Model Railroading > Working with pink foam board

Was thinking about taking the model railroad to the next level. Till now, our layout has been on a flat surface. But I have the itch to try my hand at scenery and making a new layout, despite having never done any sort of scenery work. I read a post a few days ago about using pink foam insullation board, and i have seen this used at shows for demonstration purposes. I was wondering if I can get some tips and suggestions for working with the foam (tools to use, ease of cutting and shaping), or if anyone would have other suggestions on what to use.

Thanks in advance....

Chris Bogley
Bowie, MD

Here are some shots of my layout.
I use the BLUE foam on top of 1/4 plywood.
The first shot is an extension all the brown area is blue foam painted brown.
The second shot is a tunnel made from foam that will have a removal top for access in case or cleaning.
The third shot are pieces of foam that created part of the curve look.
I just laid them out and cut the pieces with a knife to fit.
That way I used all of my cuttings.

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So is there a difference in blue foam and I assume you can get that at a home improvement store as well?

Chris Bogley
Bowie, MD

SVTS Wrote:
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> So is there a difference in blue foam and I assume
> you can get that at a home improvement store as
> well?

Pink and blue are the same stuff, just different manufacturers.

Suggest you Google this URL address for several good articles to read / watch before you start your new project.

<small train layout use styrofoam>

dnuck

SDP40F: I meant to add that those are good photos and what you've done looks well done.
dnuck

You can buy thicker stuff from a florist's supply house and
we've used all variety of scrap foam for scenery. Willhold or
any good "yellow" glue seems to work great to hold it together
and then a hot knife and an orbital sander and you can combine
great fun with an equal mess. We use plaster cloth over a lot
of the foam for cover material and latex paint and dirt aka
ground cover. Goes really fast and even faster if you've got
an open house the next afternoon.

I think the extruded foam is one of more versatile scenery materials. If nothing else it's easier to control your results.

The Pro Kit shown here might be of interest:

http://hotwirefoamfactory.com/product.php?productid=16139&amp;cat=103&amp;page=1

The freehand router in the kit is one of the more useful cutters. If you don't want to spend that much maybe start with the Woodland Scenics hot wire cutter. For adhesive I use hot glue when I'm in a hurry. If I'm not in a hurry I used liquid nails for foam board.

Once I have the shape I want I tie it all together by smearing on a light layer of joint compound smoothed out with a wet paint brush.

Lance
http://www.lancemindheim.com

I know I've always read that blue and pink foam are the same thing from different manufacturers, but I used both on my layout - blue from some stock a friend had given me, and pick once the blue ran out - and I preferred working with the blue. It just seemed to cut and snap more cleanly without a million little pieces of foam breaking off.

I had a hard time finding more blue foam locally, and it's not a huge deal either way, but if you can get either, I'd definitely suggest opting for the blue.

Joe