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Long time lurker here and IMO theres no better place for advice on scratchbuilding than here. Im about to start my first large build and hopefully I'm not setting my sights too high. I plan on building a Warlord out of foamboard for the base structure and use plasticard for armor plates and details. A couple of questions for anyone who may be able to help,
What sort of glue would be best to hold it together? hot glue,wood glue? etc.
Is there some sort of sandable putty or other sompound i can use to cover seams or irregularities?
Is there a way to seal it or protect it so that when I hopefully make it to a painting stage the propellant in a basecoat doesnt melt the foam?
Hopefully you guys can understand what Im after I know I'll have other questions but those are the main ones I can come up with at the moment. I'll post pics ASAP, and reply as quick as I can to any suggestions.

By foamboard - do you mean foam core (two bits of paper/card with some styrofoam in between) or board that is foam (pink or blue insulation stuff)?

If it is the foam core - regular white glue works fine with it. As does a variety of other common adhesives which work on paper/card. If it is the insulation - you will want to look at specialty adhesives that are designed to glue foam together (can normally find some at RC hobby stores as well as in DIY stores).

You might consider looking around for a supplier of thicker plasticard though. I find that it is just a heck of a lot easier in the long run than messing with foam on projects like this. If you use an industrial plastic supplier - it will probably cost about the same as the foamboard you are thinking about using.

When it comes to gluing plasticard to stuff that isn't plasticard or hard styrene plastic - superglue is your best bet.

In terms of sandable putty - lots of them, sort of depends on what you are doing with it. If I need a lot of putty - I use Bondo. Dries hard, sticks to most things, paints and sands well enough. If I am filling seams between two plasticard joints (corners for example) - I use white or green putty made for models. It is a bit like really, really thick plastic glue - so it bonds permanently and has the same properties as the plastic. If I need to fill smaller gaps in something which is not plastic - an A/B putty like Apoxie Sculpt works well enough. Sticks fairly well, and you can sand it when dry. It is cheaper than things like GS or Milliput. GS generally doesn't provide a sandable surface when it cures - so I won't use it for mechanical builds.

Once I get everything put together, if there are things like styrofoam that might react badly with spray paints - I seal the whole thing with Future through my airbrush. It is cheap and provides a fairly durable bottom coat. Couple thin layers and then prime and paint like normal.

I don't know much about scratchbuilding... but Mxwlldmr is probably the best one on these forums (that I know of).

Here's his blog.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/412253.page

I think the materials you use really depend on how big you plan to make your project. I work on a large scale, but normaly stick to useing clays and casting plaster.

Most of my surface and detail work is done using milliput, an epoxy putty that can be drilled, carved and sanded, and used for filling, its not that cheap though, and I find it more cost effective to buy in bulk.