Coenus Scaldingus wrote:
To provide some balance, here some finished pieces of a guy who's rather happy with them:
http://www.lead-adventure.de/index.php? ... msg1016807More pictures and information on the pieces earlier in the thread. Of course, they're not absolutely amazing, but that's not something you'd expect for that price either. Certainly seem like a decent starting point, saving time and effort. Different products may vary of course.
Vacuform is better suited to large model kits and clear model airplane model kit canopies.
Sci Fi Supply vacuform Star destroyer from 1997 is a good example.Vacuform kits are not simple or beginner models. They almost always require a frame work of some kind. It is much easier to add a shell to a frame than build a frame for a shell.
Expanding foam generates enough heat to distort thin plastic shells.It can be done but often the shell is damaged in the process. A hot wire cutter is often a better solution than casting foam in a shell. I have used vacuform molds to cast latex.The inside of a vacuecast is more detailed than the outside. You will need a plaster back up for a vacuform shell even for latex.