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I'd like to have a somewhat textured, stony type look to my little foam ruin. Is a textured spray paint ok for this? What methods do you use to give a textured stone look to your foam ruins? Thanks...

Stavkat wrote:I'd like to have a somewhat textured, stony type look to my little foam ruin. Is a textured spray paint ok for this? What methods do you use to give a textured stone look to your foam ruins? Thanks...

I have heard that the propellant inside sprays will eat foams.
So most people put some watered down PVA glue on it . And yes after that feel free to use textured sprays , especially the ones
that produce crack effects

Fine sand and PVA glue. Mix and slop it on.
Go to a hardware store and buy it, not a gaming store.
Luna is right most sprays will eat the foam, that's why you cover it with the glue first.
Get small cans of paint at the hardware store too. Don't use your modeling paint, that's an insanely expensive way to paint terrain.

You can buy textured acrylic sprays from craft stores that are safe for foam.

Otherwise, the PVA and sand option is probably your best bet for foam.

Here you go OP , buy this:


http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?D=938933&Ntt=938933&catalogId=10051&langId=-15&storeId=10051&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntx=mode+matchall&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber

Better than PVA glue + sand.

Better than that even:
Aged Iron:

http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchView?catalogId=10051&storeId=10051&langId=-15&N=0&Ntt=textured+spray&Nty=1&D=textured+spray&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&s=true

Not to hijack the thread, but just a quick question:
In the 'How to make Wargames Terrain' book it uses a pink foam, that they simply call styrofoam. Unfortunately, in Australia, styrofoam is a pathetically crumbly rubbish-grade foam, which isn't carve-able or shape-able even slightly. Anyone know the Australian equivelant of their pink 'styrofoam'?

HadoukenAvenger wrote:Not to hijack the thread, but just a quick question:
In the 'How to make Wargames Terrain' book it uses a pink foam, that they simply call styrofoam. Unfortunately, in Australia, styrofoam is a pathetically crumbly rubbish-grade foam, which isn't carve-able or shape-able even slightly. Anyone know the Australian equivelant of their pink 'styrofoam'?

closed-cell extruded polystyrene
http://www.barrule.com/Workshop/images/info/foams/index.htm

LunaHound wrote:Here you go OP , buy this:


http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?D=938933&Ntt=938933&catalogId=10051&langId=-15&storeId=10051&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntx=mode+matchall&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber

Better than PVA glue + sand.

Hmm, I absolutely despise popcorn paint on ceilings, but for ruins painting it looks like a great idea! As long as it comes in a much smaller size...

Oops i dunno what popcorn is lol.

But im sure there are tons of different types to choose from ^^

HadoukenAvenger wrote:Not to hijack the thread, but just a quick question:
In the 'How to make Wargames Terrain' book it uses a pink foam, that they simply call styrofoam. Unfortunately, in Australia, styrofoam is a pathetically crumbly rubbish-grade foam, which isn't carve-able or shape-able even slightly. Anyone know the Australian equivelant of their pink 'styrofoam'?

Extruded insulation foam.
What part of this wide brown land do you live in (state).
There are a number of places to get it from in Each capital city (I think Sydney has the most options).
Look in here for the closest http://www.wargamerau.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=89273
I use a product called "Foamular XPS" for rock formations now (it was something I learned from a mate who worked on SW ep3. It was what they used for the miniature sets for Mustafar). It's an extruded foam product, but when you chip at it with pics or whatever, it ends up looking like an actual rockface. From Foamex in western Sydney.

As for painting it, I use housepaints for the job. Regular matt white undercoat to seal the foam and other tinted emulsions for the other colour coats.

chromedog wrote:
What part of this wide brown land do you live in? (state).

I live in queensland, in a town about an hour away from brisbane. As of yet I haven't found any stores that sell the good stuff, only styrofoam and some rubbery stuff.

I use a universal filler which can be mixed with PVA for ease of application, or just used straight from the tub.
The texture is finer than PVA + sand mix and more to scale.

LunaHound wrote:Here you go OP , buy this:


http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?D=938933&Ntt=938933&catalogId=10051&langId=-15&storeId=10051&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntx=mode+matchall&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber

Better than PVA glue + sand.

No you don't want the popcorn one you want the one with sand in it the popcorn is to rough at mini scale to look good or buy a can of miss mix and add sand your self it is loads cheaper.

Here you go then, HadoukenAvenger.

Austech External Building Products
Polystyrene Products - Eagle Farm, QLD
Address
1089 Kingsford Smith Drv
Eagle Farm
QLD, 4009
Australia
Ph:(07) 3268 3066
http://www.austech.com.au/Home.aspx


Insulation Supplies Australia
330 Curtin Ave
West Eagle Farm
QLD 4009
ph: (07) 3268 7399


KOOLFOAM PTY LTD
54 Randall St,
Slacks Creek
Qld 4127
Phone: 07 3209 1044
Fax: 07 3808 3321
http://www.koolfoam.com.au/

Try them.

Snap! Any chance you could find a couple of places on the North side of Sydney Chromedog, since you did such a great job of finding some in Queensland?

How about this?

Solartex - Insulation Solutions
Unit 1 / 169 South Creek Road
CROMER
NSW 2099
Phone: (02) 9971 4600
Fax: (02) 9971 4611,
Mobile: 0416 252 542,
Email: enquiries@solartex.com.au
http://www.solartex.com.au/view_article.asp?id=26&cat=12

That's the only "northern Sydney" stockist I could find.
They're mostly clustered around the industrial zones in Sydney (and that means out west. Revesby, Wetherill Park, Blacktown, etc).

It's not hard to find IF you know what you are looking for - or know the right people.
(And having friends who work in SFX goes a long way.)

You're a life saver, chromedog! Thanks!

I cover it with masking tape and then brown stuff, so I can give textures to it (for example, with a rock coated with some vaseline to give a stone wall texture).

Sweet! That's right near my work!

The two options I find work best:

1) Sand, as has already been mentioned. I like painting a fairly thick layer of PVA glue (Defintely no more than 50/50 mix with water, sometimes I use straight PVA). There two problems though - first, if you're not careful, the sand gets EVERYWHERE. That means it's probably best to do all your detail work AFTER you do your texture. Second, you need to coat the sand after it dries from the first application. Sometimes I use a watered down PVA mixture, sometimes I use a latex house paint. You end up with an extremely durable, good looking texture, but you need to plan on 2 days of dry time (seriously, you don't want to rush it or it clumps up and does ugly things).

2) Use drywall compound and skim-coat the foam. I've had a lot of luck with this - it gives a nice concrete or adobe look (depending on how you paint it). It's durable, easy to do, cheap, and fast. Again, you're looking at a solid 24 hour dry time, but it does give a nice result.

This is an example of both techniques - please ignore the crudeness of the other stuff, it's one of my first pieces. It does show you the texture though. The building got the drywall compound treatment, the ground got the sand treatment (although with the flock over it, it's a bit tougher to see).

I have over 10 pounds of drywall filler already on hand, so maybe I will use that as my first attempt.

I'm planning on putting drywall compound on, letting it dry, priming it with spray paint and then use a textured spray paint. Sound good?