Hi guys,

I'm planning on putting together some woods, and have bought some foamcard to base them.

I've never used this stuff before, and before I go and ruin it figured I'd pick your brains!  

After cutting/shaping it etc, do I need to do anything to it before I undercoat it?  I'm wary it could just act as a sponge when I spray it....

Cheers in advance!

Reedar

Do you mean "foamcore"?  The stuff that is like two sheets of stuff paper with small-cell foam in it?

If so, I've never found that stuff good as a base, as it tends to warp as glue/paint dries on it, since, usually, you're only applying it to one side.

I much prefer MDF (medium-density fibreboard)as it's much more rigid.

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Foamcard (maybe they call the same stuff Foamcore your side of the Atlantic Chroma?) is great for making buildings out (I have some epic Ork buildings done with it), but though it could be used for bases, it's probably not ideal on it's own for that, as it's not that sturdy and there's risk of it warping.

You definitely need to cover all the foam bits before you spray them too (thick coat of painted on paint or whatever) - otherwise the spray paint melts away the foam!

One suggestion I read for preventing warping is to paint both sides.  The warpage (is that even a word? ) from both sides should cancel each other out.

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Do you mean "foamcore"?  The stuff that is like two sheets of stuff paper with small-cell foam in it?

I wonder if you might want to try using a plant sprayer and acrylic paint.

I've used it for basing where I need a small thin base with a precise shape that I couldn't cut from wood or cork. I always remove the paper from both sides after cutting the shape, as the paper is the main source of warping.

yea, I was toying with the idea of undercoating with 'ardcoat - trick will be to make sure it holds it's shape!

You might want to test that out on a test piece first; not sure, but it's possible the propellant stuff in the paint and possibly the 'ard coat too could be what melts it.

I've had decent results using foamcore covered in wall spackling.  The spackle protects the foam from the paint, and makes the whole thing more rigid.

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And definitely do not use watered down PVA glue if you are flocking it with sand or anything else. That will cause major shrinkage.

Wall spackling? Is that some kind of putty filler?

Not putty. you use it to fill cracks or holes in your walls and such. Kinda like drywall mud.

Right - test piece completed!

Here's my first attempt, and I'm reasonably happy with how it turned out.  I managed to avoid any warpage although I'm not too happy with the base colour, bit bright for my liking...


First small wood.


Same wood, but with models for scale.

My excuses for the shoddy photos are that they were taken using a mobile phone!!!

C&C welcome folks

Cheers

Reedar