I just had a few more questions about masonite:
1. How do I bend it so it will stay on the layout? I will screw it into 1x2s behind the table.How tight can I expect to get a radius and how to measure?
2. Since the table isn't attached to the wall, how to prevent it from tipping?
3. What type of paint is necessary to get a backdrop? I don't want to spend the $$ on 1/2g HD paint when there might be cheaper options. I want to capture something like the link shows of Roanoke, which is close to my fictional town. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.virginiaridge.com/images/mountain_view.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.virginiaridge.com/&h=277&w=412&sz=15&hl=en&start=3&um=1&tbnid=8-sK0AHHi3xygM:&tbnh=84&tbnw=125&prev=/images%3Fq%3Droanoke%2Bmountain%2Bview%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN
TIA!
Lee
1. I cut two plywood triangles for the corners. One layed flat on the table at the bottom, and the other went flat at the top of the framework. I had already cut an 18" radius into the front edge of these ply pieces. I laminated 2" foam to the plywood to increase the glueing surface. Then I cut the foam to the same radius as the ply, and added 3 vertical 1 X 2's along the inside face.
I pushed the masonite into these frames and clamped it along the edges as much as possible, then used white glue and HO track nails to fasten it in place. My backdrop is 24" high so the masonite was a little stiff. I sprayed the back of the masonite with water to help bend it. The water makes it expand on the back side causing it to bend forward.
2. It will be surprisingly heavy. I let mine rest on the layout table and fastened it to the wall with long #8 wood screws. Or, you could fasten the 1 X 2 frame to the back of the table. It doesn't take as much fastening as one would think since the corners add a lot of stability.
3. You can touch up seams and so on with spackle and do a little fine sanding. I suggest priming the masonite with latex white for primer, but you could use most any light color primer paint I think.
Some paint their backdrop with a brush and latex house paint and others prefer to spray paint. Some even use spray cans. This is your preference based on what you are comfortable with. Try a search on this forum for "backdrop painting" and you should get some good tips. I wouldn't use anthing with gloss.
That's a beautiful scene on your link and it should give you a very enjoyable and worthwhile goal.
-Bill