Would like to know if anyone here has used the blue foam in scratch building other than ground cover and how to you finish and paint it?

The Insulation board?? it's also Pink.... use a white glue mix and cover with you're groundwork........

yes the same stuff i have heard of some that use it to make models from ground up. can you glass the stuff? i have seen a page where one person had made a russin sub out carved of out it but did not go into how he cover and finished the foam.

Be sure to test any paints on the foam. I think only enamels work on the foam. Others melt it away.

About common foams-Styrene foam is the most common.Used for packing block,insulation,beach toys,coolers,arts and crafts,etc. Avoid using petroleum based solvents,paints,and resins directly on them.The foam will melt and dissolve.You can paint a coat of common latex house paint on it no problem.After it drys,prime and paint with anything you want.Be careful with resins though as the heat from the curing stage can melt it out of shape.
Polyurethane foam is used for surfboard cores and readily accepts resins and any paint.Much more expensive though.You would have to probably get stock sheets or slabs from industrial plastics distributers.
cheers!

Hi Victor,
I scratched a bunker out of the blue insulation foam, it was the really dense stuff, not the normal styrofoam. It was really easy to work with, cut, and even sanded up very nicely.
You can use acryllics on it with no problem, no real need to prime, just brush or airbrush on your colour. Even put an artist oil wash with no harm done. But the thinner I used is a non toxic one, so I wouldn't try using paint thinner or solvents on it..it'll melt!
Here's a couple pics of the bunker I made....
Cheers,
Kelly

thaks kelly and great job on that Dio! did you carve the brick or didyou use heat?

Hi Victor,
All I did for this one was take a square piece of the foam, I beleive it was two inches thick, and took it to my old man's work shop, and used his chop saw at a 45 degree angle, cut the front to the angles. Pieces of little stock were then cut to fit around the top and glued down with straight white glue. I sanded the edges, painted the whole thing with craft acryllic grey, and then put a striaght black artist oil wash over top. I made the stairs by taking another piece of foam, and cut out the stairs using a razor saw. When I tried to pry apart the two cut sections, some broke off, but that turned out good, because it replicated broken concrete!

Yes you can. In 1983, Popular Mechanics offered for sale plans to make a car using the foam board with fiberglass.

ya can get big pieces of foam from appliance stores, and its usually free, as its the packing material for large tv's and such........

reb