Halloween Pirate Ship
Etched Foam Pirate ship.
Halloween is a big day for my family. Never wanting to disappoint, I crafted this life-sized pirate ship out of foam. Specifically, the foam insulation board that is commonly used in construction.
It is such a fun medium to work with, budget-friendly and can be carved, melted , shaped and etched. For this project I utilized some thinned yellow carpenter’s glue and a graining tool used for faux wood graining. You grain the panel with the thinned out glue and allow it to dry. Next, you can use any solvent based spray paint or a paint gun with virtually any type of solvent . I used Acetone in a cup gun, lightly spray the surface and watch the exposed foam etch away.
Use a razor blade to create the panel seams , add some details and you’re ready to paint .
To properly scenic paint this old wood look, I started with a medium to light brown latex. It’s important to use water based paint so as not to cause the foam to dissolve any more than the solvent already has. Once the base coat is dry, apply a clear flat glaze. After the glaze has dried, you can go over it with darker washes of thinned paint and wipe away. The darker paint settles into the low spots. The glaze allows the higher areas to remain the base color. Keep going from there, dry bush the highlights add some other effects and shiver me timbers.. you have a pirate ship for the trick or treaters… and you haven’t sunken your wallet.
Foam Pirate Ship
the art is in the details
Adding lighting effects along with fog and music will complete your Halloween haunt
Its a lot of fun to put together an inexpensive project like this!
No bones about it.