Making Your Own Foam Trays: Tanks and Other Large Models
Hello all,You may have already read Thor’s tutorial on making your own foam trays. If you haven’t, you should check it out. It’s the same method I use to make all of my infantry trays. It’s great for small models but can be awkward for larger models such as monstrous creatures and tanks. You need to start with a thick slab and getting a straight cut through all that foam is difficult. The sides on mine came out very uneven. It’s also a waste of foam. You’ll probably pay more for thicker foam just to throw most of it away. So I came up with a variation that is cleaner, easier and cheaper.
To start with I’m using the same foam as Thor mentions in his tutorial, ordered from http://www.foamorder.com/packing.html. We’re not getting any kickbacks from them for this endorsement so feel fee to use another source if you prefer but we’ve both had pretty good luck with this company.
Let’s start with materials. As in Thor’s tutorial I’m using CD100 in 1/4 inch thick sheets for the bottom of the tray. My trays are 7.5 inch by 14 inch so they fit the Sabol cases but you can make yours to fit whatever container you’re using. There is a minimum cost per piece when ordering from www.foamorder.com so I buy a larger sheet and cut to size so I can get the best price per tray. For glue I’m using Elmers Glue All because it’s cheap, easy to find, and works well for this application.
Here’s the major difference with this method vs. cutting from a slab. For the side walls I’m using 1/2 inch thick by 3 inch wide strips of Y37ch foam. The next time I order I’ll probably get the firmer CD100 for this but the Y37ch is good enough. I bought a couple of long rolls like this:
I also happen to have a cardboard tray that
is just the right size to hold one of my foam trays. I use this as a
form while building my vehicle tray. You could build your own form from
cardboard, wood, or whatever. This could be done without a form but I
found it much easier with than without.
I
use scissors to cut the lengths of foam that will be the outside
perimeter of the tray and setting them into the form. Then I put the
models I want to transport inside and cut more lengths of foam to become
the dividers.
I
use scissors to cut the lengths of foam that will be the outside
perimeter of the tray and setting them into the form. Then I put the
models I want to transport inside and cut more lengths of foam to become
the dividers.
Now
that I have the pieces cut to the right length I use a marker to mark
where the pieces need to join. Then I pull everything out of the box
and reassemble the tray inside the foam adding glue as I go. I put the
models back in as well to help hold the pieces in place while the glue
dries, just be careful not to get the glue all over your models!
Finally I run a line of glue across the top edge of the walls, press the
tray bottom onto this, and add a couple of books to hold it down while
it’s drying. After a few hours you can pull it all out and see how the
tray looks.
You
can see I had a point where the dividers didn’t bond as well as I’d
like. It could probably have been avoided by not staggering the divider
but that’s how I wanted them. This is fixed easily enough by adding
some glue and pressing, propping, or pinning the join together until the
glue sets. With that taken care of I have myself a new vehicle tray!It would probably be cheaper to use this strip method rather than the slab for infantry trays but you would have a lot more pieces to glue together. I don’t know if that’s more or less work than cutting out all of the little squares, maybe I’ll try it some day. For now I’ll leave that decision to you.
Thanks for reading!
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