Anything besides foam?

[krollh]

I'm doing a base for a lifesize deer. I'll have wood trim around the sides with plywood recessed down from the top supported with 2x's. It's going to be a dirt scene with leaves, drift wood and a small area with some artificial water. Smaller bases I would pour a layer of foam first. Foam seems expensive for a base this size. Is the anything more economical, or any other suggestions would be great.

Thanks

[Uncle Harley]

fill the majority of it with a piece of house insulation foam. and then put a thin layer of your regular foam to give it the irregularities you are looking for.

[Mason Creek Taxidermy]

Uncle H is right on. I did a set of fighting turkeys on a large display with this method.-very inexpensive.  I think it was 3" thick. You can add pcs. to get some contour or what I did was rasp out areas. I did this method to make a tractor tire track between the corn stalks. Good luck

[Habitat Specialist]

Don't forget to pitch in your rocks before the foam sets!

[Studio106]

I'm not sure if it can get any cheaper than chicken wire (for an armerature to shape the contour of the ground) and then covering with burlap dipped in plaster. I like to put some newspaper (or whatever else you want to use to) to place under the chicken wire to support it in spots where I think that the weight of the plaster/burlap may sag it too much. On a lifesize piece like that I can burlap/plaster the base with one piece of burlap and be done a lot quicker than doing foam. It is easier having a helping hand when doing it in one piece, but if noone is around, cut it into two or three pieces. After the burlap is done, mix up some plaster so it is a little thicker than syrup and pour it a couple inches from your trim and work it towards the trim with your hand until it just touches. You will get a nice clean edge where your plaster and trim meet. From the time I start stapling the chicken wire to the time I am ready to start with my dirting can be as little as thirty minutes. For a lifesize base that's moving pretty good.  I have done both and like foam for it's durability, but you need to get the skin layer off of the foam before glueing your ground clutter/dirt for excellent adhesion, and that takes extra time. It is also a little difficult to control the foam at the edges of your trim from rising too high. You can shave it down after it sets or cut it, but I've done both ways and burlap & plaster is quicker and cheaper IMO. There are a lot of good ideas on here, just give them a try to see which one works best for you. Any questions on my techniques  (it's hard to give every little detail about a technique in just a paragraph)just send me a PM.

[RoyalOaksTaxidermy]

I do the same as Studio except that I use rock mix.. I dump a bunch of burlap strips into it and let it soak it up good then I lay them all over the wire mesh (or small chicken wire... The hardware cloth (small square wire)  is much stronger and has very small holes, but its rather expensive.
 You can also pour foam onto the harware cloth.. a this layer will do fine..

[Becky P]

Studio106, how well does the plaster hold up? Any concerns about it chipping or do you coat it with something else?

[Studio106]

Hey Becky- I have always had concerns about the plaster chipping off of the edge of bases with no cabinet, as I have had it happen too often If the habitat is enclosed by a cabinet (which it sounds like this one is) the plaster holds up just fine. I have never had any plaster chip out of a cabinet base. If I ever have any concerns about adhesion on a cabinet base, and I am not doing burlap/plaster but just plaster, I will staple some hardware cloth or chicken down first before I pour the plaster on. That is primarily for smaller pedestal bases. If I am concerned with plaster chipping off of a base that has no cabinet to protect it, then I will do the bottom edge up about two-three inches out of foam. Make sure that the plywood is rough enough to get good adhesion and finish the base like you would normally. I have done entire bases out of foam, or just run the perimiter with foam. It takes a hell of a lot of abuse without any problems. I am working on a project right now where one of the sections of a big diarama has been done for about a month (completely dirted and everything). I have walked across it problably a hundred times without any effect at all. You could kick the front edge if you wanted to without any effect. I have co-workers who aren't easy on bases (meaning that they don't notice the stand leg won't clear when they are sliding it past the base) and they give these bases all they can take. Don't get me wrong, the foam is not indestructable, but it's very durable. Just keep the foam to a minimum thickness along the edge, make sure it has good adhesion to the base, and rasp the skin off to glue your dirt to it, and you're good to go. I will try to post a picture of a section that is foamed along the edge to show what I mean. And if you are going to foam the edge and chicken wire plaster/burlap the rest of the base, then I chicken wire my base first like always, and then foam over the edge where the chicken wire is stapled to and it gives a little extra strength to the edge when the wire is also foamed in. I hope this helps.

[Studio106]

After wrestling with trying to post the pictures, I may have figured it out. Here's one pic that shows a cross section and how the foam goes to the edge.

[Studio106]

Here's the second picture that is the only section left that is not finished. Don't run the burlap/plaster all the way to the edge like someone who doesn't listen very well did. I will have to pull up the burlap/plaster to expose the foam. After all, running the burlap/plaster to the edge defeats the purpose of foaming the edge. You can kick the finished termite mound section and not have any dirt come off or have any ill effects to the edge. It is extremely durable. It is also double decked with plywood so the use of foam (to get terain variations) is minimal. I can walk anywhere on that base without any problems, and not lose any dirt, ground clutter, etc..