Varianor Abroad said:
Cool stuff. Does anyone have a link to descriptions these tools? I'm starting to make foam terrain of my own. Thanks!
How did you paint the druid's observatory please? Primer and ?
A foam cutter, at it's simplest, is a thin metal wire (stainless steel or nickchrome are the usual suspects) that is heated to a temperature that allows it to "vaporize" the foam on contact. The idea is to heat low and slow to prevent "burning" the foam too fast and ruining it.
There are lathe type industrial tables that can run into the thousands of dollars to do this.
Or you can purchase an extremely cheap, though limited, hand held model at a craft store such as Michael's. I've seen some of the more expensive hand held ones at my game store too. I think mine cost about $10 at a craft store, the hobby shop one was about $30 and had different attachments. Mine runs on 2 "D" Cell batteries and is hot to the touch but not hot enough to burn your skin.
If you do a Google search you can find multiple "hobbyist" sites where people provide plans on how to construct the table models. Be very careful here. These run on AC power and 120 Volts can easily kill you if you build one of these improperly.
As far as the Druid Observatory goes, it is currently unprimed. You see the "white" color because I built this out of huge styrofoam sheets. They were easily available (I already had them) and that is the reason I used them. I recommend that you use insulation foam for anything you build. It is sturdier (denser) and does not "flake" off as styrofoam tends to do.
I plan to use brush on acrylyc paint for the actual build. Dark Gray primer, light gray main color and white/very light gray for highlights. I don't recommend spray paints unless you've already primed with a brush-on paint. The accelerants in spray paints melt the foam. This is a cool effect for a "moon" terrain build but tends to suck for anything else.
BTW, the materials for this stuff are dirt cheap. A 4'x8' sheet of insulation foam is usually about $5. A large bottle of "Elmer's Glue-All" is about $4. A hobby knife, $5. The foam cutter is about $10. So for less than the cost of a Core Rulebook you could be up and running building some cool terrain.
