Raised on the Erie Lackawanna Mainline- Supt. of the Black River Transfer & Terminal R.R.
Captain, my Captain,
I guess I belong in camp #1. The curve of the backdrop eliminates (in my opinion) the hard line created by the two vertical planes meeting in the corners. I used 1/8" thick Masonite for my backdrop and have curved it as tight as about a 10" radius. I wouldn't try to go any tighter, or you'll hear a mysterious "Crack" come from your layout a few hours later. Don't ask me how I know.....
Don Z.
Research; it's not just for geeks.
I think I'm in #2 camp, I cove when I can, but if its going to significantly limit the real estate, I will go with a square corner.
Dave H.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Curved backdrops are usually preferrable.
Even if you have a canopy of trees rising up into the corner - this tree canopy wiill meet the horizon which in the prototype still lacks square corners.
Consider the "larger picture" of the railroad mainline scenery merging into the distant backdrop.
To me, living in the middle of the rolling mountaintops of Westcentral Pennsylvania, it is the prototype of "the immediate" that blends into the "far distant horizon," that is to be strived for in the planned backdrop for the CR&T - which is linoleum with the finished side toward the walls.
My primary diorama/backdrop resource is Robert Schleicher's "Scenery for Model Railroads, Dioramas and Miniatures" where he also illustrates 2-3 backdrop layers (ex: immediate then mountaintop then sky) which adds 1-2 backdrop inches to provide a greater forced perspective and depth of horizon:
http://index.mrmag.com/tm.exe?opt=I&MAG=BOOK&MO=7&YR=1999&output=3
Another way to look at your backdrop and layout is to employ Allan McClellend's philosophy from the "Virginian & Ohio" where he used Good Enough Standards as opposed to taking things too quickly, or being a perfectionist.
Conemaugh Road & Traction circa 1956
Capt.,
I didn't wet or dampen the Masonite I used for the backdrop. Since it was only 1/8" thick, it was very flexible. I suppose if I had dampened it, I might have been able to curve it as tight as a 6" radius, but I also think when you start curving the backdrop that tight, it starts to look like a hard corner again. If you want the backdrop to go all the way to your ceiling, maybe you can simply build your benchwork 1 foot higher, or fill the gap between benchwork and backdrop with scenery....rolling hills sloping up from the track to the backdrop. Just a thought...
In this photo, you'll see the tightest curves in my backdrop. All of my backdrop was attached directly to the walls with a small bead of latex caulk adhesive and then I used my brad nailer to attach the backdrop at each stud in the wall. I did float the joints with wall compound and then sanded them before painting my backdrop.
The backdrop photo is an E-Z Kut product from www.backdropwarehouse.com. The left side has been blended into a hillside and I plan on having the area directly in front of the cityscape occupied by an industry.
I'd vote for a curved backdrop.
As I glanced at some of the other posts I didn't see a couple of alternative materials that I have seen mentioned in other threads, that is aluminum roof flashing and sheet styrene. They are both thin and can be easily blended in to whatever you use for your straight sections, if you don't use them for the whole thing. The flashing comes in rolls of various widths, check with your local hardware store or lumberyard. Sheet styrene can be found at sign shops in 4x8 sheets, they'd probably sell you a smaller piece if that was all you needed.
Good luck,
You can also place me in camp #1, although like most "rules" there are exceptions. For example, I have a tricky area on my lower level where there is a doorway and I will need to implement a drop-down gate. Camp #1 protocol would call for the 1/8" Masonite backdrop to curve forward at the spot where the layout shelf "ends" and the gate begins. However, the shelf here is only 11" deep so I can't practically do this. The plan is to use just a regular corner, which will result in a visible corner in the sky. However, I plan on mitigating this by (1) placing a frontboard "shield" vertically across the front of the edge here so that the corner can not be viewed straight on and (2) by obscuring as much of the corner as possible with a vertical structure. As it turns out, at this very spot on the prototype, there is a tall water tower that looks like the one in the picture below (how convenient!).
Also, I know some modelers that forego the curved corner in exchange for more real estate for special scenes, but again some other technique such as a smokestack or water tower is usually employed to hide the corner.
Jamie
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As improbable as it may seem, I've had good results with plain old posterboard. The thicker kind, about 1/16th of an inch thick. I attached it to the wall panneling with double-sided tape and the odd nail here and there. Obviously it's very easy to curve the corners using this material. The finish is a wallpaper that I stumbled across at the local home center; skyblue with clouds.
I have figured out what is wrong with my brain! On the left side nothing works right, and on the right side there is nothing left!
Thanks to the scenic situation I model, I rather doubt that I'll have any visible backdrop at the inside corners of my around-the-wall benchwork. The cedar-covered mountains tower over the railroad, the river and the rather sparse collection of rural structures, and my modeling will be true to that fact - forced-perspective in three dimensions, not painted on a vertical surface.
Actually, if I were to model the actual height of the mountains I'd have to rip the roof off the garage. The peaks would tower over the streetlight at the corner of my property.
Chuck (modeling mountainous Central Japan in September, 1964)
I coved all of the corners in my layout room, both inside and outside corners. One way to get good results is through careful planning when finishing the room. I used 1/2" drywall, applied vertically to take full advantage of the tapered edges for a smooth finish. Anywhere that I planned to cove around a corner or other obstruction, I substituted 3/8" drywall for at least one stud spacing. Then, curve your tape measure around the curve, from the edge of the 1/2" sheet on one wall to that on the other, in a rough approximation of the curve you want. Cut the 1/8" Masonite to that width, then place the piece with the backside of one edge at the juncture of the 1/2" and 3/8" drywall sheets and press the centre towards the corner until the other edge "pops" into place. I drilled clearance holes in the Masonite, and used a countersink on the face to accommodate regular drywall screws, then applied drywall mud and tape as you would for any regular drywall joint. A couple of coats of flat latex "sky" paint finished the job.
Inside corners (the gap is for installation of a second level of the layout, and the un-drywalled area is for access to the power feed for more layout lighting):
Outside corners:
And a few views of what it looks like in a "normal" photo:
(the curve is towards the left edge in the first two pictures and towards the right in the last two)
Wayne
Capt. Grimek wrote:Oh, yeah, I meant to ask in my thread starter post, has anyone had good luck with galvanized sheet metal back drops. It seems like paint adhesion is always tough to achieve with galvanized metal...
I have used "Coil Metal". That is the metal that builders use for bending and covering trim when putting vynal siding on a house. It comes in 18 and 24 inch widths, in a 60 foot roll. It also comes smooth or textured, and one or two different colors, one of which is white. It is painted aluminum and is stiffer than regular flashing. Painting with latex is not a problem. You can also feather it into an existing wall with joint compound. A local building supply place I go to sells it by the foot, but not all places do. If you score it heavy a couple of times with a sharp utility knife, you can bend & break it without distorting the edges.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
I used sheet styrene purchased from a plastics store in town. I glued it over unfinished drywall. I built the usual wood frame for the corners (often described in mags or on this forum) and the styrene sheet made great unbroken curves around the corners. The styrene is easy to paint with bands of different shades of blue latex blended together. Dark blue at the top to lighter degrees of blue to white at the bottom. Very satisfied with the results.
Hal
I prefer curves. Also, I just use the largest "For Sale" type signs I can find at a hardware store, etc.
Made of a very flexible plastic, that is thick enough to be sturdy, etc. The backside is white, so I use that side for paint.
Works great, and you don't need to build some complicated curved framework for doing the same job with masonite, etc.
"Tempered" Masonite has been somehow treated to give the finished side a harder surface, and is not necessary for either backdrops or layout facia. Regular Masonite curves just as well as the tempered variety, and there's no reason to wet it before bending: in fact, it's probably not a good idea to wet it.
Unless you're looking for some special effect, the smooth side should be the visible face. As you can see in my third picture, posted earlier, un-tempered Masonite can be easily bent to a small radius: the one on the layout facia is about 7", and it can be curved even more tightly. However, for a backdrop, try to keep the curve as broad as possible to avoid a shadowed area in the corner.
If you install the Masonite corners as I described earlier, using countersunk drywall screws, it's easy to get a smooth, strong joint using paper drywall tape. I first coat the joint with a generous application of drywall mud (I prefer the pre-mixed stuff), then apply the pre-wetted paper tape over the joint, pressing it into the mud. Apply more mud over the tape, using a medium-width drywall knife, then firmly skim off the excess: the outer extremities of the drywall knife should be resting on the bare wall and Masonite, with the "mudded" area no wider than 6" or so. The biggest mistakes that us amateurs make is to apply too much mud, especially for the first coat, and then, for all coats, "work" it too much. This initial application should be left for a couple of days, or until it's dry completely through and of a uniform colour. I then used medium (150) grit sandpaper on a block of wood to knock off any high spots - there shouldn't be many of those - then apply more mud to any voids or low spots. It sometimes helps to apply the mud to a low area, then dip the knife in water, shaking most of it off, before attempting to smooth an area. Don't overwork this coat - it will dry quickly, as it's thin, allowing you to make further refinements with the next application. Repeat these steps until you're satisfied with the results.
For painting, I applied regular latex drywall primer, followed by one coat of "sky colour". I used three shades of blue, all from the same base, with increasing amounts of white added for the sky as it nears the horizon. This was applied "wet", using a roller, blending the colours where they met the next darkest shade. Obviously, use the roller horizontally, not vertically.
Here's a link to a Layout (room) tour...with lots of photos to give you an idea of how it all turned out.