Need advice on a scratchbuild

[tagg]

Long time lurker here and IMO theres no better place for advice on scratchbuilding than here. Im about to start my first large build and hopefully I'm not setting my sights too high. I plan on building a Warlord out of foamboard for the base structure and use plasticard for armor plates and details. A couple of questions for anyone who may be able to help,
What sort of glue would be best to hold it together? hot glue,wood glue? etc.
Is there some sort of sandable putty or other sompound i can use to cover seams or irregularities?
Is there a way to seal it or protect it so that when I hopefully make it to a painting stage the propellant in a basecoat doesnt melt the foam?
Hopefully you guys can understand what Im after I know I'll have other questions but those are the main ones I can come up with at the moment. I'll post pics ASAP, and reply as quick as I can to any suggestions

[magickbk]

I'm sure there are those who can give you better advice than I, but a Warlord out of foamcore might be easy to damage, and if you are going to put that kind of time into something, you want it to last. My recommendation would be to build an armature out of PVC pipe, use blocks of insulation foam (like Owens-Corning Foamular) to bulk out the shape, foamcore to even everything out to exact shape and flatten the surfaces, and plasticard for detail work.

[olberon]

just grey cardboard, print the plans on it and seal it with a few coats of varnish. works great for me.
I already made a few thunderhawks this way and they look great!

[lomaxxdurang]

Long time lurker here and IMO theres no better place for advice on scratchbuilding than here. Im about to start my first large build and hopefully I'm not setting my sights too high. I plan on building a Warlord out of foamboard for the base structure and use plasticard for armor plates and details. A couple of questions for anyone who may be able to help,
What sort of glue would be best to hold it together? hot glue,wood glue? etc.
Is there some sort of sandable putty or other sompound i can use to cover seams or irregularities?
Is there a way to seal it or protect it so that when I hopefully make it to a painting stage the propellant in a basecoat doesnt melt the foam?
Hopefully you guys can understand what Im after I know I'll have other questions but those are the main ones I can come up with at the moment. I'll post pics ASAP, and reply as quick as I can to any suggestions

So as to resolve some of your questions milliput is sandable tappable and shapable and smooths to perfection with a little water as you go. If you have one base coat with an air brush even a shoddy pos one will do the work you need without melting the foam core as actual air is the propellant. I don't do a lot of foam core work but I would assume hot glue would be fine, but cool glue might work better and be less likely to accidentally damage anything. Its best to test the various methods on scrap first though. Instead of starting with a warlord I would build a bunker or 5 to get used to the necessary methods of construction.

[Lord Anubis]

Tagg, you could actually do the whole thing out of basic cardstock, just like olberon said. It's extremely easy to work with and a lot cheaper than materials that will give you much harder-to-achieve results. Plus, there's already some great templates in existence, too, so you won't fell like you're going in kind of blind. I know of at least two Warlord templates.

Please check out my site--In The Grim Cheapness of the Future (http://thegrimcheapness.blogspot.com/). I've done a ton of Paperhammer projects like Land Raiders (http://thegrimcheapness.blogspot.com/2010/02/mk1-land-raider-part-three.html), Rhinos (http://thegrimcheapness.blogspot.com/2010/07/rhino-fleet.html), Defilers (http://thegrimcheapness.blogspot.com/2010/10/defiler-pt-v.html), Baneblades (http://thegrimcheapness.blogspot.com/2011/09/baneblade-bonus-post.html), and more. They're all as solid as plastic models and a heck of a lot cheaper.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Gec7NtYlI_4/TLudS6dAt8I/AAAAAAAAAj0/pkJUsX6Suz4/s1600/finished+template.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Gec7NtYlI_4/TF34LNC85bI/AAAAAAAAAbM/H9phsKbSOuw/s1600/canopy+patch.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-89j_bfkJyQI/ToZjXKqfwgI/AAAAAAAAA7g/c2V92flGeBg/s400/rivety%2Bdetails.JPG


I was about to start an Imperial Thunderbolt, and hope to build a Warhound before the end of the year.

[Mystery.Shadow]

Surprised there are no pictures here. Or even links!

http://album.warpshadow.com/v/HiveFleetMysteryShadow/BFT/01011308.JPG.html

It's no Warlord, but it's a pretty good scratchbuild.

[DarkLink]

I built one out of foamcore once. It works just fine. Reasonably thick cardboard would as well. Scratchbuilding hulls is easy, it's the detail work that's difficult. You might want to put an internal brace inside the big main hull, though.

And plain white glue is plenty strong enough for any scratchbuilding you'll do.

Also, don't bother with plasticard pretty much ever. It's difficult to work with and there's no real benefit. Buy some soda or cereal, and use the thin cardboard from the box it comes in. That's plenty durable, cheap, and very easy to work with.

[Lerra]

Also, don't bother with plasticard pretty much ever. It's difficult to work with and there's no real benefit. Buy some soda or cereal, and use the thin cardboard from the box it comes in. That's plenty durable, cheap, and very easy to work with.

Plasticard is a great tool. It's pretty much required for "pointy bits". On the Orky Bastion (http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?t=23305) a couple of threads below this one, if all of those pointy bits at the top were cardboard, it wouldn't last nearly as long. Also plasticard comes in multiple thicknesses and can be gouged and drilled and sanded and all that good stuff.

[Lord Anubis]

Surprised there are no pictures here. Or even links!

Well, I had about half a dozen links in my response. I just used hyperlinks rather than a bare URL. ;)

But I added some pictures. Thanks for the suggestion. :)