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ADVANCED
TECHNIQUES
"IF
YOU CAN IMAGINE IT YOU CAN MAKE IT"
1) STAIRWAYS: Make an outward loop in the wire of the Sculpting
Tool, then square off the end to match the width of your stairwell.
Starting at the top of your piece of foam, let the squared off
end of the Hot Wire sink down the desired depth of a stair, then
pull outward the desire length, then down, then outward until
you complete the stairway and stairwell. Now just pull out the
plug of foam. Try making a curved stairway, and stairwell.
2) ROADS, WALKWAYS & RETAINING WALLS: The Hot Wire Engraving
Tool is made specifically to create the look of brick, cobblestone,
or block. Draw a light line around the perimeter of the area you
want to look like brick or cobblestone. Then lightly drag the
Engraving Tool across the surface of the foam in the pattern of
cobblestones or bricks. You can use a wooden or metal straightedge
as a guide for brick or block work. Use your imagination for making
interesting stone patterns. You can use the Hot Knife for this
too, but it is more difficult to control.
3) WALLS AND BRIDGES: Using the Sculpting Tool, or Hot Knife,
slice off a 1/2” x 16” piece of foam. Using the Engraving Tool,
or tip of the Hot Knife, engrave a stone pattern as you did with
your roads, walkways, and retaining walls above. These can be
used as walls or bridges. Enhance the bridge’s look by cutting
simple arches to place under the bridge. Try making pillars to
put between sections of the walls.
4) TUNNELS & PORTALS: Use the Hot Knife or Sculpting Tool
to cut out a tunnel from a 2” thick by 8” high by 5” wide piece
of foam. Glue several of these pieces of foam together to make
a deeper tunnel. Use a taller piece, and sculpt the top to blend
in with the mountain backdrop you have already created. Use the
Engraving Tool or Hot Knife to engrave a stone pattern on the
front face of the tunnel, to create a tunnel portal. The first
layer of stone usually radiates out to form an arch.
5) LIGHTING: Before gluing the layers together, layout your village
pieces. Mark where the wires for the lights need to be dropped
through the foam. Remove the village. Using the Hot Knife (the
Engraving Tool works too, but it’s slower going.), cut a hole
through the first layer of foam. This will also mark the spot
to cut the layer underneath. Follow this procedure until the holes
go all the way through. Be sure the holes are wide enough to get
the plug or light fixture through before gluing. Most of the holes
can be hidden under the village pieces. After gluing all the pieces
together, turn the whole landscape on its side and carve grooves
for the wires to go out the back. The alternative is to make 1/2”
foam legs to hold the landscape up so the wires can go underneath.
© 1998 DAVID NATAL/HWFF, INC.
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THE
BASICS
"5
EASY STEPS"
1) MATERIALS: We recommend using 2” thick pieces of polystyrene foam.
A convenient size is 16”x24”. These can be cut to smaller sizes or glued
together. Paint with water based paints. Hot Wire Foam Factory’s specially
formulated Foam Coat adds a rocklike finish to the foam, and fills in
gaps and mistakes.
2) TERRACED HILLS: Lay two whole pieces next to each other to make a 32”x24”
base. Then lay another on top of these two in the far right hand corner
to create a second level. Then cut a third piece in half using the Hot
Knife, and stack these two pieces on top of each other, also in the far
right hand corner, creating the third level. Roughly layout your village.
Make cut-outs in the edges of the layers to make room for each of your
village pieces. Lift each layer off the set when cutting.
3) MOUNTAINS: Cut another piece of foam longways into 7” and 9” strips.
Draw jagged mountains to be used as a dramatic backdrop for your village.
Remember to use water based pens, or a pencil. Cut them out with the Hot
Knife or Sculpting Tool. The 9” strip will go behind the 7” strip. You
will have to cut these strips to match the lengths of each layer. This
will add to the natural beauty, as you will have very tall mountains in
the back corner, which follow the terraces down to the base level.
4) GLUING: Use a low temperature hot glue gun to glue all of your pieces
in place. Be careful not to get the glue too close to the edges where
you will be cutting, because the glue will really slow down the blade
when you are sculpting. After it’s all glued together it will be very
strong, but still super light. See the section on lighting before you
glue your pieces together.
5) SCULPTING: Now use the Hot Wire Sculpting Tool to add natural contours
to the mountains, hills and valleys. Experiment on some scrap foam. Slice
back and forth and in and out. Often the more sloppy you cut, the more
realistic the terrain looks. Put the arms of the Sculpting Tool 3” apart
and make an outward loop in the wire to cut your valleys. Let the heat
of the wire do the cutting- if you try to push the wire down too fast
you will lose your loop.
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