New Adams foam board?

dantheman

Member
That is a great test on the foam board. Very disappointing results though. It looks like FT will be making a large number of sales on their WP board though.
 

Keno

Well-known member
Waywiness does not bother me, but that twistiness does. I tried to do ft nutball an ft flyer and both were warped so much that I could not fly them it straight (rolling automatically). Trimming did not help because they do not have ailerons. Worst thing that this twisted foam does is that it returns to this twisted state, so fuselage is the most problematic part of the plane. More complex wings handle warpage better.

Any tip for getting them straight?

Are you using white board or water resistant? These two planes are easy to build and great build projects. You will probably find it better to scrap them and build again. If you are using white board, water moisture probably caused your distortion. First, do not use water based products in your build, i.e., water based paints. You can try this to help prevent water moisture penetration; pretreat your board with oil base rub-on or can Minwax, apply with brush or cloth and wipe off excess, let dry on flat surface. You may need a bit of weighting to keep board flat. Also, you can add skewer sticks or fiber carbon rod around the hinging area to help prevent warping. Remember, extra weight in the tail requires adding weight in the nose. I have a Nut Ball painted up as a target as we have target shooters in our area so far none have hit it. You have a great day and you will love your Nut Ball when you get it flying.
 

Jaxx

Posted a thousand or more times
That's how Elmers board is, the kind standard 'paper board' in the UK and AUS. I haven't tested it before but Elmers is about twice as strong and twice the weight.

ROSS board is similar in weight to Adams and they use a glue adhesive but their foam cells are weaker. I'll have to test that.

Nic,

You said the ROSS board is not as durable as Adams. Could you elaborate a little on that? I thought I had read in other threads that quality of ROSS was better. I haven't built with it myself, so I was just curious about your experience with it.
 

nerdnic

nerdnic.com
Mentor
Hey man!

Ross is water resistant and can take direct paint. It's more brittle though so in a crash it will snap vs crumple like Adams.
 

nerdnic

nerdnic.com
Mentor
I'm doing my first build with the new foam.

I do not like it.

The paper cuts as though it were saturated with water. It snags my blade much easier and it's much harder to produce a 'clean' build.

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I replace my blades with a fresh one often and have never had this level of blade snag before. Even when taking my time the cuts I produce on this new board look like I'm rushing through.

If you get any glue on the paper it's nearly impossible to clean it off without ripping up the paper pretty bad. I think overall the new foam will still work but it's not as enjoyable to build with and the finished product won't look as clean.

I'm pretty bummed out that Adams has taken this direction. I know our hobby is a drop in the bucket to their customer base but this new product is sub optimal.
 

na1pir

New member
FT WR foam

Are you using white board or water resistant?

I only use FT WR foam pictured on post #14, without any paint or anything similar that would cause warpage. WR FT Foam I got from graupner is so heavily twisted that it is impossible to use if for simple builds (flyer, nutball, delta,old fogey). With simple builds I had more luck with floor insulation foam covered with tape.

I can still use this foam for more complex and reinforced builds like baby brit and bloody wonder. But with my flying skills it is quite an effort to fly them. With almost any landing I brake or bend a prop.

I was really happy when graupner offered this foam in europe although it is was quite expensive stuff 2.92 usd per foam (when getting 50).

I am werry disappointed in Flite Test for offering such a low quality product!
 

richb2599

Active member
nerdnic, I feel your pain! My experience with this new dtfb is the same for me. A clean cut is just not possible no matter how sharp the blade is. I'm going to look for all the original dtfb I can find before it's all gone.
 

nerdnic

nerdnic.com
Mentor
I drove around to all the dollar trees in my town, like 7 of them. I was able to find 20 sheets of the old stuff.
 

nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
I just got 10, going to check a few more in the area. The new stuff is right next to the old in the stores and you can really see the difference. . We also had a Dollar Tree burn down recently, I built my Storch from that store, now my Storch can be called a ghost plane.
 

TexMechsRobot

Posted a thousand or more times
I just got 10, going to check a few more in the area. The new stuff is right next to the old in the stores and you can really see the difference. . We also had a Dollar Tree burn down recently, I built my Storch from that store, now my Storch can be called a ghost plane.

The Dollar Tree in South Center had some of the old stuff when I went there last night. I didn't buy any of it because I didn't know this was an issue but I did notice that they had two different "whites" and thought it was interesting. They had about 20 sheets of each.
 

nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
Pretty soon, we will be rioting over the old foam board, just like the people at the malls over sales...

The new stuff is a way brighter white, I havnt tried it yet, I like the old stuff and fear change...

 

Keno

Well-known member
I only use FT WR foam pictured on post #14, without any paint or anything similar that would cause warpage. WR FT Foam I got from graupner is so heavily twisted that it is impossible to use if for simple builds (flyer, nutball, delta,old fogey). With simple builds I had more luck with floor insulation foam covered with tape.

I can still use this foam for more complex and reinforced builds like baby brit and bloody wonder. But with my flying skills it is quite an effort to fly them. With almost any landing I brake or bend a prop.

I was really happy when graupner offered this foam in europe although it is was quite expensive stuff 2.92 usd per foam (when getting 50).

I am werry disappointed in Flite Test for offering such a low quality product!

Interesting your problem. I have also purchased 50-sheet box, my problem is the shipping cost that almost equal to the purchase price. My boards were great with only minor warping. There was a previous post on this is, “remove the paper”. If choose to still build the Nut Ball and the FT Flyer this could be the answer. Cut out your circle (Nut Ball) remove the paper spray the foam with spray-on adhesive such as 3M or possibly, Elmer’s. I am not sure of your area but you may have these similar products at a sewing or craft shop. If the paper you removed is in good condition you could possibly reapply it or find replacement paper maybe with graphics of your choosing. You may have read articles or possibly viewed You Tubes videos on builds that use this procedure.
 

histo

New member
The new board has reached my area as well. Paper removal is such a pita now in addition to the other issues mentioned.
 

na1pir

New member
Graupner responded that 19mm warpage is still ok. Well if I force 3 edges to flat surface third edge lifts up to 60mm so that is way over the limit... And if I just mesure lifted edges I get about 25mm at each side. Graupner has flat rate free shipment for FT foam in EU, box of 50 for 140€ and box of 25 for 70€. When I run out of this box I might be getting another smaller box to see if warpage decreases. If it doesn't I will continue to build with floor insulation foam.

Foam is still good for bloody wonder and similar faster planes. Baby brit came out ok as well... I am currently waiting for sponz to release plans for bloody brit :)

Nutball was first plane I tried, it looked ok at first but then it twisted in a weak or so ft flyer was even worse... And foam in half empty box is already twisted.

I would really like to remake flyer, because my girlfriend likes to fly as well but everything but nutball and flyer is too fast for her to control safely.

I will try to remove paper and replace it with tape just like Ed from EA does it.
 
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na1pir

New member
Yay! Yesterday Graupner decided that 60mm is way to much warpage and are sending me a replacement foam. I guess that I will finally be able to build bigger models, without throwing away countless hours of building because parts were way to twisted to fly straight.
 
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dgrigor02

Member
Thanks everyone on the heads up about the new Adams recipe. All my stores nearby had both the old and new on the shelves. I went to multiple stores and bought them out of the old stock. Even picked up the imperfect and wringled ones that I would normally pick through. 120 sheets total. Hopefully and better alernative can be worked out by the time I blow through my stock.
 

mintypie007

New member
My local Dollar Tree has started carrying black paper foamboard which is just the smallest amount thicker and feels much more sturdy. I am not sure if the foam itself is thicker or the paper is thicker.
 

nerdnic

nerdnic.com
Mentor
Thanks everyone on the heads up about the new Adams recipe. All my stores nearby had both the old and new on the shelves. I went to multiple stores and bought them out of the old stock. Even picked up the imperfect and wringled ones that I would normally pick through. 120 sheets total. Hopefully and better alernative can be worked out by the time I blow through my stock.

Now this is dedication! I like it.