need advice on making a styrofoam gameboard

[Wouter]

Hello everybody,

I am planning on making my own gaming table. I am going to try to make a ruined chaos temple with the relief of a realm of battle gameboard. I am planning on making a 6” by 4” table. My idea was of cutting six 2” by 2” scuare wooden sheets and gluing Styrofoam to each of them. I would then model the Styrofoam and cover the whole thing with a protective layer of some kind. Next, I would paint the whole thing. I am quite ambitious and I am going to spend a lot of time sculpting detail in the foam and giving it the right texture. I’ ll use a sharp knife and some sculpting tools to model the foam.
I have a couple of questions regarding my project.

1. What glue should I use to glue the Styrofoam to the wood and to glue Styrofoam to Styrofoam?
2. What material should I use to give the stirofoam a protective coat without loosing to much detail?
3. What paints should I use to paint the whole thing? (preferably acrylics)

All advice is most welcome!

 

[funnymouth]

use regular old pva glue (white/elmers). anything with a solvent other than h20 will melt right through (crazy glue, etc). you can use white glue to seal the foam before painting as well. dilute it 50-50, get a big brush and have at it - itll harden things nicely. avoid anything in a spray can at all costs. if you want to add complex ground texture the surface if the foam, i suggest a thin layer of elmers wood filler. easy to shape and add texture while wet, and it can be sealed with glue to harden it. works perfectly for earth & rough stone that the foam may not work so well with.
to paint terrain i use the big tubes of liquitex Basics acrylics. super cheep (like $3 a tube), and lots of colors to choose from. base coat with grey, and go to town with washes & paint.

 

[freakinacage]

1 i'd prolly use a glue gun as it's quick, but pva would also do the job

2 i'd use texutred masonry paint. will seal, texture and basecoat all in one. you can buy non textured stuff too if you so wish but the fine textured stuff is pretty nice. it's also flexible and tough as nails so great for gaming on

3 cheap craft paints or matcher pots from a diy place

 

[gsr15]

As mentioned, solvent based glue will eat the styrofoam, but sometimes you can use that to your advantage when texturing the landscape...super glue is great for making more organic looking pits and crevices in the surface than can be easily done with a knife or hot wire.

 

[RuneBrush]

Get some thick paper and glue this onto the cut edge of the board, which will provide some protection against minor knocks and bashes as the corners are especially vulnerable to getting damaged.

Also, if you've not worked it out - glue the foam onto the board, once dry fix a wooden ruler/strip on the top, in line with the edge of the board and then just slowly run a hot wire cutter down the edge of the board and wooden strip. Perfect edge

You can get a pot of emulsion mixed up to a specific colour if you need something spot on.

 

[airhead]

be sure to use extruded polystyrene (comes in blue or pink depending on brand name). Do not use whited beaded foam.

Coat with interior house paints. Water/glue mix may shrink and warp your foam.

Details can be added with any water based paints (craft paints, mini paints, etc.)

 

[funnymouth]

good points. the only things ive ever glue coated were small, or firmly attached to something that could not warp.

 

[Wouter]

ok, your advice was very helpfull.
Coating the whole thing with glue could get a little ... sticky. I think I'll go for a textured interiour hous paint.

 

[DarkStar]

Heya, wood glue is what you want. Cheap, tough as you need.

This is from years of personal experience building with foam and trying every glue. Liquid Nails is the best in terms of strength, but Wood Glue is just as good for alot less and alot less hassle (need an applicator for Liquid Nails and the smell is wretched). Here's a video from another fellow demonstrating each of the glues and their various bonding strengths on foam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boGSr_NKEbY (glue info at 4:25)