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So I was hoping to get some boards of foam to use as terrain for some friends and I. Assuming that we want the board to be 4 feet by 6 feet, i think we would want 2 boards at 2' x 3'. I can find this foam online though, does anybody know where to find board that size? And how much they might cost?

Lowes and Home Depot both carry a extruded polystyrene sheets that are great for terrain. I think you get a 4x8 sheet for roughly 20$. These aren't you plain white styrofoam boards which aren't as good for terrain. Home depots is a bright pink while Lowes is a blue. Tips: best cut and sanded outside due to slightly messy nature, use a good sharp blade or foam cutter. Safety tips: keep away from open flame (especially the dust) and if you sand wear a good quality dust mask if not respirator as it is super bad for your lungs.

I used to get mine from Menard's. I think back then, it was maybe around $20 for 4x8. I saw an article a long time ago that also suggested screwing plywood to the foam to create a sturdy base. I used the left over foam to create hills or stones. I also bought a wire foam cutter from Hobby Lobby. It was actually a very useful item. Made the edges a bit smoother and less sanding to do. Blades dull real quick cutting the foam. With the wire cutter, I used 14 to 18 gauge wire as replacement wire. Might be something to look into.

Thanks guys, thats much cheaper than I was anticipating. Any advice for height? Is 1 inch sufficient? And just sand it and spray a base coat on it?

 AtariAssasin wrote:
Thanks guys, thats much cheaper than I was anticipating. Any advice for height? Is 1 inch sufficient? And just sand it and spray a base coat on it?

For sturdyness, 1" is fine.

however, if you can get thicker, it will be easier to do hills, or other features, or if it is the base of the board, you can do "negative space" depressions into it (canals, craters, etc.).

Also, you cannot use spray paint on this kind of foam without coating it first - the propellants in the spray will eat the foam...so unless you are doing a nurgle theme..
(coat it with cheap craft paint with a brush, or gesso).

Welcome to the amazing world of terrain making - check out some of the more popular terrain blogs on youtube for more ideas.
(rubbish in rubbish out, terrainaholic, or even mini wargaming used to make terrain vids).

best of luck!

As davethepak said, brush on a basecoat before spraying due to the spray paint eating away at the foam. Also, I know that some of the foam you buy at hardware store has a thin, clear film on it that starts to peel over time or when I used a knife and cut the foam. Just giveing you a heads up since that caused some problems for me as some of the paint came up with it. If you sand it for hills and what not, you wont have to worry about that film as it will come off.

Also if I were you, I'd glue the foam to an MDF backboard for extra strength.

I'd also recommend a thin MDF or plywood backing to increase the boards' longevity. Even just 1" of the insulation foam is reasonably sturdy, in that it isn't liable to snap in half unless seriously abused, but the corners will get crushed and chewed up pretty quickly unless you're very careful. A rigid base, at the very least (wood or plastic battens around the edges is even better, but a bit more work), will help keep the corners square when the odd bump or improper storage inevitably happens.

What I do is get a piece of plywood, skrew some 2x4s to the back end to prevent it from ever warping, lay down a 1 inch thick foam to the whole thing and use the 2 in thick foam for hills, rocks and the like. the 2 inch foam works better to block line of sight then the 1 inch foam does and will make the project go quicker.

 AtariAssasin wrote:
So I was hoping to get some boards of foam to use as terrain for some friends and I. Assuming that we want the board to be 4 feet by 6 feet, i think we would want 2 boards at 2' x 3'. I can find this foam online though, does anybody know where to find board that size? And how much they might cost?

If you're talking about pink/ blue foam boards, its actually compressed polystyrene used for insulation. Should be available in just about any DIY store (Home Depot, Lowe's, etc).

The blue stuff is better, but more expensive - its more rigid, more resistant to damage, easier to sculpt. If you're just looking to texturize some boards, the pink stuff will do just fine.

Around here a 4 x 8 sheet runs you 18 bucks or so. One sheet will build you a 4 x 4 as long as you measure with any care.


DO NOT spray paint polystyrene foam. You will have a nasty bubbly gummy mess of goop. If you must spray paint / prime it, make up a mixture of 50 % white PVA glue, and 50% water, and brush the whole thing - and you have to be sure you don't miss any spots.

Which honestly, if you're going to do that, why not just brush prime and save a step ...

Also saw someone talk about cutting foam - don't bother with blades, etc. Get an electric hot foam knife. 20-25 bucks at a craft store, and you'd be shocked at what you can do with it ! Takes the annoyingness out of foam cutting - the heated rod just slides right through.

Haight wrote:

 AtariAssasin wrote:
So I was hoping to get some boards of foam to use as terrain for some friends and I. Assuming that we want the board to be 4 feet by 6 feet, i think we would want 2 boards at 2' x 3'. I can find this foam online though, does anybody know where to find board that size? And how much they might cost?

If you're talking about pink/ blue foam boards, its actually compressed polystyrene used for insulation. Should be available in just about any DIY store (Home Depot, Lowe's, etc).

The blue stuff is better, but more expensive - its more rigid, more resistant to damage, easier to sculpt. If you're just looking to texturize some boards, the pink stuff will do just fine.

Around here a 4 x 8 sheet runs you 18 bucks or so. One sheet will build you a 4 x 4 as long as you measure with any care.


DO NOT spray paint polystyrene foam. You will have a nasty bubbly gummy mess of goop. If you must spray paint / prime it, make up a mixture of 50 % white PVA glue, and 50% water, and brush the whole thing - and you have to be sure you don't miss any spots.

Which honestly, if you're going to do that, why not just brush prime and save a step ...

Also saw someone talk about cutting foam - don't bother with blades, etc. Get an electric hot foam knife. 20-25 bucks at a craft store, and you'd be shocked at what you can do with it ! Takes the annoyingness out of foam cutting - the heated rod just slides right through.

+1 to the hot knife

A 6mm backing of Ply is a must. Ply also takes more knocks than MDF, because of the way it is layered.

As for finishing. I tend to go a little over on the finish. I buy a box of Decorators Caulk. in the UK you can get a box of 10 tubes for around £8.

I gunk this all over the board and smooth it out with a large flat bladed filling knife. And then pull a length of wood over it lightly to smooth it out.

you can then add a texture to it using a very lightly damped sponge, or screwed up plastic bag.

give it 24 hours and you are left with a textured finish that is waterproof and wont crack under any movement. it is also ok to spray paint right on top of it, as it is designed to be painted over.

For the extra cost I would suggest 50mm thick insulation board. as the price difference isn't a lot. And as said above the thicker you go the more dynamic you can be with it. I am just starting a trench table. And that comprised of 10mm WPB ply, 25mm insulation board. and a second sheet of 25mm that i will be cutting up to form the trenches. This will give me a 50mm thick board but fully trenched out.

but if all you want is simple. then you can get away with 25mm insulation board, cheap white matt emulsion to seal it, so you can paint it with spray cans if need be.

Thanks for all the info guys, I'll try and post some pics when I get the stuff together.

 AtariAssasin wrote:
So I was hoping to get some boards of foam to use as terrain for some friends and I. Assuming that we want the board to be 4 feet by 6 feet, i think we would want 2 boards at 2' x 3'. I can find this foam online though, does anybody know where to find board that size? And how much they might cost?

For a 6x4 board you will need 4 sheets of 2'x3'. TWO will only make a 6'x2' or a 4'x3'.

But otherwise, what they said as well. A backing board (3-6mm) is pretty much a requirement, too.