Building a Mountain

[Grimwulfe]

So my new display board will be a Mountain.  I plan on building it out of blue foam however I need some help.  How do I go about making the foam strong and not crumble everytime it gets hit or moved etc.  I thought of covering it in plastor but not sure if that is the best idea. 

Anyone know how to make a strong mountain?

[keithb]

rocks?

[Grimwulfe]

LOL need to keep the weight down man.  Cant be carting a 200lb display board about.

[Sir_Prometheus]

I think plaster would have a cracking issue over the foam, and a lot of weight.  I made my display board out of tile, matches some of my bases, maybe 20-30 lbs....it's too much. 

I think they have spray acryltic lacquer?  The kind of stuff if you've ever been to a bar, and the table is actually wooden door, but incased in plastic, that kind of stuff.  Or maybe it only comes in pour bottles, whatever. 

So that stuff is probably too smooth.  So I think they also make extra matte, roughing agent essentially, you can spray on.  Or maybe just pour sand on it while it's still wet, no joke.

SO I'm envisioning,: carve your foam, cover in a really thick layer of that acrylic stuff, roughen wither with fine sand or an appropriate spray, paint and dry brush. 

[Grimwulfe]

Good call I will look into that.  The plastor concerned me so that is helpful thanks.

[Imp]

old school science fair ways... chicken wife frame, paper mache base and light coat of plaster over it all, strong and very easy to custom sculpt as you see fit

[Grimwulfe]

How heavy do you think that would be?  The major issue with the mountain is strength but also I will be carving out caverns in the inside to display the army.  So I also need the inside structure of the mountain as well.  So I am nt sure if the chicken wire will work for this.

[the_trooper]

How heavy do you think that would be?  The major issue with the mountain is strength but also I will be carving out caverns in the inside to display the army.  So I also need the inside structure of the mountain as well.  So I am nt sure if the chicken wire will work for this.

Have you considered bondo? (also using accompanying saftey stuff)

[Grimwulfe]

I am not familiar with Bondo please elaborate?

[the_trooper]

Bondo is what is used when people want to do body work on cars on the cheap.  It's a putty like material that dries hard and is pretty light. It's fiberglass.

You can mold it and sand it anyway you want really. Just like things of that nature, can be hazardous so just use it safely.

EDIT:

Ever see a car have a baby blue section that is abutted by a grey area? bondo. Maaco is like the bondo king if you know what I mean.

[Grimwulfe]

Ahh ok and would that melt the foam or s non toxic enough to just bond over it?

[the_trooper]

In the little I've worked with it as a kid, it didn't have any heat issues in terms of chemical reactions with other things that I was aware of. It should bond over the foam without issue. It's not an aerosol type item so it shouldn't melt it either.

IIRC, it's fine in an open area but I would use a mask anyway. Sanding it once it hardens demands a mask and an open area.  A lot like working with resin but I think more dangerous in terms of fibers.

[Sir_Prometheus]

The virtue of the foam over chicken wire is that it's pretty easy to sculpt into rocky-type shapes, adn there's a lot of collective gamer experience in doing so for terrain.

The bondo sounds like it could potentially be a really good idea, though.  I have no experience with it but I might try that in preference to my acrylic and sand idea. 

[Grimwulfe]

Hmm interesting thanks for the input.  Another question I have is for adhesive.  If I build this out of foam then cover it what type of adhesive should I use to glue the many layers of blue foam I would need to get the height?  Keep in mind that it would need to still be secure even after carving out caverns in the middle of the mountain.  Previously I have just used elmars white glue but that was only on a max 2-3 layers.  For this project i am looking at more around 20 layers of foam for the height.

[the_trooper]

Elmers white and carpenters would probably what you would want to use. I believe superglue might heat up a little when it cures.