Working with Foamboard - Joining Basics - Part 2

In the first part of the Joining Foamboard series I talked a bit about how to make strong and sturdy junctions between two pieces. These were simple connections because the boards used easy to cut flat ends & laps. In this Part 2 I am going to look at some slightly more advanced Mitred connections. Rest easy that these are still relatively basic junctions to achieve (made easier with the right tools and know how!)

Working with Foamboard - Cutting Mitres

In the Foamboard Basics I covered how to mark and make straight cuts in foamboard, and I also showed you some example methods for joining these pieces. This is great for when you want to connect two pieces at right angles to each other. However, there may be times when you want to connect two sections of foamboard at an angle, or, for whatever reason, create a bevelled edge. In those cases, you will need to know how to cut at an angle.

Cutting at an angle can be absurdly tricky, but there are a number of things you can do to help makes things a bit easier for yourself.

Air Traffic Control Tower - Mk II

Regular visitors may remember that I recently started work on an Air Traffic Control Tower, the templates for which were supplied by the (probably well known) Bugbait... as found on Warseer. I know what your thinking.. "the first one is still in pieces how can you be doing a MkII?" However, not long into the process I realised that there were many things which I couldn't let pass! The base panel was not an accurately drawn shape, with odd dimensions... and the fins appeared equally drawn "by eye". I'm known for managing to fudge a finish... but you can't start off in that manner!

Working with Foamboard - Joining Basics Part 1

In the last tutorial I covered some basic foamboard principles. Namely how to mark and cut your board. As a quick addition to that, there are a number of potentially useful tools which can help you to cut clean straight lines and avoid mis-angled cuts... I have not used these tools before so will be doing some more research before providing you with more information. In the mean time though, I thought that it would be good for me to talk a little bit about ways that you can join pieces of foamboard.

If you're familiar with woodwork joinery techniques then you'll probably spot some similarities here!

Working with Foamboard - The Basics

Foamboard, otherwise known as Foamcore is an incredibly useful material thanks to the ease with which it can be shaped & glued as well as it's inherent strength which means that it is often used by modellers to build all kinds of things!

Unfortunately, whilst it is an easy material to use, it is difficult to master and there are a number of quick and simple tips and techniques to help overcome (or avoid) potential issues! Hopefully I can cover some basics here that you will find helpful, as I'm sure taking time to write this out will help me get re-acquianted!