Just spent 15 minutes of my life watching some dude across the planet make a fake rock Great work man!

I dug some holes in the garden, put a board over it and added some weights. This produced hills that didn't need much shaping.

This is absolutely incredible. I've been looking for a nice stylized method of wargaming terrain, and this nails it

If you're working with light materials, adhesives and so on here is a handy hint: If you add a little coloured paint or pigment to things such as filler it makes it a lot easier to see where you've filled and where you have potentially missed gaps/holes etc. Green or brown are fairly good neutral colours to prime over after

A tip I learned about sanding is...from an engineer was to move your piece to be sanded in a figure 8 ....and it will make a perfect flat bottom...works on anything your sanding...nice video...

Came here looking to find a technique to easily build large thin rocks but realized the holes created with this foam would be perfect for creating large Coral for underwater adventures. Will have to try!

I love the way it looks. Sort of like rock outcropping from a dried up river bed. I have used expanding foam before on my layouts. It works perfectly and with a set of good gloves the expanding foam can be formed after it dries up a bit.

You can also mount these on cheap cake boards that are available in discount shops. I get packs of three for €1.50 from the shop in my town. They come in different thicknesses, and are either round or square, so can be used to make all kinds of scenery bases. The square ones are 12" square, so you can make them fit edge on for streets or other types of game table scenery. I get them in "bulk" (I grab the whole lot at once) when I see them re-stocked, and it saves me a fortune in buying foamboard from the art shop.

Remember folks, its okay to ruin your wife's new counters, but you never want to damage your work shop top.

After watching this video a few times now, I finally decided to take this one stage further, and am now building a nearly 5 foot tall Stone Golem/Elemental Giant to go with my home made Elemental Creatures army, to play games of Pathfinder, as they have just added Stone Golems/Elemental Giants to their canon. So far so good, and am just waiting for the filler to dry completely, and then set about sculpting some trees/roots along the arms, making it look like it's just come out of the ground, bringing the local flora with it. I'm also working on an even bigger Giant, using expanding foam as the main body, then very carefully applying air drying clay sheets around the main shape, then, when it's dry, carving brickwork into the hardened clay, making the whole thing look like a giant castle come to life. The turrets are Pringles tubes, and other adornments are just siege catapults and such to add later. This one will be around 6 foot tall, if not taller (MUCH taller than me, in fact :->). Hoping to make a tutorial on these things later, after a bit (More like a LOT) of practice. Your tutorials always inspire me to greater heights and challenges, so please don't ever stop making them :-). All the best, Paul

Thank you, Terrain Tutor! This is legit great! Got a can 3 days ago. Now adding bases and filler. 1 can = 1 full mountain range and crags! Can't wait to flocking and painting them!

I was really struggling to find extruded polystyrene and had almost given up on ever being able to do projects like this, but this video just gave me hope!

Awesome! The struggle is real, thanks for thinking about us poor plebs in the hotter regions!

Excellent tutorial! I love your style of presenting, spot on! Cheers from Toronto, Ontario, Canada!

I watched this video a few years ago, originally. I recently made a bunch of rocks like this from memory. The D&D party loved them.

Absolutely true, I live in Costa RIca and have never been able to get my hands on that material or anything like it.

Wow, when you added the clump foliage it really scaled down the entire thing! It went from looking like a fairly large boulder that someone might be able to stand on, to a massive hill that could fit an army. Really cool!

Wow, that was amazing. I can't believe that was the stuff I put in my walls. Great job, dude!

Top info,Mel. I like the new step by step photos to illustrate the different stages of the painting process. Neat.

Not BS tutorials, thank you. This is the stuff that got me into the hobby years ago.

Good idea, I'm going to replace all my fire extinguishers with swords as well.

Looked better than I thought it would at the start. Winning technique Mel.

will use this idea for my railway layout. Heres a little tip for scatter. collect some sawdust. water down some paint and mix in sawdust till it just crumble. let it dry completely can take few days. then wen dry you can either put in a sieve for fine or break it down rubbing in palms of hands. saves a lot of money on large areas

Great and easy way to create lot of terrain fast that still looks good on the table without the hassle of dealing with high-density foam sheets and hot wire

I like the faster format on the dry brushing technique for painting part of the terrain.

Foam sheets are extremely rare in my area in South Africa. I used the techniques form this video and I was blown away by the results. I built an entire 3 by 6 foot "desert planet" themed table's worth of terrain from a single can of the stuff. Thank you for the work you do. Your time and effort is truly appreciated.

This video just saved the day for me. Thanks for posting. I need to make some stones to cover a large stage prop and it had to be fast drying. Unlike the paper mache rocks, and the foam board insulation carving with a hot wire. This is genius!

Not something I've ever gotten into, mostly because of the starting cost for tools and the like, but you've given me some hope for future crafts. Loved the video and your explanation, and you've certainly gotten a new subscriber.

A very valuable lesson for me! Saves a lot of time and it is inexpensive. Thanks again for a great video!

This is a game changer for me Mel, almost impossible to find HDF sheets outside of massive commercial volumes here and a single can is more than enough for a table! gonna try and see how rigged it can be and if it's possible to make rock pillars for a desert table I'm working on. Awesome stuff!

This reminds me of a old tutorials that was one on the reaper mini website, were they talked about makeing a cavitiy in a bucket forr of sand, and spraying that foam into it to make textured hills. A diff take on the same materiel, very cool.

I found this tutorial exactly what I was looking for. I have used paper and glue for hills and so forth for model railways, and read today about using expanding foam, sounds obvious to use. Amazingly, Luke did not use the phrase of, it cuts like a loaf of bread, or, it looks like a cake , or an éclair. Fascinating to watch and listen to. 10 / 10 for the tutorial

Just subscribed! I’ve been doing a lot of miniatures throughout the years, but this technique is definitely one I want to adapt. Keep up the awesome work and I’ll keep watching your videos!

Dude you just saved me so much work. I was already looking for hot wire cutters and all that nonsense. That just got me to jump to patreon.

Just in time for my retirement train layout. Had not thought of the foam even though I used it for intended purpose of home repair. This is way more fun!!

I recently got back into the hobby and copped a can from Poundland with the thought of doing this for terrain, great video for seeing your process, thank you.

I can hardly wait to try this. You did an awesome job.

I never thought of using builders foam like that. I have made all my bunkers from clay but they are way too heavy. I am going to try making a jig to shape the foam as it expands.....although you showed shaping to be really easy. great work!

Awesome idea. We've just used this for our windowsill and some left over. I can use it for my Christmas diorama. Thankyou for the great, amazing and fantastic ideas. 😀🇬🇧😀

Wow!! You've just given me one of the best ways to build a hill with a railway tunnel going through it. Cheers mate. Take care...

this is bloody brilliant. so wish I had known about this when I was wargaming

This is amazing. I’m do stopmotion so having an easy was of making landscapes is nice to know. Of course I don’t know if starting off I’ll make them look as detailed as you did this one but for dioramas (which I’ve teased the idea to myself) I’d definitely love to make them look this good

I love your tips for ground...I am doing 1:6th dioramas for my action figures and you always seem to come up with ideas I can adapt! Keep it coming mate!

10kg bag of value cat litter , can grind for whatever grade of stone , lighter than real rocks and super absorbs pva . Makes good churned eath affects for trench or explosions. Back to mansion build thats taking forever. Love the tips here !

One quick tip - I find it actually easier to base-coat with a dark brown instead of gray. Lets you skip a step or two. From there, dry brush the earth with a leathery brown and the rocks with a midtone grey, then you can top it all off with an offwhite. Saves a lot of steps and still looks amazing

Mate, the material is far from being polystyrene. It is polyurethane based and that means you should definitely use a respirator when working with abrasives on it

This is pure genius. I'll be making a wargaming board in a month or two, and this will make the terrain part so much easier.

That was a great idea to use the expanding foam. That was some great looking rocks.

Great tutorial. Thanks for all your effort. I've learned a lot from you. Please keep it up.

I totally thought I was just looking in all the wrong places. Good to know it's because of the climate!

Mel, with one video, you have just solved my North Africa Battlegroup terrain needs. Excellent!

I thought you were going to be a lot of hot air. I find your method and others combined can make the most realistic mountains. So, I thank you very much for a great vid. I take my hat off to you,thanks again kind sir.

Fantastic video - you're a natural! Well done.

In shop : I need an expanding foam and a filler. - Ow, some works in home, some renovations? - Nope, I'm just a wargamer XD

Great stuff. I am one of those lucky people who lives in warm area or rather hot. Thanks a bunch Mel. For introducing me to this technique.

Enjoyed your tutorial. Great for people like me who are just getting into the hobby. Thanks,

damn, you're an artist man

Another great video, Mel! I have been having trouble finding high density polystyrene here in Sweden. All I have found is really thick stuff that is welded together, which is not great for smaller projects. I will have to look around and see if I can find some of this spray foam stuff! Thanks!

That stuff is amazing to work with once you're familiar with it and its tendency to glue itself to especially anything you don't want it to (as some of my old T-shirts can attest to). Some people have created breathtaking asteroid surface dioramas with it.

You are so talented, good sir. You're an inspiration to all of us gamers and modelers.

Looks great Mel!

You may consider making a "sand mold" of the pieces you want to make with expanding foam (especially if you want to make spires or columns.) It's a bit messy and will likely need to be done outdoors, but will cut down on some steps if you have the materials at hand. I could go into more detail and provide a link if there is any interest. The quick version is: fill a large tub with moist sand, scoop out the shape of the pieces you want, cover the tub with a thin board/plywood, drill holes to inject the foam, and keep the board/plywood weighted down. The result will be a piece with sand/grit embedded into your piece.

Really insightful. I did this for 3 rocks for my tabletop and it really adds a good touch

I have been looking for a way to make rocks to paint, now I can make them myself. Fabulous idea. Love Peg

I just wanted you to know. I created a KZfaq profile just so i could subscribe to your channel.You have stirred my creative juices. OFF TO HOME DEPOT!

"not my best piece" . . . you can come to my place and dump all your bad pieces! Thanks for the video, I'm learning this techniques because I'm about to build a race track in the basement.

That's a great trick with the foam. I also have problems to find high density sheets and thanks to your video I can look again in this direction. Thank you!

Simple yet elegant. Great substitute for polystyrene or styrofoam. Thanks for sharing.

Oh those sounds of cutting and sanding the foam are murderous... like a thousand nails on a thousand chalkboards

About a minute and 30 in, Where you said to use gloves. I used to do a lot of 3 3/4 inch Star Wars stuff, and I was making yoda's hut, and using that for the tree on top, and I decided to use my bare hands to sculpt it upwards like a tree, then I tried to wash it off. Ended up with a cast of the entirety of both of my hands, since I don't know how to not be stupid. Lol. Moral of the story: I'm stupid, and you really don't want this on your hands.

Just getting into this hobby with my kids here...this is brilliant!

Wow!! And yep I live in Houston and we don’t have any of that thick HDF ...I will be using your technique!! Thank you!!

"You know what that looks like don't you?" /like

I love this method. I use expanding foam covered in aquarium safe silicone and then covered in ground up coconut fiber for designing tanks and aquariums for my pets. I have a waterfall feature in my red eyed tree frog enclosure. I found out that you can press pea gravel into the silicone and it will adhere just fine, even when being exposed to water. My animals love it to death and it is completely non toxic to the inhabitants. This is how they make smaller displays in zoos and aquariums. At times mixing in concrete for larger tanks.

I followed your technique and got some pretty good results cheers for the upload your thumbs up!

Glad I stumbled on your channel. I never considered using expanding foam. Awesome!

Pure genius, thanks for the tips.

this is how I made trenches vehicle wrecks Great if you want to use a blown up tank. awesome vid 3T

Great idea. I have used the foam in home projects but now I have a great new use for it. Thanks Mel. Al Kirkham

I really love your videos, you sound like you're having an absolute blast! Also, I get a lot of great ideas.

this was a good tutorial

Can't stress the importance of gloves enough! I used to know someone who got expanding foam all over their hands and they had to get it off with SAND PAPER! Remember the gloves people!

Had to watch this again. Such a great idea. And I do live in the Arizona desert. I haven't looked for the Polystyrene blocks. We have used this for DIY's before. So I know where to find it. Thanks for great videos. 👍🏻

Perfect idea and so useful tutorial 😊 Thank you for sharing. On Monday I am going to buy some expanding foam and have fun making rock cave, thanks😅

Saw title: O, that's interesting, I need that. Began video: What the hell is this? Middle of video: I see what his trying to do..maybe it will work. End of video: Not bad, considering the material, will like and comment on good job.

Wow, That's Great Man. Thanks

I accidentally stumbled across this video. Dude, please dont stop doing what you do. You do amazing work and great personality and voice. Keep it up!

Thank you so much for this video! My daughter plays with lion figurines and I couldn’t find a play lion den anywhere. This will be perfect because it’s lightweight! Thanks again!

Could you place something below the wax paper to create a void and conserve foam?

im not a fan of this stuff for hills and the like but if you want to make scenery for an alien world this stuff is really good, ive used it for making Terrain for tyranids before but it can also do a great hellscape if you do more tendrils like shapes, also if your going for a hellscape as its expanding use a hairdryer on it to help it form a skin then brake the skin so it leaks out of the brake you made.

I just used the entire can on my base and carved the hill away sort of. it looks very nice so far. thanks

I have always enjoyed your videos sir...I have always loved your spirit, attitude and humor. If I didn't live on the other side of the pond I would love to buy you a pint and sit down and talk shop with you. Again, great vids....keep them coming.

I love this guy

I could see this method being very useful for when you want to make a really large piece and don't want to fiddle with joining multiple pieces of high density foam. I would think making a tall spire would be no more difficult than just spraying it in layers, allowing it to harden in between each application, making it taller as you go. Another idea is since it expands, you could make a very specific shape, such as a long jutting escarpment, by using a wooden form (lined in grease proof paper), fill the interior, let harden, remove the form, and then proceed with the finishing work of shaping, sanding, coating, painting, flocking, etc.

Another really useful, easy to follow tutorial! Keep it up, these are so inspiring and the effect looks great.

I spray it onto an old shower curtain. After it cures it peels right off. This is called closed cell foam. It cures in 3 days and then when you cut it the inside is more firm. I've been using it for years because the old 2 part expanding foam was 3 times as expensive as the $7.48 I pay for Great Stuff at big box stores.

Well done =)

First, let me say the video was GREAT. Learned a lot. Second, I don't know who does your closed captioning, but I don't think they understand your accent. Or they're making it ridiculous on purpose. Reading along with the vid was almost as entertaining as the video itself. Anyway, thanks for all the great info, and will definitely be tuning in to more.

This was delightful. You have a great voice for hosting and a solid personality.

I never would have thought of using that for hills and then just cutting it down to the shape I need, genius!