The form to be developed was sketched out on polystyrene foam and trimmed to shape with a saw blade which easily cuts through the polystyrene material. The form is defined by using a hot cutting wire and then refined with a scalpel blade.
After this process, the entire form is covered with Plaster of Paris or an all purpose patching plaster. This is applied in two separate coats at intervals of 1-2 hours to ensure that it is covered as smoothly as possible and that enough layers of Plaster of Paris has been applied. It is recommended that it is left overnight to dry under normal conditions. When the model is completely dried, it is refined further by sanding it as smoothly as possible to remove all bumps. It is then ready for laser scanning.
The surface is not sealed as this can affect the scanning process and is cautioned against by the scanning company.
