Making a mountain of styrofoam packing material

I use styrofoam packing material (in German: Styropor; in Portugues: Isopor) frequently used for electrocnics and other household products. First the pieces have to be roughly cut in order to have partes that can be glued one on top of another.

Normal glue does not work with Styrofoam. You need a special glue. I fix the parts with toothpicks in order to reduce the amount of glue necessary.

Some wooden blocks are useful as weights until the glue has dried. I recommend frequent cleaning of the floor of the room used for the work.

The next step consists in cutting the block of styrofoam parts glued together in order to get the shape of a mountain. I use a very sharp kitchen knife with a thin blade. If the knife is not sharp enough the Styrofoam is being ripped apart instead of cut. Ripping the Styrofoam results in a lot of visible bubbles that increase the surface to be painted and result in a lot a spaces difficult to paint.

The next step consists in cutting the block of styrofoam parts glued together in order to get the shape of a mountain. I use a very sharp kitchen knife with a thin blade. If the knife is not sharp enough the Styrofoam is being ripped apart instead of cut. Ripping the Styrofoam results in a lot of visible bubbles that increase the surface to be painted and result in a lot a spaces difficult to paint.

That is the picture of the mountain after applying the first main color. 

Here is the mountain after applying several other colors by way of dry brushing. 

That is the mountain placed into the diorama.