Suggested materials: Styrofoam or Foamcore, liquid white glue, latex paint (for Styrofoam) or acrylic paint (for Foamcore). Optional: cardboard, silicone.

Styrofoam or polystyrene is a lightweight material of variable density (R5 to R10). This material is mostly used for insulation in North-American houses. It is inexpansive and sold in most hardware stores in sheets of 2,44 m (8 feet) long by 1,22 m (4 feet) wide and 1 or 2 inches thick for about 6,00$CAN (4$US) and more a sheet. There are three main types of Styrofoam:
(1) white Styrofoam is porous, coarse and tends to crumble but is lightweight and easy to cut;
(2) pink Styrofoam is dense, resistant, fine and easy to sand but difficult to cut and paint;
(3) blue Styrofoam is dense, resistant, rough and easy to sand and paint but difficult to cut.

+The advantage of this material is that it is affordable, lightweight and relatively easy to work which makes it ideal for a quick project or bulky models.
+Its disadvantage is its fragility and the bad adhesion of most paints to its surface as well as its thickness that sometimes requires the difficult task of cutting it into slices.

Foamcore is a composite material combining a medium density polystyrene pressed between two sheets of thin cardboard. This material is mostly used as a presentation support in exhibitions and for the construction of theatre sets. It is inexpansive and sold in most art or office supplies stores in sheets of 77 cm (30 inches) long by 51 cm (20 inches) wide (poster size) and 5 mm (3/16 inch) thick for about 5,00$CAN (3$US) and more a sheet. It is available in white, black and various colors. It is easy to cut with a knife but can also be cut with scissors.

+The advantage of this material is its cardboard surface that allows to bend and paint it which makes it ideal for hollow models or models with decorated surfaces.
+Its disadvantage is its higher price compared to Styrofoam and the difficulty to sculpt details as well as its thinness that sometimes requires the painstaking task of superimposing many layers.

Suggested tools:

• 2 precision knives with retractable blade (1 inch for cutting and 1/2 inch for details) (1) or a pair of large scissors for Foamcore


• a square ruler to draw right angles and a metal ruler to cut straight lines (preferably with a cork layer to keep it from slipping) (2)


• a felt pen to mark on Styrofoam and a pencil to mark on Foamcore (3)


• 2 brushes to paint (a large one for wide surfaces and a fine one for details) (4)


• optional: Popsicle sticks or a spatula to spread the glue;


• optional: sand paper and a sanding bloc to even surfaces