How-to guides

How-to guides

Step-by-step model making guides: cutting and gluing card, foamboard, balsa, Finnboard and Styrofoam, building desktop models, landscaping and scenery. Each guide links to the materials and tools it uses.
A row of finished clay daffodils with yellow petals and orange trumpets
How to make a daffodil from air-drying clay
Cut six petals and a trumpet from Fimo Air, assemble the flower, leave it to dry, then seal, paint and mount it on an aluminium rod stem. Read more...
A cutting mat with a metal safety rule, a scalpel, a craft knife and a utility knife
How to cut foamboard elevations
How to mount printed elevations on foamboard with spray glue, then cut them out, windows included, with a craft knife and a metal safety rule. Read more...
A cutting mat with a metal safety rule, a scalpel, a craft knife and a utility knife
How to cut card elevations
Mark out elevations on card, by drawing or by fixing a print with spray mount, then cut them out with a craft knife against a metal safety rule. Read more...
A flat etched brass fret of leaves, fronds and grasses
How to make miniature plants from etched brass
How to prime, paint and shape etched brass plants: a grey primer, a green base coat, brushed acrylic detail, PVA veins, then bend them into shape. Read more...
Bottles of PVA, superglue and accelerator with a tube of UHU POR beside blocks of grey Styrofoam
How to glue Styrofoam
UHU POR is the best glue for Styrofoam. Superglue with an accelerator gives a quick, firm joint, and PVA works too but takes a few hours to cure. Read more...
A cutting mat with a metal safety rule, a scalpel, a craft knife and a utility knife
How to cut Finnboard
Cut Finnboard with a sharp craft knife against a metal safety rule: keep the blade upright, let it find its way, and make as many passes as you need. Read more...
Four bottles of PVA and Hi-Tack glue on a cutting mat
How to glue Finnboard
How to glue Finnboard with PVA: which grade to choose, how to apply it accurately along an edge, and how to keep two surfaces at a right angle. Read more...
Metal rules, a scalpel and two craft knives on a cutting mat
How to cut Finnboard elevations
How to mount printed elevations on Finnboard with spray glue, then cut them out, windows included, with a craft knife and a metal safety rule. Read more...
A finished white snowman with a black top hat, scarf, carrot nose, black buttons and stick arms
How to make a snowman
Sculpt a snowman from polystyrene spheres with a stippled snow texture, then add a craft foam clay nose and arms, black buttons and a velour top hat. Read more...
A finished orange foam pumpkin with a stalk and a green leaf, standing on grass
How to make a pumpkin
Sculpt a pumpkin from a polystyrene sphere: mark and cut the segments, seal and fill it, then paint and shade it in orange. Read more...
A finished grey tombstone carved with RIP, standing on a mound with moss
How to make a tombstone
Carve a tombstone from Styrofoam, age it, seal it with Foamcoat, then paint it with a stone effect, dry-brushed highlights and moss. Read more...
A finished card model of a road crossing with grey tarmac, pale pavements and green grass
How to create roads and pavements
Spray tarmac roads and pavements on a card base by speckling beige, white and black over a grey primer, then add flocked grass verges. Read more...