DIY foam building (3 Viewers)

[sceic2]

Still nothing. And I am wearing my glasses and sadly, I am sober.

 

[Alexdakar]

Alright Michael let me try again but with imaging hosting.

Let me see if I can demonstrate a how to do it yourself foam building. I didn't take to many pictures of the process but here it goes. First you will need some 1/2 in foam insulation and a few tools. The tools are a hobby knife, pencil, hot glue, ruler and some paint. Now for the construction part. From this piece of foam I cut out a 8 x 14 section.

 

[Alexdakar]

Next I will cut out a door, window, and two balcony doors. Use a ruler and pencil to draw them then a hobby knife to cut them out.

 

[Alexdakar]

Next are the side walls. I made a mistake here. I cut out the walls without a pitch to the roof. These are 8 x 4 walls but then I added a triangle piece of foam on each side for the roof support that will be visible later.

 

[Alexdakar]

Before gluing the walls together I like to add the cracks and texture. On this piece I drew an outline of what will be a brick exposed section. This can be any size it all depends on how distressed you want the building to be.

 

[sceic2]

I CAN SEE, I CAN SEE. Oh that's right, I could ALWAYS SEE, its the server that can't.

 

[Alexdakar]

To cut out the expose brick section I used my hobby knife and followed the line and cut it 2mm to 3mm deep. Then I took the knife stuck in on the other side to cut underneath the crack outline. Then gently pull it off but if it comes out a little rough that's ok because bricks are rough.

 

[Alexdakar]

Its time to draw a brick pattern the the exposed area. Just use a pen or pencil and draw the brick pattern pushing down a bit firmly. Pushing down firmly will create a recess and 3d effect and it will be easier to paint. For the texture on the walls you can draw some simple cracks and use a very rough sand paper and push down on the walls to create texture.

 

[Alexdakar]

Here I made a door from the foam that I cut out in the beginning to make the door entry way. Use your imagination to come up with a style. I wanted an old worn out door for my building.

 

[Alexdakar]

I had some small wood trim that I bought from hobby lobby and decided to make a window sill. I just cut a piece and then cut the edges at a 45 degree angle.

 

[Alexdakar]

This piece of foam is for the balcony but I changed my mind and cut it in two smaller pieces to make to small balconies. Its a rectangle piece that I tapered the edges using my knife at an angle.

 

[Alexdakar]

I cut some small pieces of a different kind of wood trim for balcony support.

 

[Alexdakar]

Using hot glue I glued all the pieces together. I like using hot glue because it has a very strong hold and it takes about 4 seconds to dry.

 

[Alexdakar]

I have this plastic kit and I had an idea to make the fence in the drawing into the balcony rails.

 

[Alexdakar]

I primered the balcony rails black and added the door.

 

[Alexdakar]

I found this material from a dollhouse company and is very close to the scale for my building plus I don't have to build a roof from scratch so this stuff is very cool. I also cut this with my knife to the size that I needed.

 

[Alexdakar]

After I see that I like how all the pieces fit and everything looks good then I begin to paint the whole building in black.

 

[Alexdakar]

While the paint dries I started to make a drainage pipe. I used some styrene tubing, metal tubing and foil. I cut the styrene tubing to length and then I started biting it to give it a beat up used look. Then I bent the metal tubing to create a curved piece and glued it to the styrene tubing. Last I cut some foil strips to use as brackets for the drainage pipe.

 

[wadepat]

Hi Alex,

I am really enjoying your highly informative lessons. Often I have wondered exactly what steps you employed in constructing the fine diorama accessories you produce. Thank you for providing the excellent step by step procedures you follow when you implement your creative talents.

Warmest personal regards,

Pat

 

[Jim5615]

You make it look easy. I'm grateful for the lesson.