Post #50499 by TikiMaxton on Sun, Sep 7, 2003 11:24 AM

If anybody's interested in trying their hand at foam tikis, I have recently come by a little helpful knowledge. I'm working for a haunted house that is doing a lot of simulated stonework for a "Temple of Doom" kind of set. The blocks of stone and the Olmec heads were carved out of foam then coated with at kind of cement/stucco mix. When they were dry, we painted and aged them and, apart from the unfortunate color choice (pink sandstone - not mine), they came out looking great. I'm told that with a few coats of the cement mixture they will weather quite well outside. Here's the secret to getting polystyrene blocks in big (like 2'x3'x4') dimensions: Go to a marine repair or salvage place. They use these blocks to shore up barges and floating homes and, when they're done with them, often have trouble recycling them. We got dozens of these big 'uns for free! Chainsaw, electric carving knife and dremel tool all work for carving. I'm gonna do an entryway kind of like that Polynesia pic that was posted by Spike.

I'll post photos of the carvings when I get a chance...