Expanded polystyrene

2004-2-29

Expanded polystyrene is very common in modern society as a lightweight packaging and insulation material. By its very nature it is bulky, which co-incidentally makes it useful for large modelling projects!

I would wager that most modellers will at some point think twice about throwing away the packaging that the new TV / DVD / washing machine arrived in. The inagination can often see things that other household members can't. Don't bother, it will still look like household packaging...






Polystyrene is an intriguing material, depending on certain processing modifications it can be quite hard and dense, soft and flexible, or an expanded lightweight foam.

Expanded polystyrene sheet can be bought in 25mm, 50mm or 100mm thick slabs, up to 8'x4'. It is also becomming increasingly available in more dense 'pink' or 'blue' sheets sold as insulation board.

Shaping and carving is easy with a hot wire cutter, hacksaw blade or even a bread knife. Pieces are easy to glue together with PVA.

Caution: avoid breathing fumes if using a hot wire cutter and care should be taken with knives.