hi,

I'm thinking of using foam board to build up a bridge and the landscape, something I would normally do with bits of wood.

how easy is it to cut?  what type of glue do you use? 

can anyone suggest good articles to read about this or offer any advice?

cheers,


tim

Hi Tim.
Foam board is extremely easy to cut - a "stanley" knife and straight-edge do the job a treat for the thicker grades. A sclapel will suffice for the thinner stuff.

You have two materials to consider when glueing. The surface is paper - so just about anything will do the job, EXCEPT that the inner layer of foam will of course be attacked by a lot of adhesives if they get in at the edges or soak through the paper. My personal preference is a 'hot glue gun' - which certainly worked well when I knocked up some baseboards using the stuff about a year ago. Reminds me - I had better get on with a couple more!

cheers,

if you don't have a hot glue gun, what is the best glue to use?

I am just going to use it to build the structure for a bridge and then some elevated land.

thanks,

tim

Does anyone know of a supplier of 5mm & 2mm foam board at reasonable prices?

Some of the internet suppliers seem ok until you add postage then it starts to look expensive.

Tony

Rymans sell 5mm foam board, about £8 for A1 size.

Ive used foam board, a good material to use, Also used it for hard standing on my layout. Its a great matrial & best to cut it with a sharp knife, but when cutting it only score it lightly a few times untill it snaps,

As for glue, Id recommend Hi-tac glue, its avalible from Dunemill around £3-4 in a bronze coloured bottle, Works like PVA glue but is real strong & can be used on anything

Mark

I tend to stick mine with PVA .
Buy it from Hobbycraft. usually available in black or white.
5mm thick A2 and larger
5.5mm thick A4 and A3

.

I've used foamboard (much of it free from old trade fair displays) extensively on my last two layouts. Works for scenery, trackbed, and backscene. Cuts in seconds and build up in layers for small undulations of land.

Agree with Ryman and hobbycraft.

Also, as above, if you have any friends who deal with business display boards, they might have old advertising boards going free.



.

This thread may be useful to you. It starts out about baseboards but covers gluing, cutting and shaping (e.g. using cocktail sticks to position the scenery along with either PVA or Copydex to glue) and some of the types of foam board.

My layout is completely foam board and I've just bought another Spaceboard (from B&Q) for my T gauge ICE layout (whenever I find time to build it)

 
I have used foam board for a small base board .it is very easy to cut with a sharp knife and a striaght edge .the glue I used was pva which appears to work ok
I bought mine at  the local  the local art suppliers they have a wide range both in thiickness and size   

cheers for the replies!   all very useful info.

I shall look for some in local arts or stationery shops and see what I find!

best wishes


tim