis).

I don’t know about the batting but I don’t think it matters.  Any old quilt batting will do.  I bought some that has a pretty low pile (I didn’t want it too fluffy).  I’m going to start this weekend so fingers crossed.

Mike H:   Thanks for referencing this topic.  Glad you're going to "go for it"  Don't hesitate to reach out and ask me any questions if something comes up. 

George.  I have a few free minutes at lunch hour so thought I should chime in.   I originally found this method on youtube, tried it and was totally sold.  I will try to find link to original video, but here are a few quick answer's to your questions: 

Like Mike H said,   Great stuff regular from Home Depot is what I have had the best luck with.   I used the same "LOW LOFT" batting recommended by the gentleman who got me into this.... It comes in Low, Medium and High and refers to the thickness of the batting..... 

Here is a link to the original youtube video I watched....   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C6aHEoUWYg

It was done by this gentleman:  Scale Model Trains & Colorado's Joint Line 

My youtube channel id is:  CJ Ambrosi     you should find all the making hills and mountains videos there

After I did the first hill module following his method, I decided to add my own twist which was using the expanding spray foam under the batting.....  requires much less foam carving time and mess and enables you to shape it as it cures...   

I am not a big instructional video guy, but I found this method so much better than making hard shell mountains that I just had to share it....  All my scenery is done this way now, it's cheaper, lighter and much faster in my opinion than plaster and hydrocal.... Once the foam sets up you bury it in paint and start putting down dirt, grass, foliage etc.  

Chris a

Don't know if this helps, George, but in building a mountain tunnel for my layout I started with the extruded foam as a base and added the Great Stuff spray foam to get a more rounded shape and, rather than using quilting material, I applied WS plaster sheets over it to get the final shape I wanted and then painted and added various turfs and foliage. Also, you should know that the spray foam comes in two varieties - one that expands quite a bit and one that doesn't, so you have a choice.

G3750 posted:

Specifically, I am trying to get the final shaping of slopes and terrain right.

George,

I did all of my shaping of the foam with my bandsaw to shape each component to something close and then assembled the terrains bit by bit with hot glue. Over that went a painted on layer of Hydrocal to finalize the surface and make it into something that I could "plant", glue into/onto, all of the scenery items.

Do a search on YouTube for "tippi foam cutter". These are out of production but frequently appear on THE auction site.

Steve

Mike H,

Where in St. Louis? I'm in O'Fallon. Didn't know of anyone else in the area using DCS.

Don

Sunset Hills

For my scenery, I created hills by building-up layers (one at a time) of one-inch-thick extruded pink foam. The layered pieces were shaped (in planform and slope) with a razor saw before being attached. I glued the layers together with a combination of two-part epoxy and yellow carpenter's glue. Polyurethane foam rock shapes and plaster rock shapes from rock molds were glued to the built-up shape and the foam was then covered with a layer of mold-a-scene lightweight plaster molded by hand to obtain the final shape before adding ground cover, small rocks and trees.

MELGAR

Mel's comment reminded me.  Another good adhesive for pink foam board is Original Gorilla Glue (also recommended to me by Chris A).

I had a local train enthusiast do some of my rock cliffs. I bought 2" pink foam. He used 3M Super 77 to glue layers together to get the right height   He just used a razersaw to scrape the foam to a basic shape then he'd cut the horizontal lines after that he'd  pick at the foam with the corner of the razersaw. It was an awful mess, but it turned out pretty good.

George

Lots of previous posts for ideas for you to think about.

I have beat,  grind,  cut, whacked and numerous other ways worked with foam. I also used my table saw and chop saw.

I copied another forum members methods to get mountains and tunnels looking the way I liked. I really like tunnels.

The way I did mine is not the way for the faint of heart. lol

Good luck and and most important have fun with it.

Larry

Sorry the pictures are so weak.

Larry SR, nice work. There was hardly any mess, right?

Don

My favorite tool:

When I start to lose patience and want faster results:

Results:

Jim

Jim, that's fantastic. Nothing I love more than floor to ceiling rock cliffs,

Don