Hi! I noticed your website didn't have any info about the UK. I'm from England and I just bought a pack of 8, 0.8m x 0.6m x 6mm XPS from B&Q for about £15. It's from a brand called Diall and it's with the building materials, specifically the isolation. Hope this helps for the site and thanks for teaching me a new hobby which will no doubt take over my life! xx
I am watching this series with my 7yr old granddaughter and we love this. thanks for the beginner videos she now has the basics that are hers alone and she is loving making stuff. Keep up the great job!!!
For the people living in France you can buy it at: Castorama or Leroy Merlin The extruded polystyrene is only available in yellow, don't look for pink or blue stuff, you won't find it. ;)
how about today? i got some from leroy merlin, which i'm pretty sure is pink but i don't know if there are different densities or something? i find it hard to cut cleanly.
Thanks for doing this, especially compiling the global list. This should be pinned, posted and shared on every terrain site/forum since as you said it is probably the most asked question globally, everywhere.
Here in Argentina the pink stuff (Actually the XPS sheets) is actually white and is called Polyfan. You can get them pretty easy if you search them by that name, and kinda cheap. The thickness goes between 20mm to 50mm.
I found your content pretty recently, and joined your Patreon cause I loved your videos and personality. Watching this older stuff makes me so happy that you found your way. You were a funny and encouraging guy, even when you only had few materials.
guys, this foam is also highly used for making store signs in graphic design industry, so if you have a friend or know Simeone whos a graphic design er, theyll know where to get it... plus they probable have tons of leftovers... :)
I have seen it as packing material as well with items arriving at the factory I work in but it is very rare. Sometimes it is molded and not extruded. Usually it has a layer of softer form inside of the more rigid foams and only comes with heavier parts like large transformers or equipment.
I live in Alberta, and I am starting to become interested in the crafting side of this hobby. I've been into D&D for a while now, but after seeing some of your videos, I think I'm going to start crafting my own terrain. Luckily for me, I live near a Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes and a few different dollar stores. I've been a bit intimated to get started, but these videos have been helping me know what I NEED, as opposed to what I might want in the future. I think I'm also going to build my own hot wire table, as it seems to hold the same principles as vape devices, which I've been familiar with, for a few years now. Thank you for making these videos, and inspiring new creators everywhere.
@@BlackMagicCraftOfficial yes, if only I got into this while I still worked at Lowe's, then I could get a discount. But they only carry DOW brand, and I think I want to start with the pink foam, so I'm going to Home Depot after work today. Though, where I work now, I can get some excellent building material that I have free access to. I get these sheets of 30" square chip board. the thicknesses, and sizes vary somewhat, but it's free. I can also get some free sheets of the sturdy "cereal box" cardboard, which I've already loaded into my car.
Just started following you; based on your advice, I went to your page and using the click-on provided, purchased your recommended Hot Wire Cutter. It will be worth every penny of the relatively modest price I paid. Thanks for all your help, sir!
In the Netherlands you van buy the foam at praxis, most of the gamma stores and Hornbach the last one sells multiple thicknesses starting at 20mm till 100mm White 10 mm steps in between
Hey! In Portugal you can buy it at Leroy Merlin! Sometimes they have it in the "regular" warehouses, but you can always find it in the special construction warehouses :)
Hey, I bought the 20mm one its green but they have a sort of a grid there that its a real hassle ... Were you able to find a good one? Without being for flooring which has sort of a dented pattern thats no good Thanks!
@@pedromartins5858 No Leroy há 20mm, meio esverdeado mas não creio que tenha a grelha a que se refere: www.leroymerlin.pt/Produtos/Construcao/Isolamento/Isolamento-termico/WPR_REF_16361065 No Brico Dépôt há branco, 30mm: www.bricodepot.pt/produtos/construc-o/isolamento/poliestireno-extrudido/poliestireno-extrudido-paredes Eu vivo em Sintra! Não sei se noutros sítios há em stock, mas por cá tenho tido sorte :)
for any Aussies here wondering "where'd ya getit" (it's an old add by-line if you're young) anyway..you can find it in the insulation isle @Bunnings for $12.95 or for the thicker $20 something..l found it in isle 1 at Sunshine.. whether Mitre 10 also carries something similar you'll have to look for yourself..he does list it in his link that tells you where you can get it in a lot of countries, hence how l found it..and this seems the right spot to highlight it..good luck..
+19gentleman80 ja, ist in den meisten der Fall. Die grünen mit der waffelprägung eignen sich aber sehr gut, musst nur spleißen, die Prägung ist verdichtet
+19gentleman80 teilen, auftrennen. ich bekomme hier lokal z.b. nur 20mm, baue aber mit 10. also schneide ich meine 2x6 tiles und trennen die dann in 2. geprägte Fläche nach unten, alles klar
This man single-handedly made sure everyone in the world has access to a list of places to buy sculpting foam. I don't know what you're doing right now, but like this video already.
I am as new to this as you can get and have only ran a couple DnD sessions with my wife and kids. These videos will be so helpful in my efforts to keep the kids engaged and to enhance our game sessions. Thank you so much for the details.
Thank you for this video. I don't make tabletop miniatures but I want to get into foam smithing and prop creation. It's been a struggle to read up on. Your videos have educated me more than the weeks of research. You've really mastered how to explain not-so-straight-forward answers. I really appreciate it.
If you live in a warmer clime talk to the store manager often they can get a few sheets delivered on their next supply truck. Also check out where you see construction going on often they will give you scraps of both this insulation and wood scrapps that may be useful in crafting. It's very nice of you to keep that worldwide list to help people find this stuff.
For sci-fi buildings (particularly bunkers), that expanded preshaped packing foam is really useful. Coat it in a house paint mixed with a texture additive, give it a couple coats and light sandings, and then paint in grey with some heavy washes. If you want it broken or with a destroyed wall, snap it, LIGHTLY spray paint the exposed broken edges (the aerosol will melt the foam), let it sit for a day or two to let the reaction finish, and add bits of wire for exposed rebar, seal it with the BMC modge podge technique, and paint as normal. It's an utter pain in the ass to work with if you're trying to do precise razor cuts (bits just go everywhere and it won't cut cleanly), but it's great if you can use it as-is with just painting, or want ruined portions roughly snapped apart. And I'm also so glad someone finally agrees that pink and blue foams ARE different, so many have disagreed with me! And all it takes is having actually worked with the stuff to know they're not identical.
There are even cases where you can use the texture of the broken stuff, usually stone, itself. A case that just popped into my head would be ruined castles, as the interior of castle walls were made of cemented rubble.
I cannot thank you enough for the guide you linked in the description with many different countries and where you can find XPS! Most channels I've seen only link an amazon page that sometimes doesn't even ship to some countries whenever they talk about the materials they use I was quite a bit intimidated when I thought it would be hard to find XPS in my country but now I will definitely give crafting for my DnD sessions a shot, thanks man! Earned yourself a new subscriber :)
Thank you so much! I'm currently working with cardboard for 90% of my builds to keep upfront costs down and be able to justify my material as free to me, but I am looking forward to trying foam soon. I'm in the hot summer-cold winter high desert of the US mountain west, so hlgetting insulation here is a cakewalk.
I've been trying to figure out where to buy this stuff for days now, I was only finding it in small sheets. Happened across your vid, found a large board in 30 seconds. Thanks for the info.
I recently purchased some isolation foam and boy does it work wonders for terrain building. I have used foam sheets before but the thickness would make for flimsy pieces and this stuff is holds up much better. Thank you for informing your viewers of such a quality inexpensive material.
Was watching an earlier video with the gray stuff after discovering you and thought "should I ask if that pink insulation foam is the same or will I sound like an ass?" You are the man!
I was literally sitting in the Home Depot parking lot (to buy this stuff exactly) waiting for my toddler to get a longer nap in, when this vid popped up in my home feed. Lol that was really convenient. I’m in one of the places where the weather is all over the place, so I was excited to find they did have the 1/2 inch boards.
Crap man. I watched this video immediately after spending the day learning all about EPS and XPS. I should have searched here first instead of Google :) I appreciate this video all the same, thanks dude.
It's also great for soundproofing. I remember using it 20 years ago to build a recording studio in an office building.We layered 2" panels on top of some fairly light (maybe r8) fiber insulation then covered everything with 1/2" fiberboard. It was amazing how much audio "segregation" we achieved - especially for the price and ease of use. However, anyone involved in construction/contracting would be unsurprised to know that it was @#$! hot in those two rooms - especially with once all the gear warmed up as well as the body heat generated by playing (especially drums!). A few strategically placed fans helped. But any form of "air-conditioning" is the enemy of audio-recording, so ultimately, we made it SOP to leave the doors open anytime we weren't literally recording.
I hope you're still checking these comments. I just came across your channel recently and have been getting a lot of inspiration. In Japan (mainland) the same カネライトフォーム you have listed for Okinawa can be found at a nationwide home center called Nafco (ナフコ). It's probably available at a few other places, but at least I can confirm that I saw it at this one. Keep the content coming!
Thank you!!! I have just start with this hobby. But yesterday I have created some of cobblestone look like from foam (wrong one). Thank you for sharing all of this information with us!
This question comes out alot, because there are a lot of countries where this material is not a standard material used. It does not exist anywhere not even our craft stores stock up for crafting purposes. I even went to a factory that produces polystyrene for packaging, and they did not even know of this specific foam you use
Hey! First of all, love your videos ! I started crafting a few months ago and went searching for XPS foam in Sweden. I noticed that you didn't have any company names for that in your resource page so i thought i might help out I bought it at 2 different stores, unfortunately they only have the large blocks but "Byggmax and Bauhaus" is the way to go
another great video! I especially like that you explained the differences between expanded vs extruded foam, and the actual structural differences b/w the pink and blue foam. That's tough to explain well, and you've managed to do that in a straight forward way. My issue in acquiring more foam is cost, but I guess it's not too expensive.
For us makers watching these US diy videos it's like looking into a magical land of organised stores and accessible materials. Usually here if you're not a professional and you try get building contractor stuff you get looked at weird or even derided haha. Thanks for taking the time to translate for us!
Hi. When it comes to Poland you can find them in Castorama, Praktiker, Leroy Merlin - generaly if you list those, people from Poland will know what to look for. Additionaly it can be bought under the XPS name, as well as 'Polistyren ekstrudowany' (just copy that). Very easy to purchase and the names you give are enough to find it in polish.
You sir, are my hero. this video has saved me SO much time and energy! not to mention you made this so easy to understand. thank you for your amazing efforts and help in your links and tutorials!
Apparently there is a chain of hardware stores in the UK called Jewson, which carries XPS under the names YELOfoam (yellow stuff), and Proctor Styrofoam Floormate (blue stuff). The yellow foam is available in multiple thicknesses. I didn't find any online listings for pink foam available in the UK.
I've recently started the hobby of miniature model making. Like 2 weeks. Luckily for me the house across the road is having a barn conversion. There's now a skip opposite my drive with off cuts galore awaiting landfill. There's also now a bunch in my shed 😁👍🏻 #Reduce #Reuse #Repurpose #Recycle
Yes, yellow and Bunnings also have a green one that isn't covered, is thinner and located in a different section to the Yellow. It's made by Bastion Building Materials and is called Multi-use Foam Board. It says you can use it for Hobbies.
In the Deep South you can’t get the XPS in Lowe’s or Home Depot. At least not in my city. I have heard others report that you have to buy a pallet load if you have to order it from a big box store. However, you don’t have to buy it at a big box store. Here there is store called Royal Plastics. They sell clear acrylics for all sorts of business uses including windows. Royal Plastics has stacks of the Dow product larger than a box truck. The different stacks are of various thicknesses. So, look in the phone book for a retail plastics business for XPS.
I live in Japan. On your website you didn’t have anything listed for mainland Japan soI looked up the foam listed for Okinawa, and I found it on the websites of most of the major hardware stores. (Komeri, Nafco) And if it can’t be found locally, it can be ordered online (monotaro, Komeri)
Home Depot, if you go not at a busy time, is likely to cut down the foam sheets for you into squares. They may do that for MDF. Go during the day at a dead time. I find they are friendlier (here in the US midwest) than Lowe's. They will also cut down wood.
Dear Mr. Your explanation was one of the best I found and it was very good, too bad what we find in the markets will always cause problems for people, a piece of advice if you allow me, take pictures of the texture of the materials you use possibly that way it will be easier for people identify in their own countries what exists avoiding long dialogues lol, I would like to say that I love your site and works produced, thank you
When you go to the big box hardware store, just ask them.... "I'm looking for pink insulation foam" 99.9% of the time they will know what you are talking about.
Woher bekommst du deine? Ich find bloß echt dicke mit walzkante, oder welche mit Waffelprägung..Bauhaus, Toom usw haben nur die mit Waffelprägung und ich hab keine Möglichkeit die so dünn runter zuschneiden
Thank you for making a universal list for so many countries. That sure was and still is a lot of work. You could add "Tom Baumarkt" to your list for Germany.
I realize you have a million videos up but as this is foam related I was hoping this may catch your eye despite being years removed. Have you ever worked with moldable foam products? I've been making a beanstalk from it and loved the results of being able to role out a long strip etch some design into it and twist it, then braid it with other cords of different thickness to build a bean stalk. I imagine there are tons of uses that can make organic look great, though it's clearly difficult to get flat edges for building designs. Didn't spot it in your collection and would love to see something on it.
As soon as I create my first building I will let you know the specs, locations, and prices in Argentina about what where how. So that you can update your site. Cheers.
Basically - i don't have any idea what i was doing before... i'm a very very new and inexperienced crafter and table-top player... because my doctor said i should start those kinda hobbies for a better "dealing with my illnessess" ... but anyway - i learned sooooooo much from you! And I just watched 3 or 4 videos by now... i'm continueing :D Awesome work dude. I just love the way you talk, act and explain things! So - you've got a new subscriber from germany - yey ^-^* So - teach me master! I want to make my very own black magic soon *bows*
Went to Home Depot to talk to a guy about finding EPS foam. I had found it but in 1" slabs 8ft tall and I was hoping to start with the 1/2 inch floor tiles since I'm new. Explained to the employee I wanted the Extruded Polystyrene and his response was "Well that's a word..." Not throwing shade on him, it was clear Home Depot hadn't trained him enough but his reaction was just funny to me.
I was curious and searched for it in my country, New Zealand, and its brown, looks like mdf or cardboard and is surprisingly affordable! I'm now painfully tempted to try making something despite the fact i have absolutely zero use for builds as I dont have or play any table top games except for my D&D which is still wrapped in plastic and tucked away safely until I have ppl that want to play it lmao
This stuff is high density extruded polystyrene. You can get it from building suppliers in colder climates. Easy to find in areas that get snow. In warm climates, we can only get the expanded polystyrene insulation foam which is OK for modeling but inferior to the high density polystyrene. If you live in a warm area and you want high density, plan a road trip north, buy as much as you can, go back home and be happy you have the best stuff for scratch building terrain.
Just starting out and this is a very good series thank you! And as a Canadian(Sask) I usually find it hard when most of the links are american and american only. So thanks again!
2024 - XPS foam is no longer majorly manufactured in UK or stocked in builders merchants due to a change in building regulations making it obsolete as a building insulation… I have been struggling to find a good source in the UK. However I recently found Easy Composites based in Stoke and they do 100mm thick styrofoam type board in 300x300 up to 1200x1200 and will post or are open for collections. They do other stuff but could be a good source for the foam you cannot find.
yeah, i bought a big sheet of the blue DOW foam from Lowes. I did not know I'd need a special cutting tool..lol. I haven't used it, at all. I just use the Dollar General crafting foam sheets. If I need a thicker piece, I just cut two or more pieces of the right size and glue them together (old woodworking thing). I like the DG stuff because of the paper on it. It makes it easier to lightly draw designs and shapes right on the sheet.
Extruded polystyrene is not a type of Styrofoam. They're both types of foams, but Styrofoam is a brand name, which is why autocorrect capitalizes it. So when you said "When I say Styrofoam, I'm not talking about that white stuff that's made of a bunch of tiny foam balls...etc" you were describing Styrofoam in detail.
In the Netherlands: Hornbach sells them at 44,95 per pack (20 pcs) sized 1250x600x20mm (aprox. 4ft x 2ft x 0,06 ft) Gamma sells them at 38,95 per pack (10 pcs) sized 1200x600x20mm
XPS Foam: For Greece, you can find it as "θερμομονωτικό φελιζόλ", "Εξηλασμένη Πολυστερίνη", "Styropan XPS", "φελιζόλ styropan" etc. Its available at almost relatively big craft stores (I get it in a local one), including Practicer, Leroy Merlin etc. If researching for prices, pages like skroutz. gr can compare prices from physical shops & e-shops all over the country.
You know what I was just telling my partner that it's so funny how I'm just auto drawn to other Canadian CZcamsrs over CZcamsrs from other places. Then you said you lived in the coldest city and I about died because what are the odds!! I swear I've found/met like 7 other people from the city on the internet not looking to and it's so crazy. 😂
I drove around the back of Home Depot the other day to avoid the traffic jam at the garden center, and there was a bunch of pink foam pieces in the dumpster. Apparently some larger sheets broke, and they threw them away because the pieces were too small to sell. Score! So that's something to check, or if you know someone who works construction, they might save scrap pieces for you.
ask your local foam insulation installer, they will usually have a bunch of cut ends, broken pieces and such, just look up your local FII on google or the phone book, farmers and construction workers are a good source also, their always building a shed or a building that uses the foam, i got a garbage can full of cut ends and pieces of blue and pink foam for free from my local FII.
Easy answer is it’s high density insulation foam normally used for buildings and DIY to help keep the cold out, you put it into wall and floor cavity’s, it’s also a ok sound dampen, as for wear to get it? Well it’s a building material so ied try looking at a DIY or hardwear shop. It’s a while since I googled what to use for making a gaming board but if I remember righty it’s the second or third highest density foam you can get, I think the stuff for surf boards beeping the highest grade but it has a price to match, interesting side note the pink and blue foams are the stuff that industrial light and Magic (as well as other effects teams) used on the filming of the Star Wars films. Now to watch the video, interesting that foam is the finest I have seen, the stuff I have seen is from B&Q (in the UK) it comes in about 6 inch deep by I think like 6ft long by about 2 ft wide panels
I went into a builders merchant today to see what they had. I saw expanded polystyrene which was black and white pellets squashed together so it was easy to spot and disregard...next to some foam sheets with silver foil on each side that was pretty expensive/sheet and the thinnest sheet was 50mm which I've since found out is polyisocyanurate foam (?) for roof insulation. I asked if they had xps or extruded polystyrene and they didn't know what I meant. I also said pink foam, blue foam and rigid foam. I mentioned it could be thinner than 50mm. They still didn't know what I meant. So I asked if they had an olfa knife and they said "you're asking for some random obscure things today" I ended up getting a basic metal snap off knife. I will try a different hardware store for the XPS. The hunt is on! 🤣 Edit: I'm in Wales so the temperatures are not that extreme but I'm sure I'll find some somewhere to buy in person rather than online.
I've only watched a couple of your videos now but based on what I've seen so far I'm going to throw a subscription your way. This info is really cool, and for someone wanting to have 3d structures for his rpg very useful
For anybody in the USA who have options and are wondering which foam is better, I can say that the Foamular (Pink Panther) is better than the KIngspan. The Foamular takes impressions better and seems to be more resistant to tearing compared to the Kingspan.
Used to get that question on modelling forums all the time from Americans. They can't easily get insulation foam in many southern US States like California and Texas, because their building codes often don't require insulation.
I have an addition for the resource. In your online resource I saw that there was an entry from the Netherlands, but the model shop is relatively expensive. There is a cheaper option in the Netherlands. The Dutch version of Home Depot is "GAMMA". It has stores all over the country and caries all kinds of XPS foam, such as 120x60x3 cm: www.gamma.nl/assortiment/isolatieplaat-polystyreen-xps-120x60x3-cm-7-stuks/p/B133542 and 120x60x2 cm www.gamma.nl/assortiment/isolatieplaat-polystyreen-xps-120x60x2-cm-10-stuks/p/B133543 Thank you for all your videos. You really encouraged me to try my hand at dungeon-crafts.
This was helpful i thaoght that was were to get the foam. I'm startinging out and found floral foam as it comes in difrent textures and shapes is fun to work with ,im trying alot of different materials to see what i like
Thanks so much for this , been looking everywhere for dense foam types I can use a hot wire cutter on for a reptile vivarium background. Gonna try some of this put to see how well it works with tile cement.
In the states it is a regional and seasonal thing because its primary use is insulation for basements. In the area I live, no basements so you really can only get the small squares not the big 4x8 sheets
Dude, you put together a list of places to buy this in different countries?! Way above and beyond..nice bro!
It's gone, sadly.
@@clutchbearing I thought it was me, I was looking for it. It could've been really useful!
So 6 years later, where do you get your foam now?
my father always told me if you are good at something, don't give it out for free, im glad he wasn't your dad! awesome videos bro!
I'm a construction worker and an "artist" too! You have inspired me sir, my girl and I are going to have a crack at it tomorrow!
as you work in construction you can get access to waste products of this sort and save yourself some money..scrounge wherever you can..
New World Gorger don’t sell yourself short man. You aren’t an “artist”, your just an artist!
Hi! I noticed your website didn't have any info about the UK. I'm from England and I just bought a pack of 8, 0.8m x 0.6m x 6mm XPS from B&Q for about £15. It's from a brand called Diall and it's with the building materials, specifically the isolation. Hope this helps for the site and thanks for teaching me a new hobby which will no doubt take over my life! xx
Awesome thanks. Is 6mm thick enough? He recommends half inch which is about 13mm.
@@mullenio4200 Works for me :)
@@mmasmaza123 okay I'll check it out thanks.
Hi, is it the green stuff? And if it is patterning only on one side?
Try Jewsons (look for YELOFoam or I found Styrofoam at reasonable prices here - modelshop.co.uk/Shop/Item/Styrofoam-dark-grey/ITM7957
I am watching this series with my 7yr old granddaughter and we love this. thanks for the beginner videos she now has the basics that are hers alone and she is loving making stuff. Keep up the great job!!!
where do you get your pink foam
I kidd
dont even....
I was SO tempted to do this exact type of trolling. That's what I get for watching my favorite salt-filled game streamer before this video XD
lol good one!!
@@BlackMagicCraftOfficial welcome to the twilight zone
For the people living in France you can buy it at: Castorama or Leroy Merlin
The extruded polystyrene is only available in yellow, don't look for pink or blue stuff, you won't find it.
;)
great info, thanks
Great news to know, thanks! :D
which one in your opinion work the best? (Fr too)
@@dziooooo eneergoosha sounds funny and useful.
how about today? i got some from leroy merlin, which i'm pretty sure is pink but i don't know if there are different densities or something? i find it hard to cut cleanly.
I'm finding you 3 years later and you sir are a god damn treasure trove.
Thanks for doing this, especially compiling the global list. This should be pinned, posted and shared on every terrain site/forum since as you said it is probably the most asked question globally, everywhere.
Go to every terrain page and hangout you know and spread my video/page :D If I do it, then it's spam
Definitely looking into making my own D&D scenery now. Thanks for clearing up which materials these are. Subscribed!
Here in Argentina the pink stuff (Actually the XPS sheets) is actually white and is called Polyfan. You can get them pretty easy if you search them by that name, and kinda cheap. The thickness goes between 20mm to 50mm.
gracia wacho
Te amo. Venia buscando esto hace rato
Uy gracias man pensaba que nadie iba a poner algo sobre argentina
I found your content pretty recently, and joined your Patreon cause I loved your videos and personality. Watching this older stuff makes me so happy that you found your way. You were a funny and encouraging guy, even when you only had few materials.
Brother thank you very much. I'm Brazilian and I was having a hard time finding the XPS. Thank you very much indeed.
Your channel is awesome.
guys, this foam is also highly used for making store signs in graphic design industry, so if you have a friend or know Simeone whos a graphic design er, theyll know where to get it... plus they probable have tons of leftovers... :)
True
I have seen it as packing material as well with items arriving at the factory I work in but it is very rare. Sometimes it is molded and not extruded. Usually it has a layer of softer form inside of the more rigid foams and only comes with heavier parts like large transformers or equipment.
I live in Alberta, and I am starting to become interested in the crafting side of this hobby. I've been into D&D for a while now, but after seeing some of your videos, I think I'm going to start crafting my own terrain. Luckily for me, I live near a Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes and a few different dollar stores. I've been a bit intimated to get started, but these videos have been helping me know what I NEED, as opposed to what I might want in the future. I think I'm also going to build my own hot wire table, as it seems to hold the same principles as vape devices, which I've been familiar with, for a few years now. Thank you for making these videos, and inspiring new creators everywhere.
The good thing is that you will have access to all the exact same materials I do as you are in AB and I'm in MB so we have the same stores.
@@BlackMagicCraftOfficial yes, if only I got into this while I still worked at Lowe's, then I could get a discount. But they only carry DOW brand, and I think I want to start with the pink foam, so I'm going to Home Depot after work today. Though, where I work now, I can get some excellent building material that I have free access to. I get these sheets of 30" square chip board. the thicknesses, and sizes vary somewhat, but it's free. I can also get some free sheets of the sturdy "cereal box" cardboard, which I've already loaded into my car.
If you're in or near Calgary you might want to check out PMS hobbycraft, and Sentry Box
Just started following you; based on your advice, I went to your page and using the click-on provided, purchased your recommended Hot Wire Cutter. It will be worth every penny of the relatively modest price I paid. Thanks for all your help, sir!
In the Netherlands you van buy the foam at praxis, most of the gamma stores and Hornbach the last one sells multiple thicknesses starting at 20mm till 100mm White 10 mm steps in between
Hey! In Portugal you can buy it at Leroy Merlin! Sometimes they have it in the "regular" warehouses, but you can always find it in the special construction warehouses :)
Hey, I bought the 20mm one its green but they have a sort of a grid there that its a real hassle ...
Were you able to find a good one? Without being for flooring which has sort of a dented pattern thats no good
Thanks!
@@pedromartins5858
No Leroy há 20mm, meio esverdeado mas não creio que tenha a grelha a que se refere:
www.leroymerlin.pt/Produtos/Construcao/Isolamento/Isolamento-termico/WPR_REF_16361065
No Brico Dépôt há branco, 30mm:
www.bricodepot.pt/produtos/construc-o/isolamento/poliestireno-extrudido/poliestireno-extrudido-paredes
Eu vivo em Sintra! Não sei se noutros sítios há em stock, mas por cá tenho tido sorte :)
Tem uma grelha sim mas estou a fazer em 30mm olha melhor que nada x)
Obrigado e bons jogos!
for any Aussies here wondering "where'd ya getit" (it's an old add by-line if you're young) anyway..you can find it in the insulation isle @Bunnings for $12.95 or for the thicker $20 something..l found it in isle 1 at Sunshine.. whether Mitre 10 also carries something similar you'll have to look for yourself..he does list it in his link that tells you where you can get it in a lot of countries, hence how l found it..and this seems the right spot to highlight it..good luck..
I speak to you from the future where it’s now $19 and $29.
"XPS which is short for-"
Me: " EXPERIENCE POINTS"
"extruded polystyrene"
"FUUUUCCCCCK"
to your list: the main / best known Brand-Name in Germany is Styrodur (NOT Styropor, thats extruded!) and its called "Hartschaumplatte"
Danke dafür! XPS Dämmplatte ist auch ein Begriff der öfters verwendet wird.
Ich finde in den Baumärkten leider nur sehr dicke mit Falzkante oder schmale mit einer Waffelprägung😤
+19gentleman80 ja, ist in den meisten der Fall. Die grünen mit der waffelprägung eignen sich aber sehr gut, musst nur spleißen, die Prägung ist verdichtet
Spleißen heißt? Sorry🙈
+19gentleman80 teilen, auftrennen. ich bekomme hier lokal z.b. nur 20mm, baue aber mit 10. also schneide ich meine 2x6 tiles und trennen die dann in 2. geprägte Fläche nach unten, alles klar
This man single-handedly made sure everyone in the world has access to a list of places to buy sculpting foam. I don't know what you're doing right now, but like this video already.
I love your basics videos teaches me about stuff I dint know anything about and inspires me to use them in the future in my art projects.
sweet
I am as new to this as you can get and have only ran a couple DnD sessions with my wife and kids. These videos will be so helpful in my efforts to keep the kids engaged and to enhance our game sessions. Thank you so much for the details.
Im ashamed I was about to ask him about this, then google read my mind and suggested me this video. Thank u Illuminati stuff for making my life easier
Thank you for this video. I don't make tabletop miniatures but I want to get into foam smithing and prop creation. It's been a struggle to read up on. Your videos have educated me more than the weeks of research. You've really mastered how to explain not-so-straight-forward answers. I really appreciate it.
Man its so nice you're Canadian. It means I know exactly what stores you're talking about and where the closest stores are
If you live in a warmer clime talk to the store manager often they can get a few sheets delivered on their next supply truck. Also check out where you see construction going on often they will give you scraps of both this insulation and wood scrapps that may be useful in crafting. It's very nice of you to keep that worldwide list to help people find this stuff.
For sci-fi buildings (particularly bunkers), that expanded preshaped packing foam is really useful. Coat it in a house paint mixed with a texture additive, give it a couple coats and light sandings, and then paint in grey with some heavy washes. If you want it broken or with a destroyed wall, snap it, LIGHTLY spray paint the exposed broken edges (the aerosol will melt the foam), let it sit for a day or two to let the reaction finish, and add bits of wire for exposed rebar, seal it with the BMC modge podge technique, and paint as normal. It's an utter pain in the ass to work with if you're trying to do precise razor cuts (bits just go everywhere and it won't cut cleanly), but it's great if you can use it as-is with just painting, or want ruined portions roughly snapped apart.
And I'm also so glad someone finally agrees that pink and blue foams ARE different, so many have disagreed with me! And all it takes is having actually worked with the stuff to know they're not identical.
There are even cases where you can use the texture of the broken stuff, usually stone, itself. A case that just popped into my head would be ruined castles, as the interior of castle walls were made of cemented rubble.
Many thanks for your great videos. I'm new and inspired! Also a Canadian so your links are so helpful.
I cannot thank you enough for the guide you linked in the description with many different countries and where you can find XPS!
Most channels I've seen only link an amazon page that sometimes doesn't even ship to some countries whenever they talk about the materials they use
I was quite a bit intimidated when I thought it would be hard to find XPS in my country but now I will definitely give crafting for my DnD sessions a shot, thanks man! Earned yourself a new subscriber :)
Thank you so much! I'm currently working with cardboard for 90% of my builds to keep upfront costs down and be able to justify my material as free to me, but I am looking forward to trying foam soon. I'm in the hot summer-cold winter high desert of the US mountain west, so hlgetting insulation here is a cakewalk.
I've been trying to figure out where to buy this stuff for days now, I was only finding it in small sheets. Happened across your vid, found a large board in 30 seconds. Thanks for the info.
I recently purchased some isolation foam and boy does it work wonders for terrain building. I have used foam sheets before but the thickness would make for flimsy pieces and this stuff is holds up much better. Thank you for informing your viewers of such a quality inexpensive material.
Len Marlow insulation*
Most helpful resource I have found on this subject. Thank you!
Was watching an earlier video with the gray stuff after discovering you and thought "should I ask if that pink insulation foam is the same or will I sound like an ass?" You are the man!
I was literally sitting in the Home Depot parking lot (to buy this stuff exactly) waiting for my toddler to get a longer nap in, when this vid popped up in my home feed. Lol that was really convenient. I’m in one of the places where the weather is all over the place, so I was excited to find they did have the 1/2 inch boards.
Crap man. I watched this video immediately after spending the day learning all about EPS and XPS. I should have searched here first instead of Google :)
I appreciate this video all the same, thanks dude.
It's also great for soundproofing. I remember using it 20 years ago to build a recording studio in an office building.We layered 2" panels on top of some fairly light (maybe r8) fiber insulation then covered everything with 1/2" fiberboard. It was amazing how much audio "segregation" we achieved - especially for the price and ease of use.
However, anyone involved in construction/contracting would be unsurprised to know that it was @#$! hot in those two rooms - especially with once all the gear warmed up as well as the body heat generated by playing (especially drums!). A few strategically placed fans helped. But any form of "air-conditioning" is the enemy of audio-recording, so ultimately, we made it SOP to leave the doors open anytime we weren't literally recording.
I hope you're still checking these comments. I just came across your channel recently and have been getting a lot of inspiration. In Japan (mainland) the same カネライトフォーム you have listed for Okinawa can be found at a nationwide home center called Nafco (ナフコ). It's probably available at a few other places, but at least I can confirm that I saw it at this one. Keep the content coming!
Thank you!!! I have just start with this hobby. But yesterday I have created some of cobblestone look like from foam (wrong one). Thank you for sharing all of this information with us!
This question comes out alot, because there are a lot of countries where this material is not a standard material used. It does not exist anywhere not even our craft stores stock up for crafting purposes. I even went to a factory that produces polystyrene for packaging, and they did not even know of this specific foam you use
Hey!
First of all, love your videos !
I started crafting a few months ago and went searching for XPS foam in Sweden. I noticed that you didn't have any company names for that in your resource page so i thought i might help out
I bought it at 2 different stores, unfortunately they only have the large blocks but "Byggmax and Bauhaus" is the way to go
another great video! I especially like that you explained the differences between expanded vs extruded foam, and the actual structural differences b/w the pink and blue foam. That's tough to explain well, and you've managed to do that in a straight forward way. My issue in acquiring more foam is cost, but I guess it's not too expensive.
Pretty much everywhere I've seen it's very affordable, with a few countries being the exception.
For us makers watching these US diy videos it's like looking into a magical land of organised stores and accessible materials. Usually here if you're not a professional and you try get building contractor stuff you get looked at weird or even derided haha. Thanks for taking the time to translate for us!
I’m not in the US.
@@BlackMagicCraftOfficial you even explained in the video 🤦♂️ my bad!
Hi. When it comes to Poland you can find them in Castorama, Praktiker, Leroy Merlin - generaly if you list those, people from Poland will know what to look for.
Additionaly it can be bought under the XPS name, as well as 'Polistyren ekstrudowany' (just copy that). Very easy to purchase and the names you give are enough to find it in polish.
You sir, are my hero. this video has saved me SO much time and energy! not to mention you made this so easy to understand. thank you for your amazing efforts and help in your links and tutorials!
Apparently there is a chain of hardware stores in the UK called Jewson, which carries XPS under the names YELOfoam (yellow stuff), and Proctor Styrofoam Floormate (blue stuff). The yellow foam is available in multiple thicknesses. I didn't find any online listings for pink foam available in the UK.
I will look into that for the list, thanks!
screwfix does it aswell
Thank you for these basics videos. I have just started my crafting journey and you have been so helpful!
I've recently started the hobby of miniature model making. Like 2 weeks.
Luckily for me the house across the road is having a barn conversion. There's now a skip opposite my drive with off cuts galore awaiting landfill.
There's also now a bunch in my shed 😁👍🏻
#Reduce
#Reuse
#Repurpose
#Recycle
Super helpful, checked my local Home Depot and 2'x8' sheets of 1/2" are only $7.20 - Awesome, some builds in my future! Thanks!
so in australia you can buy it in bunnings warehouse (XPS) its yellow
Yes, yellow and Bunnings also have a green one that isn't covered, is thinner and located in a different section to the Yellow. It's made by Bastion Building Materials and is called Multi-use Foam Board. It says you can use it for Hobbies.
@@Harrytoulacisverified the blue one from bunnings is crap :-( its too airy. In Adelaide, haven't been able to find anything else yet
In the Deep South you can’t get the XPS in Lowe’s or Home Depot. At least not in my city. I have heard others report that you have to buy a pallet load if you have to order it from a big box store. However, you don’t have to buy it at a big box store. Here there is store called Royal Plastics. They sell clear acrylics for all sorts of business uses including windows. Royal Plastics has stacks of the Dow product larger than a box truck. The different stacks are of various thicknesses. So, look in the phone book for a retail plastics business for XPS.
Thanks for sharing your expertise with the world! Your videos are great, well explainded and a pleasure to watch. Awesome work
I live in Japan. On your website you didn’t have anything listed for mainland Japan soI looked up the foam listed for Okinawa, and I found it on the websites of most of the major hardware stores. (Komeri, Nafco)
And if it can’t be found locally, it can be ordered online (monotaro, Komeri)
Home Depot, if you go not at a busy time, is likely to cut down the foam sheets for you into squares. They may do that for MDF. Go during the day at a dead time. I find they are friendlier (here in the US midwest) than Lowe's. They will also cut down wood.
Pretty much nailed it.
Lowes got the green stuff and Home depot sells the pink one.
4 year old vid and still awesome content. Thanks man!
Dear Mr.
Your explanation was one of the best I found and it was very good, too bad what we find in the markets will always cause problems for people, a piece of advice if you allow me, take pictures of the texture of the materials you use possibly that way it will be easier for people identify in their own countries what exists avoiding long dialogues lol, I would like to say that I love your site and works produced, thank you
Thanks so much for that list of places to buy in other countries! That's a level of attention that is usually lacking and it helps so much!
Hoping to help as many ppl as possible
When you go to the big box hardware store, just ask them.... "I'm looking for pink insulation foam" 99.9% of the time they will know what you are talking about.
I am thankful that in Germany there are basically only two names for it. Styrodur and Hartschaum (hard foam)
Woher bekommst du deine? Ich find bloß echt dicke mit walzkante, oder welche mit Waffelprägung..Bauhaus, Toom usw haben nur die mit Waffelprägung und ich hab keine Möglichkeit die so dünn runter zuschneiden
Thank you for making a universal list for so many countries. That sure was and still is a lot of work. You could add "Tom Baumarkt" to your list for Germany.
cheers
I realize you have a million videos up but as this is foam related I was hoping this may catch your eye despite being years removed. Have you ever worked with moldable foam products? I've been making a beanstalk from it and loved the results of being able to role out a long strip etch some design into it and twist it, then braid it with other cords of different thickness to build a bean stalk. I imagine there are tons of uses that can make organic look great, though it's clearly difficult to get flat edges for building designs. Didn't spot it in your collection and would love to see something on it.
To update your list, in New Zealand we can also get the Knauf branded stuff at Bunnings like you can in Australia.
THANK YOU SO MUCH IVE BEEN LOOKING FOR AGES
As soon as I create my first building I will let you know the specs, locations, and prices in Argentina about what where how. So that you can update your site. Cheers.
Here in cali XPS is banned what do
Basically - i don't have any idea what i was doing before... i'm a very very new and inexperienced crafter and table-top player... because my doctor said i should start those kinda hobbies for a better "dealing with my illnessess" ... but anyway - i learned sooooooo much from you! And I just watched 3 or 4 videos by now... i'm continueing :D Awesome work dude. I just love the way you talk, act and explain things! So - you've got a new subscriber from germany - yey ^-^* So - teach me master! I want to make my very own black magic soon *bows*
Went to Home Depot to talk to a guy about finding EPS foam. I had found it but in 1" slabs 8ft tall and I was hoping to start with the 1/2 inch floor tiles since I'm new. Explained to the employee I wanted the Extruded Polystyrene and his response was "Well that's a word..." Not throwing shade on him, it was clear Home Depot hadn't trained him enough but his reaction was just funny to me.
I was curious and searched for it in my country, New Zealand, and its brown, looks like mdf or cardboard and is surprisingly affordable! I'm now painfully tempted to try making something despite the fact i have absolutely zero use for builds as I dont have or play any table top games except for my D&D which is still wrapped in plastic and tucked away safely until I have ppl that want to play it lmao
Saved my day. Didn’t know where to start building stuff like you do. Can’t wait to give it a go. Subscribed and liked buddy
This stuff is high density extruded polystyrene. You can get it from building suppliers in colder climates. Easy to find in areas that get snow. In warm climates, we can only get the expanded polystyrene insulation foam which is OK for modeling but inferior to the high density polystyrene. If you live in a warm area and you want high density, plan a road trip north, buy as much as you can, go back home and be happy you have the best stuff for scratch building terrain.
Just starting out and this is a very good series thank you! And as a Canadian(Sask) I usually find it hard when most of the links are american and american only. So thanks again!
This was useful. I think my friends overseas will really appreciate it. I get mine at Home Depot.
2024 - XPS foam is no longer majorly manufactured in UK or stocked in builders merchants due to a change in building regulations making it obsolete as a building insulation… I have been struggling to find a good source in the UK. However I recently found Easy Composites based in Stoke and they do 100mm thick styrofoam type board in 300x300 up to 1200x1200 and will post or are open for collections. They do other stuff but could be a good source for the foam you cannot find.
yeah, i bought a big sheet of the blue DOW foam from Lowes. I did not know I'd need a special cutting tool..lol. I haven't used it, at all. I just use the Dollar General crafting foam sheets. If I need a thicker piece, I just cut two or more pieces of the right size and glue them together (old woodworking thing). I like the DG stuff because of the paper on it. It makes it easier to lightly draw designs and shapes right on the sheet.
Just get a knife and use the big foam.
Extruded polystyrene is not a type of Styrofoam. They're both types of foams, but Styrofoam is a brand name, which is why autocorrect capitalizes it. So when you said "When I say Styrofoam, I'm not talking about that white stuff that's made of a bunch of tiny foam balls...etc" you were describing Styrofoam in detail.
In Russia, I found yellow xps foam in big magazine "Леруа Мерлен"
In the Netherlands:
Hornbach sells them at 44,95 per pack (20 pcs) sized 1250x600x20mm (aprox. 4ft x 2ft x 0,06 ft)
Gamma sells them at 38,95 per pack (10 pcs) sized 1200x600x20mm
Byggmax in Sweden has blue 50mm thick XPS called "CELLPLAST XPS300" by "BEWI Insulation"
With the Power of the Home Depot!, seriously sir, your videos are so addictive.
XPS Foam: For Greece, you can find it as "θερμομονωτικό φελιζόλ", "Εξηλασμένη Πολυστερίνη", "Styropan XPS", "φελιζόλ styropan" etc. Its available at almost relatively big craft stores (I get it in a local one), including Practicer, Leroy Merlin etc. If researching for prices, pages like skroutz. gr can compare prices from physical shops & e-shops all over the country.
Awesome vid. Thank you. Love the world wide list too. Super helpful
Hey your in Canada like me, most guys who do terrian are off in the sates or the UK. You've earned your self a subscription.
You know what I was just telling my partner that it's so funny how I'm just auto drawn to other Canadian CZcamsrs over CZcamsrs from other places. Then you said you lived in the coldest city and I about died because what are the odds!! I swear I've found/met like 7 other people from the city on the internet not looking to and it's so crazy. 😂
I drove around the back of Home Depot the other day to avoid the traffic jam at the garden center, and there was a bunch of pink foam pieces in the dumpster. Apparently some larger sheets broke, and they threw them away because the pieces were too small to sell. Score! So that's something to check, or if you know someone who works construction, they might save scrap pieces for you.
ask your local foam insulation installer, they will usually have a bunch of cut ends, broken pieces and such, just look up your local FII on google or the phone book, farmers and construction workers are a good source also, their always building a shed or a building that uses the foam, i got a garbage can full of cut ends and pieces of blue and pink foam for free from my local FII.
Easy answer is it’s high density insulation foam normally used for buildings and DIY to help keep the cold out, you put it into wall and floor cavity’s, it’s also a ok sound dampen, as for wear to get it? Well it’s a building material so ied try looking at a DIY or hardwear shop.
It’s a while since I googled what to use for making a gaming board but if I remember righty it’s the second or third highest density foam you can get, I think the stuff for surf boards beeping the highest grade but it has a price to match, interesting side note the pink and blue foams are the stuff that industrial light and Magic (as well as other effects teams) used on the filming of the Star Wars films.
Now to watch the video, interesting that foam is the finest I have seen, the stuff I have seen is from B&Q (in the UK) it comes in about 6 inch deep by I think like 6ft long by about 2 ft wide panels
I went into a builders merchant today to see what they had. I saw expanded polystyrene which was black and white pellets squashed together so it was easy to spot and disregard...next to some foam sheets with silver foil on each side that was pretty expensive/sheet and the thinnest sheet was 50mm which I've since found out is polyisocyanurate foam (?) for roof insulation.
I asked if they had xps or extruded polystyrene and they didn't know what I meant. I also said pink foam, blue foam and rigid foam. I mentioned it could be thinner than 50mm. They still didn't know what I meant. So I asked if they had an olfa knife and they said "you're asking for some random obscure things today" I ended up getting a basic metal snap off knife.
I will try a different hardware store for the XPS. The hunt is on! 🤣
Edit: I'm in Wales so the temperatures are not that extreme but I'm sure I'll find some somewhere to buy in person rather than online.
did you find anywhere to buy the foam in the UK?
I've only watched a couple of your videos now but based on what I've seen so far I'm going to throw a subscription your way. This info is really cool, and for someone wanting to have 3d structures for his rpg very useful
UK seems to have B&Q and Wickes as hardware shops that sell “insulation foam”
Wouldn't recommend either, b&q has really flakey XPS and Wickes has only really thick foam
For anybody in the USA who have options and are wondering which foam is better, I can say that the Foamular (Pink Panther) is better than the KIngspan. The Foamular takes impressions better and seems to be more resistant to tearing compared to the Kingspan.
Just getting into this hobby, and realising that the real Black Magic involves conjuring up XPS foam! 😅
Used to get that question on modelling forums all the time from Americans. They can't easily get insulation foam in many southern US States like California and Texas, because their building codes often don't require insulation.
I have an addition for the resource. In your online resource I saw that there was an entry from the Netherlands, but the model shop is relatively expensive. There is a cheaper option in the Netherlands. The Dutch version of Home Depot is "GAMMA". It has stores all over the country and caries all kinds of XPS foam, such as 120x60x3 cm: www.gamma.nl/assortiment/isolatieplaat-polystyreen-xps-120x60x3-cm-7-stuks/p/B133542 and 120x60x2 cm www.gamma.nl/assortiment/isolatieplaat-polystyreen-xps-120x60x2-cm-10-stuks/p/B133543
Thank you for all your videos. You really encouraged me to try my hand at dungeon-crafts.
arbanafal Dank voor de tip. Werkt dat materiaal net zo makkelijk? En zit er een beschermingslaag op? Zo lijkt het althans op de afbeelding
This was helpful i thaoght that was were to get the foam. I'm startinging out and found floral foam as it comes in difrent textures and shapes is fun to work with ,im trying alot of different materials to see what i like
In Norway, you can find the foam under the name "Grunnisolasjon XPS 300" in the store called Byggmax.
Thanks so much for this , been looking everywhere for dense foam types I can use a hot wire cutter on for a reptile vivarium background. Gonna try some of this put to see how well it works with tile cement.
In the states it is a regional and seasonal thing because its primary use is insulation for basements. In the area I live, no basements so you really can only get the small squares not the big 4x8 sheets
In this case, still be happy you can at least get the small overpriced sheets....some countries can't get it at all