Styrene Foam

[thelonegrif]

does anybody know where i can purchase styrene boards from as i am an eldar player and im building a table in my basement (provided the wife isn't to much of a distraction) since GW doesn't make much eldar terrain im gonna have to make my own does anybody know where i can buy this stuff in decent size boards at a decent price???

[Herald of Nurgle]

All depends on the thickness you want.

Decent hardware or other such stores should have some in stock. I'd assume from what i've heard that Walmart would have it (they also have Children for sale on aisle 3) but I have no idea.
Over here in the UK B&Q sells the stuff. I generally get it from there.

[thelonegrif]

All depends on the thickness you want.

Decent hardware or other such stores should have some in stock. I'd assume from what i've heard that Walmart would have it (they also have Children for sale on aisle 3) but I have no idea.
Over here in the UK B&Q sells the stuff. I generally get it from there.

sweet thanks for the info might have to go looking when i go home casue its been 3 years since ive been able to visit a walmart on a regular basis

[Lane]

If you mean Extruded Polystyrene insulating foam You should be able to get it at any Lowes or Home Depot hardare store. Available thickness varies with location, in the south it's hard to find anything over 1/2" but up north 2" is fairly common.

I would avoid Expanded Polystyrene, the bead type used for packing, for most terrain since the beads flake off making it harder to get a constant shape.

There are some other plastic foams available that may be worthwhile. I recently saw some PVC Foam at a local plastic distributor, higher density and strength than insulating foam and a fairly fine grain.

[Drew da Destroya]

"For Sale" signs tend to be made out of styrene sheets, and are dirt cheap. Might be worth looking into.

[weeble1000]

Like Lane said, it can be hard to find decent extruded polystyrene in the south, but you can use expanded polystyrene and still keep your terrain looking nice if you Spackle the exterior. As much as I prefer Home Depot, I've found that Lowes generally has a larger variety of polystyrene boards in stock.

If you want high impact styrene sheets (plasticard), the best advice I ever got was to check my local phone book for plastics companies. If you want to pay an arm and a leg you can get Plastruct brand products by checking their website for retailers in your area. However, if you want a lot of styrene and don't want to pay out your nose, contact plastics manufacturers in your area. For example, in New Orleans, where I'm at right now, a manufacturer in the city sells .040 styrene in 48x96 inch sheets for 23 dollars. That's 8 feet by 4 feet and lord knows what you'd have to pay Plastruct for a similar amount of the same material.

[Rafe_131]

And remember to pay attention to the grade and density of what you buy. I get my polystyrene from Menards, and they carry several different types, ranging from the density of styrofoam (without the mess), all the way to stuff you can barely snap over your knee....And try to avoid the stuff with the pre-cut guide lines and notches.

[thelonegrif]

so could you educate me what grade and density i should go for when building terrain namely waygate and wraith bone constructs

[Rafe_131]

Since you're looking for a nice, smooth Eldar look, I'm gonna assume that there will be sanding involved. For that, I'd recommend the most dense styrene you can find. It's usually pink. Couple that with a medium to light grit sand paper....say mabey 160 grit to 200 grit, and you should be turning out Eldar terrain by the bucket loads fairly quickly. You'll just have to play around with different combinations to find what works best for you.

[eldargal]

If you haven't already seen it,this might be useful:
http://s11.invisionfree.com/Work_In_Progress/index.php?showtopic=6723
I'm working on an Eldar city board myself.

[thelonegrif]

thanks for the link eldargal that was very helpful and rafe thank you as well with that said as soon as i get home im off to hit every craft shop 15 miles outside of boston

[Rafe_131]

No problem. Hope everything turns out the way you want it. Have any other questions, just send me a message.

[Mystery.Shadow]

This (pic below) was made from Extruded Polystyrene Insulating Foam. Purchased at Lowe's. You can get good pricing for damaged pieces!! Look for them, ask the Departmant Manager about them. Due to the nature of the product, damage happens often! (Good for us!)

http://album.warpshadow.com/v/HiveFleetMysteryShadow/Tau/LowResBadDayForTau.jpg.html

Ignore the models on the Terrain.

[thelonegrif]

awesome thanks for the info dude not only am i gonna slap every craft shop i can but lowes too :D

[Lane]

Since you're looking for a nice, smooth Eldar look, I'm gonna assume that there will be sanding involved. For that, I'd recommend the most dense styrene you can find.

I disagree.

The insulating foam you find at hardware stores (blue or pink) are the same very low density , just different manufacturers. A high density foam would not insulate well. Despite their low density they are fairly strong and have a fine grain so they sand or carve well. I would recommend this type for 90% of people making terrain.

The most dense foam is not always the best choice. While not styrene foam there are some carving and modeling foams that are very dense.

Balsa Foam is available in 5#, 10# and 20# (per ft^3) and the manufacturer warns the 20# is harder to work . I've played with this a little and liked it, however it's more expensive than insulating foam and I'm not much of a sculptor.
http://www.dickblick.com/products/balsa-foam/
http://www.dickblick.com/products/balsa-foam-ii/

Renshape, a modeling prototyping board, is available up to 48# and is almost as hard as cast urethane resin. I would not recommend Renshape for making terrain though, expensive and sold in large sheets. It is generally machined and is used to prototype products or verify CNC programs

[Mystery.Shadow]

Yowch! Balsa Foam is rather pricey. Guess that's why I've always used Extruded Polystyrene Insulating Foam!

[thelonegrif]

looks so but i think out of everything i have seen its what im going to go with simply because i dont care about price i care about looks lol and what looks best is what i go for

[Lane]

Yes Balsa Foam is expensive, however I think it is probably worth the price for the right use and sculptor.

The 5# is soft enough that you can carve it with a toothpick yet holds a sharp edge. It sands easily. Unlike other soft foams it does not grab the tool and rip out chunks of foam.

First time I saw it in use the sculptor made a 3" x 6" stucco covered brick wall in about an hour. He sculpted the stucco then added cracks and areas where the stucco was removed and sculpted the bricks.

The foam will compress some allowing objects to be pushed into the foam to add detail or texture. Push a symbol into the foam and carefully remove and you have an indentation of that symbol. Make a GS mold of a raised detail and push it into the Balsa Foam and you have raised detail.

Because the foam is chemical resistant and porous you can glue it with most adhesives. In fact they recommend once you have an area finished that you coat with PVA or even superglue, this soaks in and dries making the foam harder so that area is less likely to be damaged.