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Hi all terrain builders!

I need some terrain that would block line of sight and I'm a fan of Giger art, so I wanted to make something alike these:

http://art.vniz.net/en/giger/Giger-Dune_II.html

http://art.vniz.net/en/giger/Giger-Homage_to_Boecklin.html

http://art.vniz.net/en/giger/Giger-The_Lord_of_the_Rings_II.html (likely NSFW)

I wanted to use styrofoam to make a rock shape and to cut and glue some plastic tubes like this on the top, but gluing is harder than I thought: I can't use superglue for styrofoam, and PVA glue dries to slowly to keep the tubes the shape I want them. I also know that some amazing things can be made with a hot glue gun, which I don't have (like these) and with pumpkin stalks (but these don't block LoS).

Do you have any other ideas on how to make Giger-themed terrain? Have any of you tried making it?

The plastic tube you linked is perfect - consider guitar/bass strings, as well, for smaller diameter ribbed cables. They're a bit harder to work, being rather stiff, but they'll add a ton of fine textural detail perfectly in keeping with the aesthetic.

As for the gluing, would it be difficult for you to get a hot glue gun? They're quite useful for things like this, thanks to the rapid "cure," and are far from expensive. Here, I can pick up a low-temp gun at any old craft store/Walmart for $2, with packs of glue sticks (enough for several projects, if you aren't using it to actually build/texture the whole structure) running about $3-4.

Barring that, there are thicker, rubbery adhesives that are quite resilient and will stick to almost anything - Amazing Craft Goop, E-6000, and the like. They don't cure as quickly as hot glue or superglue, but they'll grip faster and better than PVA, at least, without melting the foam.

One of the downsides of the wire loom you linked to is that the plastic is designed to not have things stick to it. Most paint won't work well - very few glues will hold to it.

As opposed to doing regular built up type stuff for bio-mechanicals - I generally will just create mass of different junk piled together and loosely held in place with hot glue. Once that is done - I use the vacu-forming table to create a single sheet of PVC or HIPS that is molded to fit. Bit of hand scribing in details that are too soft and it goes pretty fast.

Barring a vacuum former though - you can also look at a latex coating. Paints well enough, and it skins over where it will hold your structure in place. You can pierce the skin in areas to expose the underlying materials (as is common with Giger).

I thought the glue guns were more expensive - and they're so cheap! I'm buying one soon.

Thanks for all the advice!

 oadie wrote:

Barring that, there are thicker, rubbery adhesives that are quite resilient and will stick to almost anything - Amazing Craft Goop, E-6000, and the like. They don't cure as quickly as hot glue or superglue, but they'll grip faster and better than PVA, at least, without melting the foam.

I can't talk about the others, but in my experience E-6000 and Superglue both with melt foam and foamboard.

 Boggy Man wrote:

 oadie wrote:

Barring that, there are thicker, rubbery adhesives that are quite resilient and will stick to almost anything - Amazing Craft Goop, E-6000, and the like. They don't cure as quickly as hot glue or superglue, but they'll grip faster and better than PVA, at least, without melting the foam.

I can't talk about the others, but in my experience E-6000 and Superglue both with melt foam and foamboard.

Not always a bad thing - especially in this regards.

I will occasionally use a spray bottle with some acetone in it (safety alert - use an organic vapor respirator when aerosolizing organic solvents...). Takes some practice to learn to control it - but it will only dissolve so much. You can make some very interesting shapes that are hard to recreate by hand in rather short order. Also work well for creating acid worn surfaces (boring a hole through a wall with a tight stream).

Very flammable, potentially dangerous levels of vapor in the air. Ventilation, goggles and respirators are important when doing things like that.