Howdy,
I have been working with foam scenery for over a decade now. You can check
out my layout as it was set up in Austin on the S Helper website. I have some
very specific ideas formed from my use of insulation foam as scenery and as a
basic construction material.
One very important question is why would anyone use plaster cloth or plaster
over the foam. It is a bad idea for several reasons: The first is that it
adds an extra un-needed step. In the interest of time eliminate it. A second
reason is that plaster does not dry very well without air circulation on all
sides. This can often cause mold to form. Then you have to strip the plaster
off and start again. A third reason is plaster adds a certain fragility to
your scenery. Foam is very strong and sound structurally. Why would you want
to complicate that? A fourth reason is planting trees. A simple finishing
nail can be embedded in the trunk and stuck into the foam and moved repeatedly
to the most appropriate spot. Plaster requires you drill a hole. Then there
is always the problem of getting rid of the pile of white plaster.
With layered foam you can create accurate land forms easily through carving
with a hot wire or a serrated steak knife. The Stanley Surform tool is one of
my favorites for quickly crafting land shapes. You can create some very
curvaceous features that are much more difficult to produce with plaster and
wire or hardshell techniques.
Gaps between layers of foam can be easily sealed with latex caulk. This can
be smeared to fill other voids such as between foam and fascia with wet
fingers. The caulk provides some type of flexibility due to expansion and
contraction of fascia material.
Tom Potthast
San Antonio TX
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