My holy grail on construction materials

[MRF]

What I seek most since I ever scratched anything is syntetic material with properties similar to balsa wood...
Easy to hand-sanding/curving/shaping and woodwormproof .

Is anything like that out there ?

Hours of fighting any possible kind of putty to fill styrene skeleton, is a major issue sometimes discouraging me from scratchbuilding...

[Johnnycrash]

Renshape. Google it, and see for yourself.

Hours of fighting any possible kind of putty to fill styrene skeleton, is a major issue sometimes discouraging me from scratchbuilding...

But that's half the fun. Think of it as a learning proccess. The more you do it, the more you hate it, the more you think up ways to do it better next time.

If your arm doesn't ache from sanding, your not a real model builder.

[MRF]

Well in fact I have some experience in this game . Modeling or automotive putty it's my reality but I have to say it - I am tired of those . Simply looking for new techniques, new areas.
BTW I like sanding. Really. Problem is what man needs to sand .

[Kylwell]

RenShape. John Moscato over on the Macros World uses it. It's machinable, sandable, holds great detail.

But, it can be pricey. You can check sign shops for scraps, or scraps of other dense polyurethane foams.

[modelnutz]

Go visit your local sign making shop....you know...the ones that make big exterior signs.
Ask about scrap urethane foam board.....find out if they ever use it and would they consider saving some larger scraps for you?
They usually throw away enough scrap in a single job to last an average modeller for a year !

Great stuff to use.

Like Balsa foam only much more dense and less "crumbely".

[MRF]

I received a small sample of german equivalent of Renshape once - it's called Necuron. It's pretty hard. Far much hard than balsa for sure and even better than PVC foam. So I quit the idea for a while. I don't know, maybe it was wrong type - line of Necuron is wide. I can't say the one I have is easy for hand tool shaping or sanding.

But recent problems about scratching made me to seek for new material again.

Do You know anything about or work on this ?

http://pagesperso-orange.fr/acrystal/bienvenue%20uk.htm

[Kylwell]

If Necuron is like Renshape, yes it's available ina wide range of grains and hardness. From good basswood to oak (or harder) IIRC.

[Thrusterhead Jones]

Renshape is probably smarter than Stimpyform.

Stimpy: "Hey Ren, look what I just pulled out of my BUTT! I'm going to name him Stinky!"
Ren: "Steempy, you eediot! Don't you know what that is?"
Stimpy: "Yeah, he's my new best friend."

I've found that coarse files or rasps work best for roughing in the shapes then through various coarse grits of sandpaper to tine tume the part. Renshape is pretty easy to drill, too. I've never tried to paint it, though. guess you'd have to hit it with some sort of filler first.

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

Umi likes the reshape...
(thanks terror)

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/5063 ... opywf5.jpg

And it paints well raw...
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/6640 ... py2tl7.jpg