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I’ve got maybe 15 different foam slab boards, all 40mm or 50mm thick. Some of them I made almost 10 years ago. They have lots of terrain features built onto them / carved into them. Not one of them has ever warped one jot. They are as straight and true as the day they were made. So personally, as long as you’re using thick styrofoam slabs (rather than thin white polystyrene sheets) I’d say bracing and edging foam boards is a waste of time and effort.
Captain Blood where do you get your styrofoam boards from? I've looked around for foam boards at a decent price and size without luck so far.
A while back on another forum I read a topic relating to boards warping. There was someone on there remarking about their game boards. All his boards were styrofoam, they hadn't warped over time, with the exception of one.....the only one with an wood backing! All the other boards were just styrofoam. So I think you could be correct in your assumption.
Though I have no direct evidence, I'm beginning to suspect that glueing the tiles to the mdf supports might be where the warping starts(?)
It is worth looking at how some of the model railway fraternity have developed light weight boards.Gordon Gravett has built some astounding boards.
I use mdf (9mm) and blue foam (20mm), with a wooden frame, and was in the same position as you a few years back.I like the wood base and frame as it makes them seem more solid and durable. I have both 2 x 2 ft and 2 x 4 ft boards. The important point I've found is this - the only problems with warping I've had are in the 2x4 boards. The 2x2 square ones have had ZERO warping issues.