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I was interested in starting to make some of my own terrain for 40k, and I had a few questions.

1. What tools would I need to work with foam?
2. What do you use to make bases for terrain?
3. What do you use to simulate water?

To start
(Buildings) http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/459985.page
(Lava gaming board, still works for terrain) http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/243963.page
(Hills that look like hills) http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Making%20Dynamic%2C%20Craggy%20Hills

What you want:
-Hot glue gun
-Hot foam cutter (verrrryyyy slow but good for detail/fine work
-Perhaps a blowtorch & knife. Heat the knife up (I use a chisel with a sharp edge) and it'll cut through foam like it was butter BUT it makes a lot of fumes and tends to somewhat damage the surface if you want really fine work. Always have a fire extinguisher on hand.
-Box cutters for when [Metallica] Nothing Else Matters [/Metallica].
-White glue.
-Foam (I'd say a large sheet of insulating foam, the hard blue stuff not the white ones that leave little balls of foam when you scratch/break it)
-Plaster
-Cheap acrylic craft paint.

Note that many spray paints will will somewhat melt foam, latex paint is safe though. Cheap way to seal the foam is to water down white glue and brush it over the exposed foam then spray.

I tired the last link and you really need to plan ahead on how it'll look or it'll turn out all fugly. For the first link I'd use corrugated plastic boards like what you'd see for science fair displays myself.


-edit- Oh, and base with some 1/8 MDF board or whatever is cheap and on hand. Jigsaw's are good for cutting such material.

ZatGuy wrote:To start
(Buildings) http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/459985.page
(Lava gaming board, still works for terrain) http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/243963.page
(Hills that look like hills) http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Making%20Dynamic%2C%20Craggy%20Hills

What you want:
-Hot glue gun
-Hot foam cutter (verrrryyyy slow but good for detail/fine work
-Perhaps a blowtorch & knife. Heat the knife up (I use a chisel with a sharp edge) and it'll cut through foam like it was butter BUT it makes a lot of fumes and tends to somewhat damage the surface if you want really fine work. Always have a fire extinguisher on hand.
-Box cutters for when [Metallica] Nothing Else Matters [/Metallica].
-White glue.
-Foam (I'd say a large sheet of insulating foam, the hard blue stuff not the white ones that leave little balls of foam when you scratch/break it)
-Plaster
-Cheap acrylic craft paint.

Note that many spray paints will will somewhat melt foam, latex paint is safe though. Cheap way to seal the foam is to water down white glue and brush it over the exposed foam then spray.

I tired the last link and you really need to plan ahead on how it'll look or it'll turn out all fugly. For the first link I'd use corrugated plastic boards like what you'd see for science fair displays myself.


-edit- Oh, and base with some 1/8 MDF board or whatever is cheap and on hand. Jigsaw's are good for cutting such material.

Actually the white can be used for some great pieces.. You just have to know how to work it so that it does not leave the little balls everywhere.. Best thing to do is coat it after you finish cutting it with your joint filler so that it is rigid.. I have built large train sets out of it, seeing it was cheap and readily available..

Ruff makes a valid point - the fluffy white stuff isn't as suitable for carving or serving as a resilient face layer, but it's easy to find for free and works just fine as rigid space filler. If it's being clad in plasticard or slathered with putty/filler, the surface finish and abrasion resistance don't matter. If you need a bit more structural strength or crush resistance, then it's time to go for the denser extruded insulation boards.

As for the questions in the OP:

1) The only tool you really need is a craft knife. Foam tends to dull blades quickly, so frequent swapping will help avoid tear-outs and the need for excessive force. Some people swear by hot-wire cutters, but others (including some very respected terrain makers, like T3 Studios' Terraformer) find them slow and imprecise. Smoothing can be done by applying filler over the top, or by coarse sandpaper (which can get messy, so keep a vacuum handy). Coarse rasps can also be handy for really big pieces.

2) 1/8" MDF. Not all that expensive, considering the number of bases you can get out of a single 4'x8' sheet, and rigid enough for most tasks, while remaining relatively low profile. I tried using dense cardboards and foamcore in my earliest pieces, since it was all I could get, but ran into constant issues with warping once groundwork was applied.

3) I haven't done any water effects, yet, but there are a number of tried and tested products on the market aimed at modelers (it's hard to go wrong with Woodland Scenics' offerings, but they're not the be all and end all). For the more budget conscious, thick (achieved by layers, if you ever want it to fully dry) applications of various varnishes and adhesives are worth experimenting with (gloss varnish/medium, Mod Podge, clear acrylic resin, even PVA glue).

water effects can be purchased from gw. foam cutter and hobby knife with rubber handle are two must-have tools. polystyrene is great, you can find huge hunks at a home depot but also try grocery and or produce vendors for the pink stuff as its casing they use to box strawberries and other produce