Carving Bricks And Stones From A Block Of Styrofoam

[@virenor]

Since it's not clear, I did some research on the styrofoam and here is what I found: technically it's called extruded polystyrene (XPS). Keep in mind that styrofoam is colloquially used to refer to another material that is usually white in color and made of expanded (not extruded) polystyrene foam (EPS). Styrodur is a registered trademark of BASF, however this name is commonly used by other companies. Styrodur 3035 (as well as 2800) is a BASF's product code used in Europe and there are at least two types: 3035 CN and 3035 CS. The first has density of 0.0300 g/cc, the second 0.0330 g/cc (Imperial: 0.00108 lb/in³ and 0.00119 lb/in³). There are even more dense products: Styrodur 4000 (0.0350 g/cc) and 5000 (0.0450 g/cc). It seems all BASF's XPS foams are green.

[@mcdrippyyt562]

Ok

[@jaanikaapa6925]

For texture: scrunch up aluminium foil into a ball, roll it over the surface.

[@84erElessar]

Looks ultrarealistic!

[@NightShiftScaleModels]

Gotta use that on my next attempt, thanks!

[@keithw4920]

@@NightShiftScaleModels You can also put them on a flattish surface and just pound/roll them with your own forehead.

[@p4inmaker]

@@keithw4920 Yeah, but what if you use your sack for EXTREME TEXTURE?

[@tipi5586]

@@p4inmaker Lt: Private, cover this wall with tarpaulin and mark it for Army Intel capture. Pvt: But why sir? Lt: Upon close inspection, it appears to be made of elbow skin. Might be some new bomb proof material. It is still standing, after all.

[@recurvestickerdragon]

I am utterly blown away by how amazing those results look after such a... Well, not low-effort process. But certainly a lot easier than I expected.

[@Andries1963]

I’d just like to say I’ve watched thousands of KZbin videos as I’m disabled and housebound and heavily in to modelling and you are the absolute best at realism - your walls and brickwork are the absolute best, thank you for sharing your talent - your videos really inspire me 👍

[@badopinionsrighthere]

I've been trying to make a stone gate that is iconic to the town I grew up in, I made a 3D printed model and it looks okay but doesn't look real. I'm going to have to get some styrofoam and try your techniques, because your stone work looks more real than the stones I've been using on my model

[@NightShiftScaleModels]

These were my first styrofoam stones and they leave a lot to be desired, but making something as big as a stone gate is definitely going to be faster and easier if you use styrofoam :)

[@paulcharters5933]

Best brick wall build guide on the internet, and I have watched LOTS of them.

[@cre8iveone699]

Thank you for actually talking in you instructional video unlike other videos on KZbin.

[@dionx9185]

It might sound weird but i snipped some foam-board in a blender and textured it by putting some rocks in a can with the snipped foam. Then rolled the can with a accu drill. Used it for those normandy houses where they use natural stones as bricks and it looks pretty great!

[@ginwilcox9555]

I wish I would have seen this years ago. I've watched hours... and hours of tutorials for brick/rock surfaces and this has to be the best one I've seen. Simple straight forward and friendly. Thank you.

[@etgha]

Not sure if you do this now, but a (in my experience slightly easier) way to get the more rounded brick edges is just running a pencil along through the cuts. Since it's got a gradually wider tip you don't end up having to pry the bricks to get the edge you want and you can determine how deep you wanna press it Love your videos, learning all sorts of techniques from you:)

[@bugler75]

Just rewatching this video and found your comment. Great idea that I’ll be using this weekend 👍🏼 Thanks

[@Youcanbuildmodels]

one of the best foam sealers that i have come across is mod podge mixed with paint to add a darker color. this helps protect the foam from more erosive/damaging chemicals.

[@NightShiftScaleModels]

And mod podge is basically white PVA glue, or is it something fancier? Plaster also seals the foam really well. I smeared it all over my previous brick work and I could flood the surface with enamel thinners without them causing any damage.

[@a.t.4634]

The "test piece". Fully rendered, painted and realistic. Incredible work!

[@Modkits131]

Watching Uncle Nightshift carve and cut styrofoam is just so satisfying.👌

[@scootergem]

This is an example of a video where you can enjoy just watching. This is a video where you can learn something about things, things that open up new ideas. I am really glad that I watched this. Count me as a new subscriber. Looking forward to seeing more! 😃

[@nascarvintage17]

I want to thank you. Your tutorial is amazing for so many things. Not only have I made several brick wall dioramas since watching your video, but thanks to you, it's become much easier to create a wall with an 8/10 on the realism scale. Thank you so much, and God bless you.

[@volkerjanssen7905]

Since I was a kid (and that is very long ago) I wanted to create realistic scenarios. I was never happy with clean and shiny model kits. They needed to look a bit weathered and sit in a diorama. Your tips are absolute gold. Thanks heaps, for sharing your skills so generously...

[@ashtoncruz2463]

I ve used this video more than once as a guide when Im sculpting fondant for one of my cakes. Youre brilliant.

[@bruhbird4501]

What a welcoming way to end Friday

[@jamielavin1808]

I really relate well to diorama builders, and as a visual artist, who paints in oil and acrylic for a living,, I REALLY enjoyed the quality and creative workmanship. Those things never get old!

[@arizonaranger298]

I love your model videos! I’m relatively new to modeling and your teaching me so much! I’m 15 and modeling is my new favorite hobby.

[@FredCarver-x3g]

In model railroading we use a simple touch for vines. Buy some "grass" from the train store. It come in a fine textured ground foam. Take your wall and using dilute white glue, trace the pattern of vines up your wall. Sprinkle the grass mixture and allow to dry. I add some more glue to make sure all the grass stays in place.

[@icecrack4579]

The "mah friends" really makes my day.

[@leopitrelli]

Indeed

[@crucialcustard7668]

the whole thing makes my day :)

[@Professional_Foaming]

Same

[@cliffherring7006]

Every f*****g Friday

[@s.gaflytying3115]

Yes

[@dadoogie]

The white washing of the brick walls with the plaster is brilliant. brick walls naturally leak salts and the damper/older a walk the more mineral salts get pushed out so you can end up with actual salt deposits on a wall.

[@GanjaClaus]

I used to build all kind of stuff, from ships to planes and tiny landscapes for tabletop photography.. It's all history now and I got rid of it. I won't pick it up but switched to UE and VR and it's amzingly EXACTLY what I was looking for back in the "modelling" days.

[@Duececoupe]

Agree, super fun on a Friday while listening/watching Night Shift! 👍🏻👌🏻👏🏻😉

[@cptalbator9547]

Density: Not great, not terrible.. I see you are a man of culture

[@Nitro9931]

Night shift I cannot thank you enough for your tutorials on weathering with pigments and oil washes, I’m a miniature war gamer painter , (focusing more on painting ) your projects are nothing short of inspiration

[@p.bckman2997]

You are amazingly talented! One note on bricks though: In such brick constructions, the wall is usually one brick length wide and every other layer of bricks are laid transverse, so that the outer aspect will show alternating rows of long and short brick faces. A surface with all bricks laid with the long side out is usually found only when bricks are used to beauty up a concrete façade.

[@nelsonmay]

I am USA based and so far I only see this Styrodur 3035 on Etsy in sheets of 25cm x5mm. I am reaching out on this page, because this is such a niche item. Anyone in the US know of a distributor? It also looks like that green floral foam from the dollar stores, but I think that comes in small blocks. I need something a lot larger. At least 2ft (60) cm and about 30 cm deep. Really, these are awesome videos. I didn't know you could do so much with this foam. Way to go Night Shift Guy!

[@artKJ]

It's just a popular European brand of XPS boards used for floor insulation. I bet you can buy identical product made in USA. It's cheap, don't get scammed by "distirbutors".

[@CyPhi68]

You can also use plaster of Paris, cast in sheets, sliced into strip.and crosscut into stone blocks. Different spaces create sheets of different thickness for different sized stones. The plaster of Paris is tinted with dry earth pigments so even if chipped, the color stays the same. No need to paint anything.

[@fabgac4071]

Simple, very efficient and so satisfying, after so many time i have surching for a way to do fine brick walls, bravo and thank you.

[@polygonalmasonary]

Bricks are very rarely laid perfectly in real life. You can see where an apprentice has been allowed to lay a few courses of bricks on our house. Really nice job, great tutorial video, also great advert for Proxxon, they are the best cutters.

[@georgetaylor5482]

That is an awesome wall, looking forward to see the finished piece.

[@daveburrows9876]

The type of foam is pretty important in communicating. It's part of the description of any of them when purchased new. On most, it's printed on one face of the foam sheet.

[@graarchen9357]

I got to work and all I could think was its friday, it's nearly time for night shift... and here we are, highlight of my week

[@appleofmyeye1786]

Thank you, I was wanting to add a brick base around a house model, with no idea on how to do it. You've opened my eyes!

[@plixplop]

The embossing and the dry plaster are both really genius techniques! The result is excellent!

[@AnhellXI]

El repujado es con agua? Y el yeso es del normal no?

[@Simon.23.yyyyyy]

This is so perfect, I build a brick structure yesterday and didn’t know how to apply plaster and paint in the right way, thanks Uncle Nightshift!

[@travelrun7823]

if you mix the white plaster with sienous earth (with what was done before the dye) or any effect of what they sell on land the joint is almost finished. great work !!!! a hug

[@stefanfischbach3343]

Unfassbar genial wie Sie die Mauer gemacht haben. Danke für die tolle Idee, Sie sind ein großes Vorbild für mich.

[@DerkBhern]

I've been struggling with how to handle adding a wall or two to my HO layout. Then I came across this video. Absolutely brilliant. Never would have thought of this method. Can't wait to try it.

[@Cat40kkk]

I would really recommend Night Shift for beginners. He really makes building models fun and not stressful 😂

[@terrarioschorusangelorum118]

Your work is incredible... perplexing and at the same time enchanted by the playful way in which you present the dynamics of carrying out work... it encourages in us the desire to do something, overcoming the barrier of the limit of knowledge... by leveraging in we enjoy art. In fact, oconcour. congratulations!!

[@jaanikaapa6925]

Another tool for you, by the way. Rollers. Since you have a 3D printer you can make them yourself. Either get an STL or model it in Fusion 360 or Blender. Basically a roll with a continuous pattern. You then just roll it over the surface you want to texture. Cobblestones, tiles, whatever.

[@NightShiftScaleModels]

I've seen those being used on large pieces of stone walls, pretty cool tools!

[@jaanikaapa6925]

@@NightShiftScaleModels I've a couple of them for rocky/magmaish terrain for my armies.

[@daveyJ213]

Wow! That wall was beautiful! I have to make about 150 yards to N scale brick wall, and your video just moved my outlook from "impossible" to "okay maybe I can do this". Very cool. Thanks for posting.

[@lanceschaerer6875]

Great video, boss. As for the varying color of bricks, that is due to the clays used by the individual brick factories. Before modern bricks with pigments to color, whatever color is required, there were brick factories pretty much everywhere. Most of the reddish bricks are from clays found in old riverbeds grayish bricks from rocky areas etc.

[@christianaranda976]

Wooow! Yo usaba otra tecica pero esta esta perfecta gracias por compartir 😃👌I used another technique but this one is perfect. I will apply it! Thanks for sharing and it helps me to learn English two in one. 😀👏👏👍 very nice diorama!

[@patriciaolsen7816]

Am watching your videos and I am leaning some thing new think you for showing how to get bricks wall you did a great job on your wall and stones to you have a nice day be safe

[@diracsea4590]

I have zero skill to do anything like this, but I like watching people make these kind of things. Looks so good. So cool.

[@donhendricks3190]

Brilliant! I thoroughly enjoyed this and learned a LOT! Thank you! With love from Atlanta.

[@Selnatal]

Good heavens, what a voice. Awesome work, Beautiful both. Thanks! Greetings from Switzerland.

[@TheFingerman77]

Hello Uncle, I've been working with bricks and stone at a hardware store for the last several months and I can say that, especially in the natural stone, yours look great; especially the wall cap blocks' shape and texture. The white veining and mossy grime tones spot on. One style I enjoy is Pavestone brand "Yukon" stone which blends brown and grey tones together in a nice way. Bricks can be fairly uniform, but the composition and source of the brick can dramatically change its appearance. We carry several kinds of trapezoidal wall blocks, but one or two products say that they are the same and yet look drastically different. One is a pale tan color, and the other is a very saturated gold-brown with very visible flakes of white inside of the material; it is dark as if it was wet. Both insist they are the same product. This is due to the different composition used by two different manufacturers.

[@oktoberbabyfee]

The result looks astonishingly realistic. 👍🏻👍🏻

[@dominiccruz1201]

Your video helped answer a lot of questions regarding life like features for miniature construction. I am looking forward to creating a version of your brick wall. Thank you for sharing your techniques and time in making this video. I look forward to seeing more videos. Thanks

[@cindywilson6520]

This looks absolutely fantastic! I think this is where I find it hardest when I'm trying to do something I'm not a visionalist and I'm impatient I can see myself trying to do this but the minute I'd be painting The bricks I'd be like ah this isn't going to look right but yours , your work is absolutely phenomenal! Thank you for sharing your talent and your inspiration.

[@larryscarafile7309]

Great tutorial .Learned some new tricks

[@rogerdickson5462]

That's absolutely brilliant. I really enjoyed watching the build

[@grantderue]

Uncle Night Shift is great for lessening the learning curve. Thank you for these videos. I'm seeing an improvement in my models already.

[@wafflyfox7550]

Awesome! This is really helpful when you talk about the difference in foams! I remember I used to use your simple “bobbly” foam 🙃

[@peterc2248]

That was absolutely awesome! Can't wait for the diorama

[@Karlmakesstuff]

You really knocked it out of the park with this one, it looks amazing! One point about using solvents on foam - if you prime with a 20/20/60 mixture of pva, paint and water you get a barrier which protects the foam with very little loss of detail. I also like to add a drop of dish soap to help with the flow. Might allow you to use all your effects, but definitely test it on some scrap first!

[@acmaurer50]

If you first coat your styrofoam with ModPodge--perhaps tinted with the base color you're intending to use, you'll both give the styrofoam a harder surface and prevent damage from subsequent paints.

[@bugler75]

Great technique ! Made to look so easy by you😊 I m going to try this this weekend 👍🏼 hope the leg is healing

[@kennethjanczak4900]

Nice build. Thanks for taking the time to make the video and share it

[@josephjacques1960]

I just bought my first model it’s a tamyia m1a1 abrams with a mine plower im still saving for the material to build but i want just want to say thanks for helping me find a new hobby

[@gingerhead666]

THE GREY STYROFOAM Its acoustic foam used in sound proofing

[@lostsailor76]

This was a great rabbit hole I found myself in. Beautiful.

[@Thoron_of_Neto]

Had you started the video with the camera up close and told me "isn't this real life brick wall a great inspiration for a diorama piece?" I would have believed it was an actual wall! This was awesome! Thanks for showing the process

[@crystalratclffe3258]

That is the most impressive brick wall I have EVER seen!

[@Vlka_Fenryka]

A great change of pace video, I hope healing is going well.

[@gabrielcoronado6395]

You are an ARTIST. A GREAT artist. Congratulations for your effort and creativity. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@diddlethepoodle4812]

Sheetrock and an exacto knife work good also. Little more carving but it makes good looking quarry stone and brick wall looks.

[@judysparks1132]

Wow! That’s fantastic work . Looked so realistic. Once you added the dark shadows the hole wall popped to life . ❤

[@darkbearlab7326]

This is exactly what I need right now for my wargaming board project… thanks a ton!

[@lesthiele4921]

Good morning Uncle, that was a fantastic tutorial, you come up with some great diorama building techniques, you are a true inspiration to basic mode.llers like myself, take care and keep safe and well, best regards to you and your family from Australia.

[@chrissharp5073]

Your talent and artistic skills have taken model making to a new level. You have certainly given not only me but other model makers a new way of achieving such a brilliant finish from a simple product -- foam!!

[@cratecruncher4974]

Excellent tutorial. It just occurred to me rural Italian cobblestones would look amazing under a Gleaming Red Barchetta. Cheers.

[@paulparker2571]

I figure I take a few and watch something different but your wall caught my eye since I am a mason of 30 years so I was amazed how well it look. Incredible work in witch your having fun and to me that makes the work so much better. I look forwar to watching more videos now

[@michelleivery-jones1448]

WOW....I am completely speechless. That is so cool.

[@guytero8812]

Wow. Your English is perfect!!!! It's actually better than most English people. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@michaela3274]

When a the first spoken words in a video is 'Mah friends...' you know it will be fun and educational

[@nja3224]

That wall is one heck of a beautiful creation. Excellent tutorial.

[@kargandarr]

Matte finish Minwax polyurethane will seal any of that foam so that, if you choose to do so, you can use spray paint. The polyurethane spray will not eat the foam and will protect the foam from being eaten by the spray paint.

[@themechaniacal1558]

A flathead screwdriver can also work to define edges. I put the grinder on the flathead end to narrow it a bit, but it works good.

[@aircooledhead]

Watched this, did this. Very happy with the result. 😊😊😊

[@DJE2025]

So cool, realistic look, very affordable especially that I have 2- 4'x8' of left over foam.

[@tonygoodwinjr9293]

The glue on the grout between the bricks & the grit is what REALLY made it start to look realistic

[@toddshaffer1405]

Alright, you convinced me. I'm gonna have to try this myself.

[@NightShiftScaleModels]

Styrofoam architecture is the next best thing right after armor models! :))

[@captaintaylor8265]

Both you and the community in the comments is amazing!!!

[@kaneworsnop1007]

After scribing use a pencil to go over the lines instead, it will work really well on the stones. Just don't use a really sharp one unless your afyer really fine lines. The insulation foam in a lot of European countries doesn't even need to be scribed with a scalpel first, but can be drawn straight onto with a pencil.

[@benward5732]

Yeah my weekend is now officially awesome! Thanks for the Vid Unky N' :)

[@russ5838]

A1 work, love the realism of the wall, will defiantly be trying this technique out "my friend", I love you work.

[@lawtongore7053]

I think that you did a great job on the wall with the tools that you used....

[@KimStennabbCaesar]

Amazing! I've played around with pink and blue styrofoam years ago, it's a great medium for making things like this. Great work on the painting and weathering.

[@nigelsimkin5910]

excellent tutorial, I'm inspired to create my own walls from now on

[@beck645]

Fantastic video. Thank you for teaching. Please make many more. You teach extremely well.

[@MicheleDamato-co7vh]

This takes years of learning and practice.... this man is a professional he should state how many years he's been doing this kind of work... I'd like to know.

[@robertagnarp7502]

I am soooo greatful i found you on KZbin! Your personality is just golden and your work also. Couldent ask for better guy to watch model stuff with.

[@manamedia]

Excellent Tutorial and method! Thank you for uploading.

[@parrot0051]

Very nice and easy way to create a brick wall, making a diorama of an old London alley for a Jack the Ripper character would be ideal, so far I haven't even seen any sites in designing an 18'th century city block of old brick buildings anywhere. Thank you for this great instruction.