"Building 15mm patrol ship or 28mm shuttle. Any tips?" Topic

I am building a space ship based on a foam skeleton. Any tips as far as plastic sheet or anything else I can use to make the hull exterior look more realistic?

Thin plastic styrene should work for the skin.

I've also seen some use coated cardboard/posterboard effectively, but imagine it will be less durable than the styrene. It is a lot cheaper though, so might be worth considering, if your vessel will be large, or you are on a tight budget.

You might even forgo the foam skeleton structure, and just make it from a solid piece of foam, for greater durability. You should be able to shape the foam as desired with a hot knife, box cutters, sanding paper, and possibly a plane (the kind used for wood-working, not the aircraft).

Good luck.

Post pics of your progress, if you have the time, and equipment.

Firstly carve the foam into a rough shape, clad the foam in cardboard (the manila/brown cardboard that you get on the back of A4 note pads), sand to shape – smoothing out any lumps (this may need more cardboard). Then clad the card with plastic card, a panel at a time with strong superglue and accelerator. Trim each panel/section at a time. Long winded, but simple and the plastic card finish is better than any foam or filler.

Tony
dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.com

Make sure you use a foam-safe superglue, though!