My inability to work successfully with wood led me to search for something more in keeping with my limited skills.  Foam Board is a light weight board that is used extensively for promotional signs. It consists of a dense foam layer sandwiched between two layers of card . It is both light and strong and can be cut with a knife and a straight edge.

It also has some downsides: The lightness of the board means it is susceptible to damage and in its unpainted state it dislikes water (something I have already found out for myself).

The harbour board.

The maximum length of foam board I could readily obtain was 1016mm so I decided to make this the length of each board. Using the computer I calculated that six boards 6 inches wide arranged as 6 sides of a decagon would just come in within the layout spec.  However lack of storage for this many boards together with the prospect of completing them by 2010 resulted in the plan being scaled down to just three boards with the prospect of adding more at a later date if space permits.

The boards are designed in two sections: The main board on which the layout is built and the fascia that covers it and will contain the lighting and backscene. The two are simply held together with bulldog clips - more than adequate for foam board. The removable fascia allows easy access to the layout when working on it.

The under side of the harbour board.

The side and cross pieces are glued together but also screwed to keep them attached while the glue dries. To the top of this is added a solid foam board layer which is held solely by glue.

One difficulty I had was with the end pieces of each board which had to be angled at 18 degrees. In the end I copped out and used some 2 x 1 timber cut with a mitre saw to the required angle. The timber also allowed me to use pattern maker's dowels for alignment of the boards.

The fascia showing the gap at the end where it straddles to main board.