Backdrops, what did you use?


Secondhandmodeler

Secondhandmodeler

All new now!
I am just about done building my benchwork. Before I put everything into place, I want to add supports for a backdrop. For those of you that have one, what did you use and how tall is it? I can't decide whether to use a photo, or to try to paint one myself. My initial thoughts were in the two foot area. Then I thought eighteen inches would be enough. Any thoughts on the matter? Thanks for any ideas or thoughts.
 
I use ones I got from Walthers. They are farily universal and the ends transition well to each other. I think they are 30" long and 18" ? tall.
 
Same as Ken. They are on sale right now at $8 each. 18" is the correct height. They give you a good way to transition through different types of scenery without being an artist. The only thing I found was that the sky was too plain so I added some clouds. It's a fast, cheap way to get a decent backdrop up unless you really like painting. There are also photo backdrops available but now you're talking some real money. It was about $10 a foot when I checked them out.
 
speaking of photos, printing large photos (of pictures you've taken) are fairly reasonable and I could see using some large prints (www.perfectposters.com for one place) as backdrops. I know a 20x30 poster I did recently was less than $20. They will print up to 42" wide and 6' long, and longer on special order.

The walthers backdrops aren't so detailed and may actually prove to be better than photos in that respect. But it's an idea.
 
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Thanks for the ideas guys. I would use a photo of the actual location I'm modeling, but things have changed since the 1950's!:) I'm thinking of doing this in the range of 18 to 24 inches. The use of eighth inch Masonite has been brought up before. Is this what you would use? One thing, the backdrop can not be attached to the walls. It has to mount on 1x2's screwed to the bench work. Has anyone ever used a thick styrene?
 
Try Scenic Express. They are photo reproductions of actual scenes 38"x13H and at $9.88 each. Several scenes go together to form a long continuous view. http://www.sceneryexpress.com/products.asp?dept=1100

I always cut the sky off since it varies from scene to scene. Then I glue it to foamboard and cut the board around the scene painting the edges black if needed. This adds depth for buildings. Lean them against the sky painted backdrop or space them out a little. I do glue some hill scenes directly to the backdrop to add distance.:)

These are just temporarily setup, but can give you an idea of some buildings. There are even a few small Walthers poster buildings in the front.
 
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Corey, I don't think that using styrene would be a good idea. It would be expensive to begin with and you're going to need a lot of back support to keep it from flexing. Masonite is as flexible as styrene, cheaper, stronger, and takes screws without splitting, which would be another problem with styrene. I like Rex's idea about cutting off the shy and then gluing the reamaining part of the backdrop to foamcore or masonite. In retrospect, that was one of my biggest problems with my backdrop and I still don't like the sky transitions even when they are blended with clouds.
 
Secondhandmodeler said:
Thanks for the ideas guys. I would use a photo of the actual location I'm modeling, but things have changed since the 1950's!:) I'm thinking of doing this in the range of 18 to 24 inches. The use of eighth inch Masonite has been brought up before. Is this what you would use? One thing, the backdrop can not be attached to the walls. It has to mount on 1x2's screwed to the bench work. Has anyone ever used a thick styrene?
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Yes, I've used sheet styrene before. In our case it was for a portable exhibition layout where it worked quite well. Basically what we did was create a 16' by 18" strip by splicing 2 8' lengths together and filling/sanding the join. The whole thing could be rolled up and carried with a pair of velcro straps for transport. Once unrolled it was pushed into place along a set of aluminum guide slots which provided enough pressure to keep the whole thing in tension. Voila, one long, curved, seamless, lightweight, and easily portable back scene.

If you are building a permanent (ie non portable) layout, then UP2CSX's suggestion of masonite is probably a better and more economical route.

Just a suggestion for sourcing large amounts of styrene sheet, is to go to a industrial plastics supplier or sign manufacturer. We used to get 4 by 8 sheets of 1/8" for around $15. A lot cheaper than the LHS.
 
I followed the same route as Rex, using tempered 1/8" Masonite, 24" high, mounted on a series of 1x2 uprights attached to the back of the layout. In the area of my city scene, I painted my own sky and clouds, then added some of Scenic Express' urban photos with the sky portion cut away.

Jacksboro9992c.jpg


For the rural portion of the layout I painted the skyboard, added some mountain photos of my own and then ran the scenery right up to it.

Yard01a.jpg


NYW&B
 
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Wow, nice looking stuff guys!
I agree with Jim, masonite or similar board is the way to go.
Has anyone tried these yet: http://www.sceniking.com/
I just started with the lower helix access, looks great!
Pics to follow...
 
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NYW&B, you've got to post some more pictures. That is some fine looking work you've done on your layout.

Rico, I haven't seen the Scale King backdrops in person but they look good in the pictures and the prices are pretty reasonable.

Andrew, very novel way to do a portable backdrop. Was it just painted or did it have anything glued to it? I'm just wondering how you kept everything on when it was rolled up.
 
UP2CSX said:
NYW&B, you've got to post some more pictures. That is some fine looking work you've done on your layout.

Rico, I haven't seen the Scale King backdrops in person but they look good in the pictures and the prices are pretty reasonable.

Andrew, very novel way to do a portable backdrop. Was it just painted or did it have anything glued to it? I'm just wondering how you kept everything on when it was rolled up.
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It was just painted with rattle cans. First a coat of a strange pale blue that looked totally wrong until it dried. Something one of the lads found at Michaels. After that we blitzed it with cans of flat white and pale gray to give the impression of a hazy semi-overcast day with a bit of blue showing through. Just wish I could find a pic of the old layout.
 
How would a person go about using one of their own photos? Do you take it to a Kinkos or something? I don't think my camera has the ability to take a panoramic shot. Anyone have any experience with this stuff?

Nice shots CNJ!;) I hope to do a tenth as nice as yours.
 
Secondhandmodeler said:
How would a person go about using one of their own photos? Do you take it to a Kinkos or something? I don't think my camera has the ability to take a panoramic shot. Anyone have any experience with this stuff?

Nice shots CNJ!;) I hope to do a tenth as nice as yours.
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just check out perfectposters.com

you will have to crop the pics to panoramic yourself before you upload them
 
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