The Boys of Fire Zone have been building models from dense foam insulation for more than two years. Below is a collection of tips and hints that were used on our personal foam models, but could be used in other construction techniques as well.
Never, ever, use a can of spray paint directly on your styrofoam model. The propellant can dissolve your building! On the other hand, if your looking for a disolved effect (rocky or rough) then this can be a plus, but some kind of chemical reaction is taking place and the Fire Zone boys try to avoid chemical reactions (can you say BOOM!).
Tools/Materials
150 Grit Fine Sandpaper, spackle compound
If your Assembled model has surfaces that are not exactly flush, you can use Fine Sand paper to smooth them out. We like to use 150 grit paper for this task
Fill gaps in your model, with spackle compound. Once the spackle is dry you can sand it smooth.
Our favorite methods of model texturing, in order, are:
1) Matte Medium - Great for concrete, and natural surfaces.
2) Sand Texture - Great for ork adobe buildings.
3) Carving/Sculpting/Relief - Great for stone work, wood work and other fine
details.
You can paint directly on the styrofoam. However, we recommend utilizing at least one of the above texturing methods on your models before painting. Texturing adds realism to your models.
Tools/Materials
For Matte Medium you will need: A cheap 1" brush, a cheap detail brush (#1 or
so), and Gel Matte Medium. Gel Matte Medum is about $8 for 8 oz. and comes in different
thicknesses (we use GOLDEN brand: Regular Gel (Matte).
For Sand Texture you will need: A bristled brush (1" inch wide is good), A small detail brush (#1 or slightly bigger), sand or fine gravel (like that used for ballast in Model Railroading), and a fixative (paint, white glue, or Matte Medium, see above)
For Carving/Sculpting/Relief you will need: hobby knife, assorted needle files, white glue, A hand held multi-speed rotary tool (e.g. Dremel, Ryobi) is optional but very handy. A cool (but semi-expensive) tool is a hot foam tool with dial-thermostat and assorted plug in tools (The one that looks like a mini soldering iron is great!).
For Plaster Texture you will need: Plaster of Paris, a mixing bowl, strips and small squares of paper towel, A cheap 1 inch bristle brush, A cheap #1 detail brush, Tablespoon measure. Plaster is great for building up cool and interesting textures, but its not as durable as we'd like. Because of this we prefer Matte Medium, but plaster does have its place.
Matte Medum is an ideal texturing material. First off, it dries hard which adds durability to your model. It also dries clear, a feature we use to protect graphics we occasionaly afix to a model.
For a concrete effect, apply a thick coat of matte medium directly onto the structure (use a stipple or poking action), the lumpier the better. The trick is to leave small hills and valleys that you can latter paint to simulate concrete. Two or three coats should be enough. On the third coat you are moving the brush as if you were simply hilighting with paint. The last thing you wan't to do is apply a nice even coat! With the brand we use you can apply a new coat about 15 minutes after the first. Once the surface is dry, you can paint it with a flexible type house paint (we use BEHR brand in a light gray color). About two coats of paint is good. Then we apply a wash of black paint and hilight with white, the effect is absolutly concrete.
HOT TIP: You can also add texture into the Matte Medium before applying. For example, sand ads a gritty feel to the model.
Fill your mixing bowl with the ballast (or sand if you like).
Select a paint color to use as the base coat. We use BEHR Acrylic Latex Indoor house paint to base coat our buildings. Most retailers have a wide range of colors to chose from and they can match any color. For example, we use "Tallow Candle" for the adobe base color of our Finished Orky Buildings. Open your can of paint and set it next to the sand.
BEHR Acrylic Latex Indoor house paint is available at our favorite store Home Depot (a national chain in the US)
Dip the brush in paint, dip it in the sand, and brush it onto your building. Usually we do two coats allowing the first to dry to the touch. On the second coat we just add texture where it went on too thin the first time.
Use the 1 inch brush for large areas, and the small brush for details.
To better bond the sand to your building use a white glue and sand combination, or better yet Matte Medum and Sand (dries quicker). Once dry you can paint over the sand texture.
CARVING - With sharp hobby knives (dull ones just wont do the trick) you can carve simple details directly into the foam buildings/ground. You can also use small needle files to file grooves into the surface. Such methods are used by the Fire Zone boys do a number of textures. For carving examples, look at the wood walls and doors on the Ork buildings or the Rocky Outcrop. You should practice your technique on scraps first. This technique does NOT work well on beaded white styrofoam, only on the extruded type styrofoam.
CARVING WITH A POWER TOOL - You can use a Dremel or Ryobi brand, hand-held, power tool and assorted wood carving bits to groove foam (good for bricks, field stone). We do our old world roofs using a this tool (and some filing with needle files).
CARVING WITH ELECTRIC "Hot Poker" - A very cool (but semi dangerous) way to make rocky outcrops and boulders, stacked bricks, and or field stone. These tools are not easy to find, we had to order ours from Micromart tools catalog.
If you want battle damage on your model you should do that at this step. You can do this by gouging out large pieces of foam or ripping off a corner. Look at our Modular Ruins for an example of how we heavily battle damage a building.
SCULPTING - You can use Sculpey III or Miliput or other putty type stuff for sculpting pieces thaty you harden and then glue onto your buildings. Once sculpted you bake the stuff in your oven (follow directions) and it hardens. For examples of this technique look at the pictures of the custom inn, the trap door on the finished Shootaz Nest and the "squawk box" on the Finished Bunkers.
RELIEF - Sometimes the best detail comes from old model kits, or odds and ends found around the house or in the workshop. Balsa wood and plastic pieces can be bought from hobby shops and used to make custom pieces like door and window frames, brackets, rivets, etc.
Tools/Materials
A good bristled brush (1" inch wide is good), A small detail brush (#1 or slightly
bigger), a flat neutral gray acrylic or acrylic-latex paint.
This is such a large topic that you should obtain and read other informative sources as well as this one. Visit hobby stores, ideally ones that deal with model trains. There you should find several books on modeling scenery and landscapes as well as structures. The Games Workshop Wargames Scenery book is excellent.
Ideally you want to start by base coating elements of your model with the base color. For example if your building is going to be tan, you would base coat it with tan. If you plan on covering the ground with lots of green ground cover, then base coat these areas with an earthy or olive drab green. You may need one or two coats to fully cover the surface.
Whatever paint you choose stick with something that will adhere well and have strength, and dry reasonably fast, and clean up with water.(we just love BEHR Acrylic-latex indoor paints). In general, I prefer FLAT paint over glossy (most glossy buildings look fake).
The large brush will have trouble painting in the corners and may miss small spots. Touch up these areas with the small brush.
With the base colors down, you can begin detailing and weathering your model. I like to give the "concrete" models an initial black wash (diluted paint about 1:1 of water and paint). The paint sets in the valleys and avoids the higher surfaces to pick out texture details.
You can also use dry brushing techniques with a lighter color to pick out detail on rocks, and buildings. For example, our concrete models get a white drybrush after the black wash has dried.
Flocking/Ground Cover
Check out Woodland Scenics ground foam products. They make a variety of grass colors in different hues and various grades (Turf, Course Turf and Extra Course Turf).
We've found two styles of flocking that we like, SCRUB and NEAT.
SCRUB - The key to realistic looking grassy fields is to use a variety of colors and a variety of sizes. Fire Zone uses empty Yogurn containers (with lids) to hold the foam grass. We've drilled two special lids one with 1/4" holes (for the Course Turf), and one with 1/8" inch holes (for the Turf).
Fire Zone uses A Light Green and Dark Green (Extra Course), Light and Dark Green (Course) and Earth and Yellow Grass (Turf).
1) First we apply straight white glue on the ground (that has been dark green base
coated). We do this with a 1" brush.
2) Using our fingers We randomly press on a few clumps of the Course or Extra Course foam.
These clumps would be found along buildings or under trees, and maybe in open areas but
not likely on roads or paths.
3) Using the 1/4" lid we shake on Course Light and Dark green putting the dark where
the shadows would be and the light were the sunlight would hit. Try to cover as much as
possible.
4) Using the lid with 1/8" holes sprinkle on the Earth Turf in the shadows for
certain, and in about 75% of the sunlight areas.
5) Finaly, using the 1/8" lid and Yellow Grass Turf add a few dashes of color only
where the sunlight would hit most often or where a hint of color would look good.
6) OPTIONAL STEP - Mix up a combination of 1 part white glue with 1.5 parts water and a
dash of dish soap (don't use laundry detergent, it reacts with the glue and makes it
"snoty". Using a spray bottle squirt the mixture over all the foam, the entire
surface should be soaked. Allow 24 hours to dry.
NEAT - The combination of turf sizes above makes for a varied surface appearance, for a more consistent appearance, stick with a fine texture, ground foam that is a blend of green colors.
You may want to dull-coat finished buildings. This provides a protective layer of clear paint over all of your careful paint and detail work.
To add strength to a model, use clear drying White glue, or Acrylic Matte Medium (Thanks Soph!). Smear the glue or paint on the Acrylic Matte anywhere on the model where you need strength. This will give the model a much more durable shell of protection. The more layers the stronger the shell.
Sometimes, despite your best efforts a model gets damaged. Usually this involves a nick that takes off the paint and plaster, right down the the pink styrofoam. If the paint was a latex base, there may even be a layer of paint hanging there just inviting you to pull off large peels.
With this method we are doing our best to make the damaged are as hidden as possible.
Step 1, lock everything down with a coat of white glue (or better yet, Matte Medium for a quicker dry time). Thinly smear the glue (or matte medium) over the spot even beyond the damaged area. Let the glue dry. You may have to repeat this step to get a good solid patch. Also, if the wound is really deep you can use spackling compound to fill the hole. Let the spackle dry and cover with glue or Matte Medium.
Step 2, determine the base coat of the damaged area and paint the patch this color. If the model appears to have a wash, duplicate the wash over the patch, you may have to blend to areas beyond the patch. If the model has a drybrushed hilight, duplicate this as well. Again, you may have to blend the hilight beyond the patch.
Sometimes a slightly off color patch can add character. For example a darker shade of the base color can make the model appear as if it has been repaired from war damage.
First, apply a glue patch as described in Step 1 under Repair to Original. Sometimes the damaged spot is arranged such that you can cover it up with detail pieces. One easy fix is to cover the spot with some detailed element. This may require some scratch building with plastic parts. Everything from plastic steel plating to plastic I-beams and tubes are available from large hobby shops.
Rusty sheet metal, a few layers of steel plating, or a ventilation unit ads nice detail. It is usually best to paint and detail the item before attaching it to the building or scenery.
Okay, so Bill gouged his pencil through the wall of your Imperial Watchpoint because you skraged his Infantry. Kindly thank Bill for granting you the opportunity to customize your building.
With a hobby knife you could carefully cut out a small crater around the damaged spot. The intent here is to make the building appear as if it was hit by an anti-tank shell. Be very careful because you'll be cutting through paint, and plaster into the styrofoam sub structure.
Once the damage is worse and you have an ugly looking crater in your building and your wishing you'd opted for the other two options, relax. apply a glue patch over all of the damaged areas, including the newly carved crater. This will lock every thing down.
Paint the crater flat black. Speckle on black paint around the crater as necessary to hide any other unsightly blemishes. To finish, hilight with gray dry brushing.
As we get questions, we will post them here with appropriate answers.
E-mail to Brian & Jerry [email protected]