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I've been working on a game board, made out of foamboard and polystyrene. It's been coming along well, and I've painted 2 of the 4 sections, and grassed 1.

Unfortunately, disaster has struck! On the painted sections (I haven't checked the other 2, they're just in their raw foamboard states at the moment) the foamboard has warped up slightly, and so does not quite sit flat on the ground/table/or whatever I'm going to put it on when I find the space.

Now, it isn't hugely bent, but it is noticeable and very annoying. I tried bending it back into shape with my bare hands but nearly damaged the board, and didn't really straighten it out that much.

However, I have bought some wooden beams which I might be able to brace them with. Whilst bracing the as yet unstarted board sections should be easy, I'm not sure about how to straighten the painted and modelled sections and attach them to the wooden beams without damaging them.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to solve my foamboard woes?

MDF, probably. Grab all of your neighbours' phone books. Glue the foam to the MDF, apply phonebooks liberally. Then put your text books on it. Let it sit for a week. Then never repeat the mistake again of using Foamcore as your game board material. It will always curl and deform.

Thanks!

Do you mean a sheet of MDF, or several struts/beams?

I think poda means a sheet of MDF - although a thick 4'', or possibly 6'', ply would do as well. The only problems I can see with plywood is that it is prone to warping in damp conditions, especially in warehouses, and I gather it's not as easy to shape as MDF, although that's probably not as big a problem. AS for Foamboard, have you looked into simply using Polystyrene sheets? I've got a couple of terrain boards sat at home (made by a previous neighbour I must say, not myself), but they're just multiple layers of 45mm polystyrene and from what I gather, they're easy enough to shape and and into the desired shape. Just a thought for any future projects you're considering

I considered pure polystyrene, but I was worried it would be too fragile. High-density polystyrene would be OK, but I can still see it breaking easily (also, I couldn't find any) and low-density polystyrene (the sort you use for packing, which I made the landscaping from) is way too breakable for the base board itself. I came across foamboard on offer at Seawhites (a craft shop), and it seemed like just the stuff. It seemed light but durable.


Well, lesson learned.

I'm not sure if it is plywood I bought. I'll check. I got it from Homebase, so it probably is, but I'm not sure.

Extruded polystyrene is pretty robust stuff. Unless you are the hulk, I can't see why you re concerned about its fragility.

On the warped board, try painting a thinned layer of PVA glue on the back.