Foam: My nemesis. I am always in awe of people who work so well with foam. But aren't you constantly living in fear of something snapping off? Or some kid kicking a tombstone and it flying apart? Is there some way to make it firm and somewhat durable?
11 comments:
Davis Graveyard is building a new chapel ruins entirely out of solid block foam. I think it will be 25 feet tall. I too avoid foam since I have nowhere safe to store it that it will not be damaged.
I know. Between storage, storms, and hands. It’s tough to have something last a few years. At least with tombstones, there can be a cemetery fence. I’ve done the drylock primer paint and that makes a hard shell. But there are foam coatings out there. And Davis Graveyard, they’re on a whole other level I’d never reach!
On the occasion that we use foam we use a coat of white glue as a surface hardener and then a healthy coat of latex paint over that to seal it. Still can be damaged but not as easily. We rely mostly on what we call 'flex foam' which is exactly that...it's flexible and much more people traffic friendly. Downside is it's more difficult to carve and you can't get as much detail.
Amazing. totally doesn't look like foam. Love the Art Nouveau theme too.
whenever i hear of styrofoam structures..i will always think of Don Coscarelli talking about the mausoleum in Phantasm being made of styrofoam to save money. i still can't get over that. SO impressive. still seems like marble to me. foam is magical.
Absolutely incredible.
I would love to buy the door topper with the bat.
Epsilon pro from Smooth-on can cover foam and make it hard and much more durable.
https://www.smooth-on.com/products/epsilon-pro/
I'm making giant Monster House teeth and horns from styrofoam as a base. To help it survive, I coat it with either plaster wrap or paper mache "monster mud" plus paint and spar urethane of course. My detail is not as ornate as they are on this beautiful creepy house but you can sculpt great details in. I've dropped things from the roof, kick them, etc. and they survive well. But I do need to patch things up from time to time. Living in California we get a little bit of rain and no snow so things hold up well. The wind, however, is an evil adversary.
I learned to use Drylok from Terra to cover my tombstones. It makes them look and feel like real stone.
WOW! I must have missed this post. I am in awe....that black cat on the rooftop, all those details....That is absolutely fantastic!!! I use drylock on my tombstones and I use Glidden Gripper to bind/glue foam and it works fabulously.
That is amazing - the artistry and quality of that creation leaves me in awe.
Coating foam with a thin (about 1/8 inch) layer of Durham's RockHard Water Putty makes it basically impregnable unless you purposefully break it. Also makes it much heavier, though.
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