by Vincent Voisin @vincentvoisin9
MATERIALS
Airplac Creative Kit:
Airplac White foam board – 5 mm
Airplac White foam board – 3 mm
Other tools and accessories:
Cutter with a 30-degree blade
Mechanical pencil
Metal ruler
Cutting mat
Toothpicks
Drywall screws
Blue Rhodoid film or stained-glass paper
Bridal tulle
Hole puncher
…and many other small tools and accessories: packaging scraps, skewers, and all sorts of items you can enjoy repurposing to give them a second life in your models!
An architect by profession, Vincent Voisin is also a true artist who creates incredible foam-board models. Buildings, sculptures, dioramas, toys, boxes, animals… His world is rich, imaginative, and ingenious. Through this 1960s-inspired house model, discover some of his tips and tricks for translating architecture into miniature.
To create an embankment effect on the foundations of this house, Vincent Voisin “roughly” attacks the foam board with a cutter, then removes the first layer of paper to reveal the damaged foam underneath, which takes on the appearance of rugged, mineral-like terrain.
Here is how to create this wall paving called “giraffe skin”:
Draw the pattern with a mechanical pencil on the outer face of the foam board.
Cut along the lines, but only through the first layer of paper.
Remove the paper between the stones. You can also carve into the foam slightly depending on the effect you want to achieve.
Making small round openings like this porthole isn’t easy! Vincent Voisin uses a punch of the correct diameter, then shapes the edges with a conical scribe to round out the cut and give the opening a softer finish.
To build this miniature staircase, there’s no need to construct and assemble each step with tiny foam-board rectangles! Cut a single large rectangle in the full size of the finished staircase, then make evenly spaced bevel cuts through two-thirds of its thickness. The sequence of 90-degree bevels naturally forms the valley of steps.
This pile of logs is simply made from 10 mm foam board. Roughly shape each log with your cutter into an irregular octagon… a bit as if your cutter were an axe!
This balcony is perfect for listening to a serenade — its railing is made from a piece of bridal veil tulle glued to the back of the foam-board structure!
To create thin and sturdy frames, don’t hesitate to cut toothpicks to the right length. Paint them white so they blend into the scenery, and insert them into the edge of the foam board.
This series of oculi is both graphic and easy to make:
Cut the openings in the façade, then cut rectangles whose length equals the circumference of each opening.
Make three evenly spaced bevel cuts along the length and full height of each rectangle, cutting only one-third of the foam board’s thickness.
Fold each rectangle into four sections, with the bevels on the inside. Your oculus will take shape.
Bevel the two ends at 45 degrees and glue them together.
Insert each oculus into its opening.
To create a water effect in your models — for a pool, lake, bathtub, etc. — simply cut blue Rhodoid film or blue stained-glass paper to the shape of the water area and lay it onto the foam board.
Most of Vincent Voisin’s models are lit from the inside. He therefore needs to be able to open the back or the base regularly to replace LED bulbs. To make these back panels or bases easy to remove and reattach, he uses drywall screws. These small screws are perfect: they grip well in the foam and can be screwed and unscrewed without damaging it.
