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Author Topic: EVA foam, any good for terrain building?  (Read 5514 times)

Online beefcake

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 7700
EVA foam, any good for terrain building?
« on: 12 February 2015, 08:49:46 AM »
I know XPS is they preferred type of foam for terrain building but does anyone know what EVA is like? I've tried and tried to find XPS in New Zealand but just can't find it anywhere, however I can easily find EVA. I'm doubtful about whether it will be any good. F anyone knows it's properties I'd really appreciate hearing about them. :)


Offline eilif

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 2435
    • Chicago Skirmish Wargames
Re: EVA foam, any good for terrain building?
« Reply #1 on: 12 February 2015, 02:49:31 PM »
EVA is the semi-squishy kind of foam rubber that is used for the bases of miniatures trays. I buy it surplus or from the craft store which sells it in 3mm sheets and use it as the bottom of my custom minis trays.

I'm sure there is some use for it in terrain. (maybe as roads?) but it's prettyflexible and I don't know how well it will take paint.

Still, I've used squishy mattress foam rubber to make rocks and cliffs so I imagine EVA could be used also.
This necromundcon article (follow the link too) about foam rubber rocks is where I got the idea.
http://www.ironhands.com/bd_rocks.htm
Here's a full totorial on how I did minie. 
http://chicagoskirmish.blogspot.com/2012/08/terrain-tutorial-caverns-and-rocks-fast.html
Note though it doesn't say so, the spray paints I used did end up being a bit brittle and occassionaly I respray over an edge that cracks.  If I do this again, I'd probably use latex (rather than spray enamel) for the black basecoat and the under colors and use the sand-textured spray as the finish only.

Online beefcake

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 7700
Re: EVA foam, any good for terrain building?
« Reply #2 on: 12 February 2015, 06:59:02 PM »
Thanks :) I'll check the blog out when I get back home

Offline Connectamabob

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1028
Re: EVA foam, any good for terrain building?
« Reply #3 on: 15 February 2015, 01:14:18 PM »
Apparently it's thermoformable too. Cosplayers use the thicker floor mat sheets a lot to make armor and props. It can be bent with a heat gun, and sculpted/carved with a wood burning iron (though I'm not sure if the iron is used full power, or reducd with a dimmer switch or something). I recently saw a guy on another forum who was vac forming pasks using the thing craft store type sheets.

Not sure what all the terrain applications of all that would be, but it does seem like it could be useful for something.

At the very least, I can imagine maybe getting enough large floor mat "tiles" to cover a tabletop, and using heat tools to give it hills and gullies and streambeds and such.
History viewed from the inside is always a dark, digestive mess, far different from the easily recognizable cow viewed from afar by historians.

 

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