haldir Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Just curious if any has ever used foam poster board to build objects for RPGs?? I need to build 1 item for my rpg at RCon this year & was going through the options. I'll pobably go with foam insulation board but I was at Wally-world yesterday & came across this. The one I was looking at had ghost lines as well (oddly if you put 4 squares together they made a inch) so that will help in the cutting & drawing. thx RM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castlebuilder Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Foam board is great for building stuff. You have to find ways to add texture to make it look interesting, but since it's easy to cut and glues together with Elmers glue, it's great for the foundation. One word of caution though, whenever possible, paint both sides at the same time. If you only paint one side you can wind up with it warping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haldir Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 Cool tip I'll remember that. Also does it hold up to spray primer/paints? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruggs Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 A word of caution: I made a church and used some foam poster board for some of the interior walls. I used spray paint "stone' texture spray paint. The poster part of the board and the faom part actually seperated from each onther, leaving me with pieces that I had to stick back together, and have a bubbled appearance now. I painted both sides at once and both sides peeled off... It still functions, but it is not as nice as I wanted it to be. I have susseccfully used mat board for my buildings. Hobby Lobby sells it and it hold up well. I seal the surfaces of both sides of the board at the same time with a hi gloss coat to prevent warping. I then use the fake snow paint stuff to give it texture on the outside and regular acrylic craft paint on the interior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruunwald Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Also, baby powder and white glue will texture just as easily as snow stuff (and is less caustic), as will stippling lightly with spackle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haldir Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 cool tips thanks Well I'm making a ship so I may just go with a adding wood to the outside, spray that & but go with acrylics for the interior. Still brainstorming & such so any ideas will work right now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadaver Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 If you use foam board you MUST seal it before using spray on paints. Watered down elmers glue does the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papabees Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 If you use foam board you MUST seal it before using spray on paints. Watered down elmers glue does the trick. Unless you use Design Master spray paint from Michaels (or other sources). It does not eat styrofoam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gailbraithe Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I've used foamcore to make several buildings. To get some texture on the paper I usually just use a brush-on white gesso, the same stuff used to prepare canvas for painting. Sealing the edges with PVA glue also works really well, especially if you have exposed edges. I used spray paint "stone' texture spray paint. Those textured paints have even higher concentrations of thinners than the regular spray paints and are consquently murder on foam. Unless you use Design Master spray paint from Michaels (or other sources). It does not eat styrofoam. Design Masters is way too expensive (and comes in too limited a range of colors) to justify using it on foamcore, not when you can just use a little bit of PVA glue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harbinger Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Let me first state that this was just thrown together literly in minutes to illustrate a point on another forum. It was never meant to be used as actual terrain; so would come out lot nicer if you chose to but actual effort into it. Anyway, this was done with nothing but foamboard and cereal box. Considering I have ZIP artistic ability, I think it is safe to say that not only can terrain be easily made from foamboard but can get decent textured results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravenwood Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Foamcore works great for buildings, I have building "skins that I print out & glue to foamcore, give them a roof of painted manilla folder cut tiles & they are good to go... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClauseRose Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I like mat board for building, it is easier to work then foam and I believe it is cheaper as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitzeolas Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I like mat board for building, it is easier to work then foam and I believe it is cheaper as well. I have never worked with Mat Board before. In what ways do you find it easier to work with. I am always looking for new directions to go. I like to have options. I mean, who doesn't? -Fitz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniCannuck Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Great thread full of ideas! I only use foam board if I am using skins. I find I get warping with paint on it even when I attempt to balance it out with paint on both sides. Speaking of warping, try to use low moisture glue sticks when applying the skins - this also helps with warping issues. I also tend to use a lot of balsa wood and matte when building structures for the table. It gives me depth and better matches my other projects that use the Hirst Arts molds. An entire board of paper/foam buildings looks fantastic until you add a resin, plaster building on the table. You can check out some of my terrain projects on my blog at www.minicannuck.6.sided.net. I'm no expert but I'd be happy to share what I've done wrong so you can avoid doing the same ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubbdog Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 MC, you might want to check your blog site. I tried and it said the domain is parked and gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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