Can you still shape the bucket plastic like sintra?
Using a bucket might reduce the amount of shaping you have to do, since it is already curved. Nice idea. Might have to see about getting me some buckets next time I am at Lowes. (since my home depot only has those Orange buckets, and if the paint scrapes off even a little bit. 
But some peices might not want to be so curved.. so I wonder if the sintra technique would work for doing some basic reshaping.
badger