Foam walls

Here's one I made earlier.

I had an email asking how I made the foam garden walls for the railway cottages. As it happens, I'm just making some more for the Tudor tavern, they are very easy, but I`ll go through it anyway.
The photo shows a partly complete item illustrating several of the steps.

First I make a blank wall, in this case a scale 6 feet high and 18" wide. this is done by sticking two lengths of 5mm foamboard together. Banner tape is the quickest and easiest method.

I start to round off the top by slicing off a thin sliver at roughly 45 degrees from the length on both sides to help round it off. (I wouldn't need to do this if the wall were to be flat topped or topped with capping stones) In this case the top is supposed to look like concrete.

I lightly score lines down the length of the wall just below where the concrete starts and if the wall is going to be built of dressed stones or bricks in courses, further lines to show the horizontals between the courses of bricks.
Next, I mark in the vertical joints between the bricks by pricking with the scalpel.
If I want a neat and tidy wall, I use a small set square to get the lines accurate and vertical. If it's a rough old stone wall, accuracy isn't so important. It's best to break right through the outer skin of the foamboard.

I score out the stones or bricks using a pencil or biro point, a slim tip will produce fine tidy brickwork, whereas a thick one will make big chunky slabs with deep recesses in the pointing.  I also add some texture to the stone faces at this time.
If the wall is going to be random stone, or dry walling, I omit drawing the course lines and just begin scoring the stones from one end trying to keep it irregular but convincing.

Lastly, I round off the top a bit using the edge of my thumbnail.

You can paint with acrylic straight onto the foamboard, or give it a light blast of aerosol acrylic grey primer, Not too heavy as it does eat away at the edges of the foam a little if you overdo it.
You can, if you wish, instead of car primer, give it a coat of Astonish wood floor polish
 (which is actually a thin acrylic laquer) which helps with paint adhesion.

Here are the finished walls in situ click here