So do any of you have any experience with building a pack from styrene?
If so, what are your thoughts? Is the stuff easy to work with, and, more importantly, can you build a sharp looking pack/gun/trap with it? Also, does it make for sturdy props? Or will a pack made from styrene disintegrate as soon as you bump into a door? I’m willingto trade a beer and a pizza for any good insight.
Ok, here are some of my experiences with styrene:
1/16" thick styrene (either in plain sheet form or in the form of a “For Sale” sign) is pretty easy to cut. All you need is a straight-edge and a razor. You just score the lines, and then bend & snap. The problem though is that it’s awfully flimsy. Any pieces constructed out of it will need reinforcement to prevent excessive bending & flexing (and sometimes you might still have “soft” spots in places).
1/8" thick styrene on the other hand is pretty darn sturdy. The problem with it is that it’s much harder to cut if all you have is a razor. You can still do the bend & snap routine with it, but it’s not as easy; you have to score the lines much deeper, and sometimes it’s still a pain to get the plastic to bend even after that (especially if you’re only cutting off a small piece).
You could always use 1/16" styrene, cut duplicates of every piece, and then “stack” the pieces together to get a thicker piece. I haven’t tried this yet myself, but I see no reason why it wouldn’t work.
Styrene works great, but be sure to get large sheets from a local supplier, or you’ll pay out the wazoo at the hobby store.
Unless of course, you love giving your hobby stor all the money you have like I do!
You can always use Sintra, it’s a pvc plastic foam board.
I’m with bigJuan. I personally like the sintra better then Styrene. I found it easter to work with personally. But Hotshot is right, unless you like giving all your money to your local hobby shop, find a supplier in your area and buy big sheets.
I had a full sheet shipped to me for $45. 4’x8’ cut down to 2’x2’
Thanks for the insight.
I bought a small sheet yesterday and built a small box, just to practice with. It worked well. In fact, I put something together faster and better in an hour or so, compared with the two weeks I’ve been messing around with MDF. Now I just have to find a place that sells the stuff in big sheets. Anyone have any suggestions?
You could look in your local phone book under plastics suppliers/manufacturers. You should be able to find at least one nearby place that would sell it.