Styrofoam Toe-pincher Coffin

I made a toe-pincher coffin out of 1” extruded Styrofoam for my outdoor display. This wasn’t my design, so thanks to those from who I borrowed the idea, especially Spooky Blue. I did take a few liberties with the design, however.


It was sized to fit a Costco skeleton, and used a little over one sheet (4’X8’) of 1" Styrofoam total. The bottom was cut first, and sides were 12” high. They were glued to the sides of the bottom, giving an internal depth of 11”. I used PL300 to glue it together.



I wasn’t too careful about getting the side miter cuts exact, any gaps were filled with a bit more pl300. Halfway into the project, I found that a battery operated hack saw with a 1” wide metal blade (fine tooth) worked best for cutting; it didn’t tear the edges like a carpet knife does. After the box was done, it was used to trace out the lid.




After the glue dried, edges were lightly sanded. I then scribed a wood grain pattern into the sides and lid. Here are my high tech tools:



I used the pencil to make board outlines, and the sharp side of the pen cap for etching the woodgrain:


After scoring, everything was painted with flat black latex. All the grooves must get paint. I had to touch up a few spots where the pink was showing through. Then I let the black paint dry thoroughly.


I then used a sponge to lightly brush on grey latex enamel. Less is more here. The sponge must be almost dry. After the grey paint is applied sparingly, a rag was rubbed across the surface to smooth out the effect.



After drying, a few dots from a sharpie marker to simulate nail heads were added:





The finished product, total weight about 5 pounds:



So about 4 hours spent on construction, and about the same for finishing. Time well spent.

Overall, I think it turned out ok for my first attempt at this kind of finishing technique. Thanks for taking a look.