Not sure if this belongs here or should go be put in the workshop section.
Plasticard Alternative
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A great plasticard alternative in expanded PVC. It comes under the brand names of Foamex or Forex. If you have access to a plastics supplier the non branded version will be much cheaper. It is usually white. but you can get other colours if needed.
It generally comes in sheets of 8 foot by 4 foot, which is great if you club together with some mates or use alot of it. It comes in thicknesses of 1mm, 2mm, 3mm, 5mm, 8mm & 10mm. It is often used by signwriters and graphic design companies for displays.
It is easy to cut with a scalpel upto to a thickness of 3mm, 5mm at a push. For thicker sheets I use a table circular saw. I use 3mm to ’block out’ a building (create the basic shape) and then add 2mm as cladding to create some detail
It can be sanded easily (wear a mask), bent, scored and patterned. It is easily glued with superglue, quicker with zipp kicker (superglue catalyst) and holds paint well when lightly sanded.
It is essentially a very dense plastic foam that has a skin of both sides.This is easily scored and can scratch if you use a rough sandpaper. Use a fine sandpaper on the skin (to aid paint adhesion) and a rough grade on the edges.
This model clearly shows how the building is 'blocked out' in 3mm and then clad in 2mm for the timber. All the white parts are expanded PVC. You can also see the different textures achieveable by scoring and denting.
If you have any questions on this just post them below.