We decided to construct our next scenery area by carving scenery from foam insulation. The Loyalhanna Creek crossing in Latrobe was a good place to try this as on one side we had to traverse a vertical distance of 12 inches. Fortunately, we had a lot of scraps from insulating the basement walls - this material is not cheap to buy. Scraps can sometimes be found at new construction sites too.
Forgive me if this seems too basic. Charlie had used this scenery method on his module, but it was all new to me. I've found you can read a hundred articles on how to use a technique, but there's nothing like rolling up your sleeves and trying it. It is my hope that our learning curve will be beneficial to you.
Besides the obvious cutting implements, such as drywall saws or utility knifes, there are several tools available for carving the foam with heat. I had bought a Tippi hot foam cutter years ago, along with a "copi" attachment, which looks a lot like a coping saw. As luck would have it, I couldn't locate it when it was time to cut, so I ended up buying a Woodland Scenics carving tool. (Of course within a day or two of buying the Woodland Scenics tool, the Tippi tool turned up - Murphy's law at work.) We also borrowed a hot knife from one of our modeling friends, which worked great for cutting a piece from a larger sheet or for the initial rough shaping. This tool pretty much burned its way through the foam, but generated some nasty fumes - ventilation suggested...
Forgive me if this seems too basic. Charlie had used this scenery method on his module, but it was all new to me. I've found you can read a hundred articles on how to use a technique, but there's nothing like rolling up your sleeves and trying it. It is my hope that our learning curve will be beneficial to you.
Besides the obvious cutting implements, such as drywall saws or utility knifes, there are several tools available for carving the foam with heat. I had bought a Tippi hot foam cutter years ago, along with a "copi" attachment, which looks a lot like a coping saw. As luck would have it, I couldn't locate it when it was time to cut, so I ended up buying a Woodland Scenics carving tool. (Of course within a day or two of buying the Woodland Scenics tool, the Tippi tool turned up - Murphy's law at work.) We also borrowed a hot knife from one of our modeling friends, which worked great for cutting a piece from a larger sheet or for the initial rough shaping. This tool pretty much burned its way through the foam, but generated some nasty fumes - ventilation suggested...