Dare's Foam ODST WIP
- Thread starter C0NF1IC7
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I've tried a few things to cut foam...
- A standard hobby knife wasn't sharp enough from the start, and as it dulls it's hard to do efficient replacements (you need a longer blade to cut foam, at least 3/4 inches)
- The hot knife I've tried produced a lot of fumes and the edge of the foam wasn't sharp, it melted a little bit, which I didn't like either. It does have a few extra uses if you want to burn detail lines or circular insets into the foam, though - but you can also do that with a dremel rotary tool and I think that's more useful in general (mine is in the mail).
- The standard x-acto knife is sharper than the hobby knife and allows for very precise cuts and the sharpest seams I've managed to get so far.
- Also, the angled foam matt cutter is a very good tool to make precise 45 degree cuts. It's not an absolute necessity but it is very handy. Especially because I've found that the best approach is to cut at an angle from the start when you need one - use the cutter on the foam matt itself, instead of cutting the part out and then trying to trim it further.
Both x-acto knives will also need a LOT of replacement blades. You can get a 100 pack for the #11 knife, and you can buy packs of 5 for the angled cutter, it uses blade #8 (and those blades are double-ended so you can flip it and use the other side).
These two are also cheaper than a hot knife, didn't check if the extra blades add up too much. But it's not too expensive and I believe it's the best approach to get nice sharp seams. If you need examples, check Drack's Mark VI build here:
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/35911-MK-VI-Foam-Build
- A standard hobby knife wasn't sharp enough from the start, and as it dulls it's hard to do efficient replacements (you need a longer blade to cut foam, at least 3/4 inches)
- The hot knife I've tried produced a lot of fumes and the edge of the foam wasn't sharp, it melted a little bit, which I didn't like either. It does have a few extra uses if you want to burn detail lines or circular insets into the foam, though - but you can also do that with a dremel rotary tool and I think that's more useful in general (mine is in the mail).
- The standard x-acto knife is sharper than the hobby knife and allows for very precise cuts and the sharpest seams I've managed to get so far.
- Also, the angled foam matt cutter is a very good tool to make precise 45 degree cuts. It's not an absolute necessity but it is very handy. Especially because I've found that the best approach is to cut at an angle from the start when you need one - use the cutter on the foam matt itself, instead of cutting the part out and then trying to trim it further.
Both x-acto knives will also need a LOT of replacement blades. You can get a 100 pack for the #11 knife, and you can buy packs of 5 for the angled cutter, it uses blade #8 (and those blades are double-ended so you can flip it and use the other side).
These two are also cheaper than a hot knife, didn't check if the extra blades add up too much. But it's not too expensive and I believe it's the best approach to get nice sharp seams. If you need examples, check Drack's Mark VI build here:
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/35911-MK-VI-Foam-Build
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