Advanced cuts

• Score and snap

  Every set

  Metal ruler on the cut line. Two or three light scores, then a firmer one. Snap the waste away. Don’t saw with the knife — that’s how foam tears and fingers get close to the blade.

• Outside curve

  Race car, tub feet, wheels

  Trace the curve with a jar lid, a cup, or a compass. Cut in little bites, turning the foam — not the knife — so the blade stays vertical. A nail file or sanding stick eases the flats into one line. The screen will show boxes. The foam should not.

• Inside curve (wheel arch)

  Race car, dog-house door

  Mark the arch. Punch or drill a starter hole inside the waste, then cut out to the line in bites. Never start an inside curve from a pointy corner — the foam will split. File until a wheel sits in the arch without rocking.

• Bevel

  Hood, roof peak, picture frames

  Tape a scrap of foam into a 45° ramp. Rest the knife on that ramp and score along the ruler. Two pieces beveled and glued make a peak that looks like one fold.

• Laminate

  Thick posts, mattresses, bumpers

  Foam is 0.2 in. Stack two or three with a thin glue coat, weight them flat, wait. Then cut the stack as one. Cleaner than trying to stand a strip on edge for thickness.

• Relief cuts

  Tight corners, letters, windows

  On a sharp inside corner, make a tiny extra cut into the waste so the blade can turn. The corner stays crisp instead of rounding off or tearing.

• Slot joint

  Racks, signs, A-frames

  Mark a slot as wide as the foam is thick (0.2 in). Cut the long sides, then nibble the waste. Test-fit dry. A snug slot beats a blob of glue for anything that has to stand.

The race car bed is the first set that expects a curve. Open it from Kids, then come back here if a step says “Cuts tab.”