"Styrene Plastic Blocks, and thicker sheets?" Topic

Just wondering if anyone produces, and sells styrene plastic blocks, and/or thicker sheets of the stuff, e.g. 1/2" x 1/2" x 1", and 1/4" to 1/2" thick sheets that are an inch, or two wide (or more), and 3" – 6" long, or more?

Our local plastic supply house carries the stuff, but it is very pricey. I priced some 10 years ago and got one heck of a case of sticker shock. What I use for thick pieces is use .125" Evergreen styrene sheet and strip stock and glue it together with Ambroid ProWeld. The sheets are usually 8"x11" for the thick stock, but some thicknesses come in 2'x3' sheets.
For thicker shapes, both Evergreen and Plastruct make a wide array of strip stock. The largest I have seen is .250" by .250" by 10". Use a razor saw and a mitre box to cut your block shapes.
What are you going to scratchbuild? Sounds large. I've done a lot of scratchbuilt ships in styrene (the largest being the USS ALASKA in 1/300th scale) and maybe can pass along some advice so you avoid some of the pitfalls I have undergone.
Corsair/Lance

What are you building? Perhaps members could help with suggestions for alternatives.

When I need bigger pieces I laminate them together like RampRatCorsair describes. For larger pieces, give it plenty of time (days or weeks) for the glue to dry.

Lance mentioned plastic supply houses. Swing by a few, and ask to look at their scrap bin. They might have some offcuts that you can have cheap.

When you're dealing with thicknesses of styrene of 1/4" or more, you're generally further ahead using some other material, like bass or balsa wood, then "skinning" it in a thin layer of styrene. Working with very thick styrene is almost more like working with wood than plastic, anyway.

As the others posted, let us know what you're trying to do, and we can suggest some alternatives, like balsa foam.

Kitty litter trays might provide some thick sheet. Mine were made from ABS , but it works similarly to styrene . Plastruct does a glue that works .

I want to make a few different vessels in various scales, and figured the plastic would be easier to cast copies from, if they turn out well.

The plastic will probably hold a square, or sharp edge better than balsa, or even basswood.

Granted, it will be much harder to shape by hand though.

In the past I have used balsa, which works well and quickly, but is a bit soft. I was thinking about trying out some basswood, but it is much harder, so imagine it will take more time to sand to shape. It will probably be worth it though, from a durability standpoint.

I will be making hulls, and superstructures.

Of course, I could always use sculpting epoxy too, but imagine that will be harder to keep straight, and flat, where needed.

I have some scratchbuilt carriers on the Yahoo 1/600 aerial wargaming site in the photo files under jtf600. The hulls are laminated basswood up to the hangar decks and styrene from there on up. I am working on 4 more ESSEX class CVs in styrene and some DD hulls with an eye towards casting copies. The basswood and the styrene have one problem and that is warping of the hulls as the glue cures. The basswood can warp from humidity and temperature, while th styrene warps as the glue sets. I some cases it can be very pronounced.
For my styrene hulls, I use .060"sheet for the base and main deck and thick stock to make the hull sides and a central spine and ribs. To get around the warp, I epoxy steel rod or aluminum tubing onto the base plate and then pour in a layer of resin so the hull is stiff. No warpage at all.
For really big hulls like my 1/300 scale ships, I use pine stair tread, which is treated to prevent warpage, but this is for really big hulls like a 1/300 scale CV or BB.
What scale are you working in and what ships. I can probably give you some ideas on reference and where to source all the fiddly bits like gun mounts, and fittings.
Lance/Corsair