Scenery wars!!

[Simon]

I get the big sheets of foamboard from hobby shops and craft stores. Basically try and find a Hobbycraft store and you should be able to get some.

The finish I use on rocks/cliffs is my craft knife. The ones in the picture there look like they're covered in sand and then painted for the texture but I find that it's not really necessary.

[zippysguitar]

Ive got some foamcard, that stuff is great for doing building walls etc.

Want thick polystyrene boards, i managed to find some on ebay, not too sure if its gonna be dense enough to take a few knocks tho.
cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=020&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=300067691823&rd=1&rd=1

Found some nice hot wire cutters too

I intend to cut small chunks of the styrene out and stick them one on top of the other with a cocktail stick through them to hold them in place hopefully and maybe texture them with sand like you said. What type of paint do you use for painting rocks?

[tturen]

You could try and use concrete mix to 'paint' the rocks. Presently I use different types of concrete mixes to get different effects. I use a fine mix for concrete buildings and a granular mix for rocks and large terrain formations.

The first step form me is take the structure and cover it in grey house paint. The concrete mix will stick to the paint and is simply sprinkled onto the paint. After it dries I use Modge Pog to seal it.

As one could expect pieces 'painted' this way are extremely durable regardless of the thickness of the foam used.

[zippysguitar]

ah genius sprinking the mix onto the wet paint.

what on earth is modge pog tho? will pva do instead?

[Adoni-Zedek]

Modge Podge is sort of a matte finish coat, very durable. It's available wherever scrapbooking supplies are sold.

I use something called "Hold the Foam" to glue my foam blocks together. It holds your peices together almost immediately, yet still gives you several minutes to reposition them before it finally sets up. My wife bought it for me, and I suspect she picked it up at Roberts or Michael's craft stores. Not sure if it's available in the UK, though.

[tturen]

Yep, Modge is just a matte sealer. It looks and acts a lot like thinned Elmers glue. When I use it with concrete I mix it 50/50 with water first. It still seals nicely and the addition water helps the concrete set up as well. I apply it with a spray bottle after the paint has dried.