To backdrop or not...


S

steveparkinson

Member
So I'm doing an expansion on my layout and trying to get feedback from others whether I should add a backdrop in the expansion or not.

The expansion consists of 4-5 more tracks being added to the yard on one side and then will have the rest contain industry/sidings etc branching off the mainline as it wraps around the layout. (See photo below to get an idea)

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I'm a little concerned that a backdrop would block out my view of the yard and layout too much and have considered just using natural materials such as buildings and large clumps of trees to create a bit of "distance" between the two.

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Any thoughts or feedback is much appreciated. If I were to add a backdrop what would be the recommended height?

Thanks
Steve


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You mean like a diver backdrop that separates 2 sections?

It's hit or miss. I've seen that look fantastic. I've seen that look really bad. I'm more of a fan of putting a mountain in as a backdrop, even if it's just an oddly placed 2 sides steep cliff. It just looks better in the middle of a layout.
 
Yes sort of to divide two sections.... But it's not really required. I wouldn't mind if I saw the yard in the background of the sidings through trees/behind buildings. I could go either way on it.




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Well then go with a small hill. You could see over the hill to the mountains near the wall, but the hill would block the yard if you were sitting down. You could still see the yard if you were standing up, but it's still a nice barrier between the two. It clearly defines the separation of each side so the yard doesn't bleed into the main line on the left.

And that would look better than a 2D painting.

You make decent looking mountains so this should be a breeze for you.
 
I like the "natural" barrier idea, too. Maybe something like a rock outcropping or something that looks like it would have been too much work to remove so they built the railroad around it.
 
logandsawman said:
I like the "natural" barrier idea, too. Maybe something like a rock outcropping or something that looks like it would have been too much work to remove so they built the railroad around it.
Click to expand...

Or maybe a building of some kind that would work in both scenes. You could even have a building that has 2 different sides. Maybe an office building on 1 side and grain silos on the train yard side. (Use your imagination)

That can be made taller than a subtle hill and not look out of place.

The problem with my hill idea is that you can't make a foot tall mountain. The sides would be super steep on both sides. It would look dumb from the side. To do a hill it would have to be a small hill that would only block the view while sitting down. That might look great if a short barrier gets you what you intend to accomplish. But if you really need a foot high barrier to achieve the look you want, try a building.

(I'm still partial to my hill idea. But the building is another option if it meets your needs better)
 
I will be wrestling with the same issue when I begin scenery on my main yard peninsula and a mainline. I think I will probably be going with a short backdrop with a bit of sky. It will be just high enough to present some sky but low enough to see over for the average height person on either side.
 
Decisions decisions!

Good ideas all around, I like all of them. I may have to see how the expansion goes before deciding which method to use.

I was thinking about some two sided buildings too but this would be for about 15ft of space. Maybe a mixture of buildings, hills and heavy trees.


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Giving it time while you work on other things is always the best option for me. Whenever I have 3 ideas of how to do something I work on something else while continuing to look at the area I'm thinking about modifying and picturing the different options in my head. Sometimes it'll take a couple weeks to make up my mind, but by the time I do I'm usually pretty committed to my decisions.

Also I find I get a lot of other boring work done when I'm contemplating like that! Deciding if my street scene should curve left or curve right allowed me to get all my ballasting work done!
 
Very true, that's the beauty of these forums..... You can ask for advice while you mull it over and see all the possibilities.

Thanks again for the feedback!


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Gives you time to play around with all the ideas suggested too...

Messing around with some lumber and buildings a bit.....

Bench level...

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Eye level....

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