troll66
Cardboard Collector
Posts: 1
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Post by troll66 on Oct 6, 2014 12:39:53 GMT
Hi
firstly an amazing inspiring creative site here.
So...I am thinking about using black foamboard for my room crafting (5mm thick) - has anyone tried using black foambaord instead of cardboard for room/corridor tiles etc. Any pro/con experience to share?
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Post by Brainbot on Oct 6, 2014 13:52:22 GMT
Foamcore is a great medium. A con could be cost versus free cardboard. One of the biggest pros is the ability to peel away the paper and carve into the foam. Careful of using non acrylics on the foam however. Lots of people have used foamcore here on the forums for various things. perhaps someone could link one of their posts for ya. My suggestion is to experiment and find what works best for you. the following is a link to some tiles I made using foamcore as a base material. link
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Post by adamantinedragon on Oct 6, 2014 13:58:12 GMT
The only thing I would say on the black foamcore is that it is pretty expensive. There are a couple of board members who use dollar store foamcore (white) for their 2.5D tiles and then paint it just as they would paint cardboard (or in one case, they glue down printed sheets instead of painting). I think that's probably a more economical way of doing the same thing.
One thing you can do with foamcore that you can't do with cardboard is peel off the top paper layer and then texture the foam itself for a more detailed terrain look.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2014 14:35:25 GMT
I love foam board, I use it for almost everything. My tip: I use the white version, so when putting down your base coat an airbrush is your best friend. Even the cheapest of cheap air brushes is worthwhile if you're going to use foam a lot, and I mean a lot! If not, then you can brush it on. And yes, peeling off the paper is the way to go. I don't know why, but I think foam is a little easier to get straight cuts than cardboard and you don't see the corrugation. The downside, of course cost and you need to have a sharp knife for the cuts or you'll get that ragged edge and also foam tends to warp easier than cardboard (again just my opinion) but be easy on the paint and you'll be ok. Sewer tilesI used a foam/cardboard mix for these, but you get the idea.
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Post by dungeonmistress on Oct 6, 2014 18:19:33 GMT
I've used Foamcor, both black and white, here's what I've found.
Pro's: 1) It is light weight. 2) Versatile, you can use it as is or peel the paper off one side and impress a pattern on it. 3) If worked with care, Foamcor gives a very nice, clean result. 4) Glued to a second surface, holds up beautifully and adds versatility to your project.
Con's: 1) It can be expensive. Even from the $ stores, it adds up. 2) Difficult to get a clean cut and it will dull your knives quickly. 3) Brittle. Foamcor breaks easily. To combat this, you have to either glue two pieces together or glue the Foamcor to something else like cardboard or bass wood. (refer to Pro's #4) This also prevents warping, which can be a problem. 4) Warps easily and is hard to flatten out once warped.
To sum it up: I like Foamcor to add an extra dimension to a project, but not as the basis of a project. A good example of this would be DM Scotty's use of foam core in his 2.5D Next walls.
Experiment with it and see what uses you like it best for. Who knows, you may come up with a cool idea none of us have though of before.
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Post by skunkape on Oct 6, 2014 18:23:28 GMT
I use foamcore, the white from dollar stores mostly, but attach it to cardboard for the floors of my tiles, then add it as walls as well because I like the ability to carve stone work into it!
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Post by adamantinedragon on Oct 6, 2014 18:36:26 GMT
Foam core is a very common material used by architects in creating architectural models. Braced properly it generally holds up pretty well over time. I use it a lot, my "Fort Pringles" and my palace are both made with dollar store foam core.
Long before I found this site I used to use cardboard as a base for terrain pieces where I had glued down foam core or styrene elements. I generally glued two pieces of cardboard together with the corrugations perpendicular, and those have held up admirably well over the years.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2014 19:35:01 GMT
i use foam board for walls of all my 2.5 d tiles. for me, its sometimes hard to match cardboard to each other to ensure the right thickness. with foam core i get consistent wall heights and this is important for me because i make little clips on the back of my modular doors so they stay steady on the wall with out needing a base. Spay painting does melt the exposed foam a bit but i don't mind it too much, and i've used white glue / water mix in the past to mortar which helps with that. pic below shows saturdays game (woot woot!) you can kinda see the clip on the back of the iron bar door, and you can see how the black spray paint left little inverted bubbles on the wall.
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Post by skunkape on Oct 6, 2014 20:55:23 GMT
If you're careful, you can spray paint foamcore without it melting. The first thing you have to make sure of is, spray from at least 18 inches away from the surface and second, do not use really cheap spray paint. I've found very cheap spray paint will melt the foamcore, but medium priced to expensive spray paints do not. Yes, I'm using enamel spray paints, not acrylic. You can find acrylic spray paints, but I've only found them on the internet and since I've been successful with enamels, I just use those.
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Post by adamantinedragon on Oct 6, 2014 20:57:15 GMT
... and, if you really want to avoid melting your foam core, use an airbrush.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2014 21:02:29 GMT
... and, if you really want to avoid melting your foam core, use an airbrush. is it cheaper to airbrush than it is to buy spay paint? i get krylon just because thats what i used as a kid decorating walls .
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Post by adamantinedragon on Oct 6, 2014 21:17:22 GMT
@darthantb, whether airbrushing is cheaper depends on how much you paint. If you rarely use spraypaint, then buying a $100 airbrush set is probably too expensive, but if you spray paint two or more times a month, in a year you should see overall cost savings.
There is also the impact on the environment, if not just the impact on your house from using compressed air vs the solvents they use in spray paint.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2014 21:21:36 GMT
@darthantb, whether airbrushing is cheaper depends on how much you paint. If you rarely use spraypaint, then buying a $100 airbrush set is probably too expensive, but if you spray paint two or more times a month, in a year you should see overall cost savings. There is also the impact on the environment, if not just the impact on your house from using compressed air vs the solvents they use in spray paint. yeah, that would save me money. i use about 2 or 3 cans a month sometimes, I'm getting one right now. any suggestions on models? this could be a game changer.
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Post by adamantinedragon on Oct 6, 2014 21:26:10 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2014 21:31:18 GMT
Sweet! Exalt! I'll be hitting you up when i need some techniques with this thing.
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Post by adamantinedragon on Oct 6, 2014 21:40:39 GMT
Heh, don't get the wrong idea, I've got a lot to learn about airbrushing. As I said, I mostly use it for base painting when I have large items or a whole lot of small items to paint. I know virtually nothing about using an airbrush for any detail work or fancy techniques.
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Post by adamantinedragon on Oct 6, 2014 21:44:56 GMT
Oh yeah, one more thing. Using an airbrush is as messy as using spray paint, so you will need a place to do the painting. I built an airbrush "hood" out of foam core. Mine has LED lighting and a spare computer fan to vent the paint, but I still need a mask to keep the paint out of my nose and throat. If you paint indoors, you'll need something like this: UPDATE: Heh, that photo was from before I installed the fan. The fan you see on the lazy susan is now installed on the back of the hood and has an electrical switch installed beside the light switch. The thing is powered by a 12V DC power supply.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2014 21:56:09 GMT
Heh, don't get the wrong idea, I've got a lot to learn about airbrushing. As I said, I mostly use it for base painting when I have large items or a whole lot of small items to paint. I know virtually nothing about using an airbrush for any detail work or fancy techniques. haha, i dunno. That box looks pretty fancy to me! does the platform disc rotate? cuz if it does, thats fancy i spray paint outside but i use a overspray block i made out of some left over material from a green house project. its just some wood in an a frame standing up with left over greenhouse plastic. i used to just do it commando, but when my blueberry bushes started to brown i figured out it was from the overspray. (safe to say those blueberries are no longer organic haha... dammit!)
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Post by adamantinedragon on Oct 7, 2014 13:44:41 GMT
I use the box as a photo light box too.
Yes, the round platform in the box is an oak lazy susan I bought at a thrift store for a few bucks. It's pretty nice actually, way too nice for what I'm using it for.
But again, so far all I've done with my airbrush is base painting large objects or large numbers of small objects. I haven't yet figured out how to airbrush details.
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Post by Sleepy Hollow Mike on Oct 8, 2014 11:47:52 GMT
If you're careful, you can spray paint foamcore without it melting. The first thing you have to make sure of is, spray from at least 18 inches away from the surface and second, do not use really cheap spray paint. I've found very cheap spray paint will melt the foamcore, but medium priced to expensive spray paints do not. Yes, I'm using enamel spray paints, not acrylic. You can find acrylic spray paints, but I've only found them on the internet and since I've been successful with enamels, I just use those. I have a had some success using the "El Cheapo" spray paint. I find I must use it from even further back (24" ) and it works! I would also say that augmenting a project with foamcore is probably a happy medium. It can get expensive and well cardboard is much cheaper to use as the main body than foamcore! Like anything in life patience will see you thru! LOL
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