I'm also a great believer in making land forms from rigid foam packing material. You'd be surprised how much that you can come up with if you watch for it.  I've found it useful to start with a solid surface to glue the stuff to.  I also like to tie it all together with some cheesecloth on top.

     i use foam packing all the time my whole layout has it for mountians and hills  to tie it all together i use

     used dyer sheets my whife uses in the dryer there seems to be alot of them  idip them in soupy plaster

     of paris and lay them on the foam for a strong base

      ron netti

to tie it all together i use used dyer sheets my wife uses in the dryer there seems to be alot of them  idip them in soupy plaster of paris and lay them on the foam for a strong base

ron netti

Good idea, stronger than paper towel, keeps the sheets from going to the landfill and your scenery will always be April fresh and static cling free! [wink]

I thought about scrap foam from packing as a good idea until I read an article on the net about flammability and melting. I am sure that, if you are careful (and don't smoke), it would work fairly well. It can be easily sculpted (with maybe a little more mess and statically charged particles). I also have been informed that using an electric sculpting wire (a nichrome or similar wire with current passing throught to heat it) might be dangerous with some foam products used for packing that would produce toxic and/or noxious fumes.

Here is a link to the article I read on flammability:

www.scaletree.com/foamsafety.html