Islands from foam to finish

pg. 1

Introduction

The article is intended to help you create islands for Uncharted Seas. You can construct the island pictured below and
variations of it exactly as I did or apply the techniques and use of other materials to create your own design.

Supplies
Used in the project
Insulation foam (pink or blue foam)
Hot foam cutter
Spackling Paste

Hobby knife
Liquid nails (general construction) adhesive)
Toothpicks (optional)
Liquitex Textured Gel (natural or resin sand)
Woodland Scenics Ballast (fine, medium, and coarse)
Water
Plastic cup
Craft sticks
Paint brushes (inexpensive)
Craft or Hobby Paint (earth tones, grey, and foliage
greens)

Options
Any insulation foam (blue or pink). The color is not
important.
Hobby knife and fine grit sand paper or soldering iron.
There are so many options and varieties it is hard to list them
all. Any hard drying compound found at your hardware store
will do.
Your spouse may not appreciate it, but you can use a sharp
kitchen knife
White glue
Vallejo or other brand of pumice
GF9 has a product called Basin Grit. Natural sand with small
stones. GW also has a product.
Cheap disposable plastic bowls or other item to mix
Popsicle sticks or wooden skewers

Foam insulation is great stuff for hobbyist. It can be cut with a hobby knife, sanded, glued, or melted to form terrain. A
foam cutter is quick to shape the foam and easily creates curves. I own an inexpensive Woodland Scenics hot wire cutter
that I purchased from my local hobby store. The foam can also be shapped with a knife. To create smooth or rounded
areas after cutting, sand with fine grit sandpaper. A soldering iron can be used to slightly melt the foam to create a variety
of shapes and textures. When using a hot wire cutter or soldering iron, avoid the fumes and work in a well ventilated area.
For this project I used Liquid Nails to glue the layers foam together. You can use white glue, if you prefer. Toothpicks can
be inserted between the layers to increase the strength. Liquitex makes a variety of textured medium. I used the resin
sand to create the texture on the islands that become the foliage and beaches. I add the ballast to extend the medium,
which can be expensive, and add a variety of texture. Most of the paints used in this project are inexpensive hobby paints
purchased from a local craft store.

Islands from foam to finish

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Instructions
Foam Form

I assembled various thickness of pink foam to form the rough shape of a land
mass. A single piece could be used too. Insulation foam comes in various
thicknesses. If you have a large piece, then the Spackle step is optional and
there is no need to glue the layers together. I used scrap pieces for this island.
The pieces are glued together using Liquid Nails. I only apply the glue to the
center of the pieces. Do not cover the entire surface between the pieces. You
want to avoid the hot wire foam cutter hitting the hardened glue when
shaping the island.

Shape

Cut the island using your hot wire cutter or knife. For smooth surfaces after
cutting with a knife, lightly sand. For the areas I intend to cover with foliage I
shape the island with my hot wire cutter to form a smooth or wavy land mass.
For the rocky areas and cliff faces I used my hobby knife.

Spackle

If you have a multiple pieces glued together, cover the seams using a liberal
amount of spackling. If you have a single piece of foam, you can apply the
spackle to create textures for the stone and cliffs. I applied it using a craft
stick. Allow the spackling to dry. If your spackling ran or it does not have the
shape or texture you want, use your hobby knife to shape it. If it is going to
become the foliage, it will get covered up in the next step.

Mixture

In a mixing container add your texture gel or pumice. Add an equal amount of
ballast of varying coarseness. The ratio is an estimate. Create the consistency
that you prefer. I find ballast or grit is cheaper than pumice, so I tend to use
more if it. If you use too little of the texture gel or pumice, the mixture will
not dry hard and may break way when painting, especially dry brushing. Add
a small amount of water. Stir the mixture. It should be thick but thin enough
to be spread. Apply it to the foam island with a craft stick onto the areas you
intend to be covered in foliage or beach. The piece pictured has a cliff face, so
I only applied the mixture on various places along the top of the island. As an
optional step after spreading the mixture, sprinkle ballast over the wet
mixture. As it falls it will stick to the wet mixture. I use this to control the
texture. On areas I intend to have larger clumps of foliage I use coarse ballast.
Along the beach areas I sprinkle sand to create a fine texture. The optional
step creates a variety of texture and a more realistic beach area. See
examples. Allow the mixture to dry several hours or overnight.

Paint

Base coat the island with dark earth colors using your craft paints and a cheap
brush. I applied a burnt umber to the dried mixture and a charcoal gray on
the pink areas that will become stones and cliff face. I was not neat with this
step. Allow the base coat to dry. Using a stiff bristle brush, begin dry brushing
other colors. I used a foliage green and lighter gray on the foliage and stone,
respectfully. The first color can be applied briskly. Dry brush with a slight
jabbing motion to work the paint in and establish the colors. As you gradually

Islands from foam to finish

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work to lighter greens and grays, be gentler with the dry brushing and apply it
over less area. Experiment with your colors. I added ochre to the foliage and
apply it various places before applying the last dry brush of light green. It
created a more natural look and a variety of color. The beach gets a dry brush
of sand colored or tan paint. I used my airbrush for the beaches, which
created a nice gradual effect.

Examples
On this medium sized island notice the pink areas in the first picture become the cliff face and do not get the covered in the
mixture. The second picture is after the mixture is dry and a base coat applied.

Beach close up before and after painting

The large island has a sheer cliff face one one saide and a large beach area on the other.

This Island has large variations in the size of the ballast. Notice the large pieces painted as foliage on the right side
overhanging the cliff and atop the peaks and the fine pieces that form the beaches.

Islands from foam to finish

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Alternatives
The rock mold and mdf alternatives are useful for creating an island with a low profile (less than 2 inches), uniform sized
islands, or if you do not have pink foam.

Rock Molds
I used a rock mold from Woodland Scenics to form a plaster island.
After the plaster dries, I followed the same steps to produce this
island. To create multiple islands from the same mold in different
shapes, the mold can be partially poured or set unlevel to create
variations. I also glued small plaster stones to the larger one to
create additional variations. With a medium and a small rock mold,
you can create an unlimited number of combinations. The island
pictured is about 4x6 and perfect for a scenario.

MDF
Thin wood or pressed board can be cut to shape, and sanded to bevel or round the edges. Rock formations made from pink
foam or small rock molds can be added to the wood to create another alternative to the pink foam island. After gluing the
rocks to the wood, it can be completed using the same instructions outlined above.