My first attempt at a micro course
 

And i think it came out pretty good.

this is my first time using expanding foam so there was a little bit of a learning curve with how the foam reacted.

i wanted something decent sized where two or more crawlers can play, but space was a big concern, so here is what i came up with.


http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...r/100_4133.jpg
its still not 100% finished as you can see


http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...r/100_4136.jpg
The white styrofoam pieces will be wrapped in paper mache to cover the foam for painting, and to take some of the "man made" look away from it


http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...r/100_4137.jpg

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...r/100_4134.jpg

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...r/100_4131.jpg
here you can kinda see the size of it


http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...r/100_4130.jpg
close-up it looks a little shiny here but it is really not


http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...r/100_4132.jpg
here you can see the borders i used, they are sticks of some sort for supporting plants, they worked and look perfect, i left them in while painting so they kind of have a dirty look to them.


http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...r/100_4138.jpg
my little guy in action



















and now for the best part!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...r/100_4145.jpg

portable and easily stored.

it only wieghs about 25-30 pounds so its eay to bring in and out of the house, upstairs or downstairs. also seems like it might be easily transported in case i want to take it somewhere.

the foam seems to have expanded more than i thought or reacted to being painted so i have some touch up work to do.

now for the list of supplies, and prices( as i can best remember them)
i spent a little more than originally planned but i usually get carried away with everything i do and the end product seems worth it to me.

3'x6' folding table(wamart)..................................... .............................35.00
6 cans spray foam(used 5)................................................ ...........................36.00
two packs of styrofoam(home depot, only used 1 with a lot left so far).......24.00
stone paint(4 cans, home depot)............................................ ........................32.00
little plant sticks(micheals craft store)............................................ ...........3.00
chicken wire(bought WAY to much)............................................. ...............around 12.oo

also used some screws and black paint that i already had. so i spent just over 100 bucks making this but i do have a decent amount of stuff left over so i think im gonna pick up a 3'x5' table which is only 25.00 and make an expansion table with some of the leftover supplies:twisted:

So did i do good?

Looks good, man! "thumbsup"

I think you should paint that pyramid stone color and call it an ancient ruin - that'd be a cool first.


If it were me, I'd skip the table and just use hinges and plywood. Or, just plywood and build squares so I could turn them around on each other for slightly different setups.

i though about using plywood for a base cause i can probably get it for nothing my freind works at a lumber yard but then it would have to be on the floor, or if i wanted to be at a decent hieght on the dining room table, and i didnt want to have to explain to the old lady why i would have something like this on a $1800 dining room set. so i figured the tables would be the best bet. also i can take it anywhere and be all ready for crawling

That looks like an awesome course. Nice job

You have done a great job so far.....put down the spray cans (they stink anyways) and put some color in it. Michael's has 8oz bottles of paint for $2..golden brown, brown and grass green will make your project pop. I always print out the Michael's coupons for 40% off before I go. First I would use the golden brown for the main paths (looks like good old dirt) and high lite everywhere else with the green (I used a sponge and dabbed with it almost dry) Note: anyplace you still have plastic on the foam will not coat well. Try on a scrap piece first. Next, take an old car (dollar store or wally world) and run it through some of the brown paint (or rubber stamp pad) and roll it on the paths to give it that well traveled look...This could take a while to figure out where you want it to show. It is better to put too little than too much, you can always add ( I know you know this already , I just like to hear the click of the keyboard:lmao:)
I will check back when your Pleasant ville (like the movie) turns to color and all is right in the world.
jim8)

This is the sort of thing I'm looking to do with my Son and the folding table idea is a great starting point. A combination of Expanding foam, polystyrene & plaster is pretty much where I thought we'd be going and your table shows just how good it can be with a bit of imagination ! Thanks for the inspiration - if it doesn't look a wreck I'll post up pic's.

That looks great! I agree with keeping the pyramid as it is, but painting it to look like ruins. You could even attack it a little to make it really look ruined. Question: what thickness is the pyramid foam, and what size is it at the bottom? I've got a boatload of foam, some 1/2" and some 2", and I've been planning on making a mountain like that.

Nice work!

dude, thats sweet... i never thought of the folding table idea... u just gave me new hope! "thumbsup"

agreed on the pyramid as well, a very cool feature.

it looks great!

thanks for all the compliments everyone


just ran down and measured it, its 3/4" styrofoam. the base of it is 15"x24" and its 9" high. the steps are as wide as they are high. it is actually a lot harder to get up than it looks (for a stock crawler at least)im gonna look up some pics of old pyramids and go that route like everyone suggests, i thought about it too but wasnt sure but now im definately gonna do it.

one thing i would like to mention to everyone who plans on building out of the spray foam. as you can see in a lot of the pics the spray foam seems to have pulled away from the table surface, i dont know if it has anything to do with the paint, or the surfaces, or if thats just the way this stuff is, what i would suggest is to shoot some screws into the table before laying down the foam so it has something to kinda lock it in place. it appears to me that the foam is shrinking and like i said i dont know if its the foam or a reaction from the paint that i used on it. anyone else experience this?

and Jim thank you for the suggestionm i thought about doing it that way but if you ever saw how many half painted static models i have you would see why i didnt go that route. i might pick up the supplies and do it little by little but right now i kinda like the way it looks with the "stone" paint and when i crawl slowly over it and the tires slip a little it kinda sounds very real like the tires are really gripping on stone. i do plan on buying some little trees and bushes and collecting some sticks to give it a little more realism. oh and as you can tell i like hearing the keyboard click too:lmao:

Hey man... looks great, bout he spray foam, it is shrinking, I made a mound for my crawler and it shrunk alot , I also use it at work a lot and it shrinks... good luck with the course

haha awesome! "thumbsup"