Making A Structure

[mrephunk]

I want to make an building for a diorama I am working on and am wondering if I should use plasticard or foam for the walls. I am gonna glue parts onto either the plasticard or the foam to make an interior and an exterior but am not sure which to go with.

 

[Chrome]

Both work just fine. Go for the easy medium. The cheapest you can find that you're still comfortable working with.
Plasticard is a bit more expensive but foamboard melts if you spraypaint the sides or cuts you make in the board without covering them first.

 

[nels0nmac]

Plasticard is easier to cut,glue and spray but you dont get the thickness that you get with foam board. You can get thick plasticard, but anything 2mm thick or above becomes quite hard to work if you want to put windows/door reveals in.

You could always use the foamboard as a base and then clad that in styrene. But be careful when gluing around the foamboard where the foam is visible.... not only will spray eat it away as Chrome has stated but both solvent glue for styrene and superglue make a lovely mess of the inner foam.

 

[heniosha]

I saw these guys at Salute 2010 and was pretty impressed with the product. http://www.modelscenery.com/

 

[mrephunk]

It says they only ship to UK mainland and Im in the US. I would buy it cause it looks like just the ticket. Oh well

 

[Dedwrekka]

If you coat the exposed area of the foamboard with white glue before using superglue or spray paint, then you can avoid the melting effect.

 

[Radio]

Yes, never underestimate the value of podge! However, do some test pieces first. I ruined the wing of a model RC aircraft I was building by not testing before spraying! That was an hour or two of work down the toilet. I was left with a soft, goopy mess that used to be a wing!