# Machine shop - Experimenting with polyurethane foam



## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

I found this cut stone polyurethane foam wall stuff at a train shop near Lancaster. http://ultimatescenery.samsbiz.com/page/16gis/Catalog.html p/n 6150

I was just going to get enough for the coke ovens, but Kim said get 3 more sheets (7.5x15 for $14ea)... I just hope the meeces don't like the taste!


















Since I had those nice big windows, it needed a rudimentary interior



























Not finished, but presentable just in time for this weekend's show


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

That's some nice looking stone block "stuff"... what did you use to color it? 

Greg


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Just gave it a single wash with watered down black craft store acrylic paint. There are all kinds of crannies and small depressions in the stone surface that just let it pool like that. I may do a partial wash with grey/green down low yet to look like lichens, but I haven't decided. I kind of like it just the way it is (other than the slightly drunk smokestack, which also needs a 'witches hat' rain cap) . To me, it just really LOOKS like an abandoned freight station that's been converted into a machine shop SHOULD. 

BTW the grey surface coating is harder than the rest of the panel. So the stuff doesn't cut real well with just a knife. It cuts almost like refrigerated butter with a scroll saw, except the blade sometimes wants to wander and follow the texture rather than cut perfectly straight. Not always a bad thing if you've ever seen real stone walls. Like I said, at $14 for a 7.5" x 15" piece, it isn't super cheap, but IMO it's super easy to make look great. The company claims that you can even curve it using boiling water. It's also really, really light, that's why I used ceramic tiles to make the floor - so hopefully it won't blow away.

---- The real test of the material, however, will be if it holds up outdoors. ie no rodent dinner or crumbling from UV. I don't think I'd want to leave it out during the winter, but bringing it in and out every nice day would get old pretty fast.


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## Nicholas Savatgy (Dec 17, 2008)

Your Skills seem to be improving there Miky, just a little.......







Good job.


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

Allen....that looks great. How long did it take you to make that?


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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

Posted By Mike Reilley on 20 May 2011 11:14 PM 
Allen....that looks great. How long did it take you to make that? 

do you want his answer counting in minutes or in seconds? - Mik the quickest modeler under the sun!


Mik, what a pity, that i live so far off. foamsheets with preformed stones!
i like the way you made the mashines. just making the essential pieces for recognizing what is meant.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Mike, time was about 8 or 9 hours spread over 2 evenings.

Korm, If it wasn't a foreground model, I might have left it empty. After a few months the windows will start to haze and all you'll really see is blobby shapes anyway, so I figured why bother superdetailing it, either? .... those were my compromise.... and they only took about 10 minutes each to make. (some 1x2 pine, craft store wood wheels and plugs, and a scroll saw)


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## Johnn (Jan 5, 2010)

Great job Mik, You are a credit to your State.


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## dieseldude (Apr 21, 2009)

Hey Mik- That turned out great!! The building looks perfect. Nice job on the machines, too. 

-Kevin.


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