# Styrofoam or newspaper?



## Cemeteryman (Nov 24, 2015)

Since this will be my first attempt at larger scale landscaping I have to ask.. Which do you prefer for creating hill/mountainsides, layering styrofoam sheets vs newspaper wads and plaster cloth? Which, in your experience, would be better suited for a novice and which do you consider easier to work with? Thanks for any advice.

Steve


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Since whatever you build with will be covered by plaster cloth
or paper mache, it
doesn't matter much. You can make forms of cardboard, wad up
paper and stuff between them, or cut foam in the shape of your
hill and again use the paper wads to fill it out. Sometimes you
can aid in the shaping by using wet strips of newspaper draped over
your supporting materials.

I did have a few pieces of left over 1" foam that I glued together
to create a mesa for one corner of the layout, it's face was
a 'cut' where the railroad came through. But it was intended
to have a flat top, not the typical mountain or hill. One thing
about foam, you can use a heated tool to make streams and
rock formations into it. I use drywall paste to add shape
and neat transition to the layout base material.

I like to use a 1/4" Paper covered foam from Walmart as a
base for any hill or mountain. I build the mountain (hill) on
that in an area where plaster messes are more tolerable.
Naturally, you'll want to prefit your base to where it
will reside on your layout.

Don


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

We have build all the mountains on the modular layout with 2" foam. The rough cut is with a jigsaw, and yes it makes a real mess! The layers are all hot-glued together and then final shaping is started. Harry Henning invented the tool used for the final shaping, it's an old bread knife bent in half to just drag over the layers until they all blend together. Finally, a layer of wallboard compound to seal everything and then come the artistic work, which I kinda' suck at. There's a lot of foam to vacuum up, but the results are great. For brick walls, we make them with the foam, then several coats of wallboard compound. The bricks are hand carved into the wallboard compound before it totally sets up, the results are great.

Here's a closeup of what someone with real talent can do with foam and wallboard compound, and it's not me! The second picture is a closeup during construction, you can still see the foam at the side.


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

I've made one large (5' long X 2' high) mountain and one small (2' long X 6" high) hill on my layout using Woodland Scenics plaster cloth on both.
For the mountain I created the sub-structure with criss-crossed cardboard strips hot glued together. For the small hill I used crumpled newspaper.
Both turned out, IMHO, quite well.
Don't be afraid of the plaster cloth. It's not nearly as "messy" as some make it out to be.
Bob


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

I've done both, as well as cardboard lattice covered with plaster cloth. Where I use plaster cloth, I cover it with a thin layer of plaster. Like John, I cover the foam to help it blend, though I use a product called Sculptamold for the top coat.

Both methods are messy. That's kind of a wash. Foam is a little easier to shape exactly the form you want, probably a little harder to get natural looking terrain. Foam tends to hold trees better.

Really, only you can say which you find better. No law says a layout has to be all one kind. My first layout combined all 3 approaches. I would recommend you give each a try, then finish with the one you prefer.


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## Larry Sr. (Sep 7, 2015)

Steve

I have done both and like the foam board better. It's a lot of whacking cutting digging but, to me it looks a little more realistic. It looks like crap until you start adding the dirt, colors and ground turf and trees.

Here is a couple of pictures while I was working. I don't have any more recent photos handy.

I guess it also depends on what type of mountains are you trying to model.


The last photo is to show that I built everything is small sections and then put them together like a puzzle.

I understand these are not your preferred gauge I just want to try and give you some feedback on your question. It all basically stays the same as far as mountain methods anyway.


Good luck with what ever you decide.

Larry


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## Aminnich (Nov 17, 2014)

Whatever you do, DONT GET THE WHITE BEAD FOAM!!! It makes a huge mess and isn't the best to use anyway. But being my cheap self..... I'm using it


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## Cemeteryman (Nov 24, 2015)

Wow. Thanks for all the great advice so far. That's a lot to consider. My plan is to use the cheaper white 1" foam board as the base on top of the plywood and for construction of a tunnel, etc. other than that I think I will try the newspaper/plaster cloth for the mountainside since I already have a bag of the cloth in inventory.



Aminnich said:


> Whatever you do, DONT GET THE WHITE BEAD FOAM!!! It makes a huge mess and isn't the best to use anyway. But being my cheap self..... I'm using it


I have read where a lot of you use pink? Is that preferred for sculpting and is it readily available at the home stores?

:smilie_daumenpos:


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## Aminnich (Nov 17, 2014)

Home Depot and Lowes have from 1/2" and 2" insulation board. You also don't want the stuff that has the foil on it. From what I've seen, the 2" is about $32


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## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

Cemeteryman said:


> I have read where a lot of you use pink? Is that preferred for sculpting and is it readily available at the home stores?


You can get extruded foam (which is what the pink stuff is) at Menard's, Home Depot, and Lowe's. The pink stuff is from Owen's-Corning and I know that Menard's and Home Depot carry that. The blue stuff is made by Dow (IIRC) and is sold by Lowe's. I have a layer of 2" pink foam on my layout, and I have found the neatest, but not fastest, way to cut it is to make repeated passes with a SHARP snap off blade knife, the kind with the tip you can break sections off of.
Like this:
http://www.menards.com/main/tools-h...425466736-c-9123.htm?tid=-1113604631539767809


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## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

This is the best tool for cutting foam that I've found. 
You can cut straight, curves, compound curves and even slops with it and hardly any mess.
Simple holder for a hacksaw fine tooth blade. It's all I use.
I ground a point on it for better penetration. 








Not too much pressure let the saw do the work.


Magic


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

I use a mini hacksaw like Magic does.

I'll reiterate aminnich's caution against using the cheap beadboard foam. This doesn't cut neatly -- the little beads tend to tear out instead of cutting. It's also softer,and can lead to flexing problems.

The insulating foam is much more rigid (2" variety can hold my weight) and not nearly as prone to tearing when you cut it. My local Home Depot had 1" panels 2x8 sixe for $18.99 yesterday. There are better places to be cheap in this hobby.


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