Re: [FT] Terraforming Styrofoam

On 23-Aug-99 at 13:29, W. Nitsche (bnitsche@u.washington.edu) wrote:
> From: John Crimmins <johncrim@voicenet.com>
> >Subject: [FT] Terraforming Styrofoam
> 
> >Here's the question of the hour: how do I seal this styrofoam?  It
has a
> >very rough texture; not beaded, but very porous.  I'm thinking of
using
> >miliput, which is very easy to work with when you have enough water,
and
> >adds strength besides.  I'm not sure if this is the best option,
though.
> >Anyone done this before?  And if so, what'd you use?
> 
> Well, there are a couple of ideas I can think of if your goal is not
only
> to seal it, but to also smooth out the surface a bit.  Durham's Water
> Putty (available at craft and DIY hardware stores) can be thinned down
to
> a thin paste and spread on the surface of styrfoam.  It becomes very
hard
> once dry and seals it enough to use spray paint on it afterwards.  It
can
> also be sanded down, so you can build up several layers and then sand
down
> any bumps or ridges.	I use this product for hiding the joint between
two
> pieces of styrofoam when making hills and such.  Messy, but works
great.
> 
> Another product is Modge-Podge (available and craft stores).	It's
more of
> a sealant than a filler, but it's thick and works well if you're
working
> towards a smooth surface.  Again, several layers will probably be
needed
> to get a very smooth surface.  I haven't used this product for gaming,
but
> I did use it to seal a small, underground cave system designed for my
pet
> lizard's tank!

I'd be careful with that, the stuff is water soluble, of course if you
painted it that would solve the problem.  I use Modge-Podge all the
time,
works wonders for flocking.  Put a coat down on your hill/base and dip
in the flocking, let dry. remove. Make a thinned coat (I do about 50%
modge-podge 50% water) and saturate the flocking.  It sticks as well as
any of
the manufactured terrain I've seen.  Used with ballast you can pry a
piece
off, but it takes effort.  With the flocking it's next to impossible to
remove.  If you are really in a budget crunch and need terrain, some
florists styrofoam, a miracle cutter, some modge podge and flocking
can work wonders.  You can get everything at walmart.

Roger