bobbauie@tds.netDo you have any experience with a particular material,
Bob,
I used the same foam board as on the layout top glued to the block wall. My room is in the basement and needed painting and the added insulation was a plus so I killed two birds with one stone.
I am posting a picture to give you and idea of what it looks like. Please excuse the clouds as I am going to redo them.
Bob
Don't Ever Give Up
I use light blue craft paper, held in place with thumb tacks.
Nick
Take a Ride on the Reading with the: Reading Company Technical & Historical Society http://www.readingrailroad.org/
Is this a backdrop that needs to be removable? I ask because you're concerned about the weight. The 1/8" temp masonite although not the lightest of materials always seems to work quite well. If this is to be removed on a regular basis using some of the very lightweight products (styrene, alum coil stock or linoleum/sheet vinyl) can cause troubles due to being so flimsey. Building a frame for attachment will just put the weight back to the origional idea.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
I work in HO and based my backdrop on the article on p. 44 of the 03/2006 MR: .060 styrene strips stapled to the wood frame, then .080 styrene sheet secured to the strips with Weld-On #16 solvent cement (2-3 minute working time; plan carefully!). The cement is very strong, and I'm confident the backdrop will stay up and flat.I did mine in (3) sections: The back (2'x6'), the side (2'x3'), and the coved corner to connect the two. I filled the seams with gap-filling CA, which I built up slowly and sanded smooth. I then followed the Dream, Plan, Build Volume 1 (I believe) tutorial on wet-on-wet painting for sky and clouds using flat latex housepaint. I practiced extensively on masonite before taking the plunge on the styrene for real. I'm no artist, but I'm pleased with the way it turned out.I bought the .080 locally, a 4x8 sheet, for about $40 and the .060 through usplastics.com on the 'Net. USP has great customer service and decent prices. I had the sheet supplier rip the sheet into (2) 2x8 pieces--so my backdrop is 24" high. I would prefer a bit higher, but 24" is fine and saves the hassle and waste that, say, 30" would create.I used modelers' tutorials on backdropwarehouse.com as a guide to make my 1x3 frame and the support pieces for the coved corner. I'm not particularly handy, but I think the completed backdrop looks good.
Rick Krall
EDIT: I originally posted this February 2008 in response to Chadw's thread "Backdrop Materials." It's been over a year since I installed the backdrop and everything's still in place.
Joe Fugate uses the smooth backside of linolium flooring. Here is a HOW-TO video you can download for a few bucks:
http://model-trains-video.com/MTV-0002.php
I really should start charging him a marketing fee :) Jamie
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Sheet styrene worked fine for me. Very smooth and takes acrylic or latex paint well, and makes curved corners if needed. My was mounted on unfinished dry wall, but I know it can also be framed on the back. I got mine at a plastics store in town. I used 4x8 sheets, but I know they can cut it to size as well.
Have fun modeling. Hal
Foam core board is what you need.You can get it at art supply stores,but its kinda spendy. For cheap you could go to an appliancec store and ask for a refridgerator box and cut the cardboard to you dimension and mount your artwork with spray contact cement.
A recent extension yard added to my layout needs a backdrop. The original layout has 1/8 inch hardboard painted with acylics, but I would be happy with a material that weighs less. The ideal material would be 24 inches wide, in 4 foot lengths, and be smooth enough to glue printed paper backgrounds on it....or take artists paints like oils or acrylics. Do you have any experience with a particular material, such as sheet styrene, special art board, heavy paper, etc., that worked well for you and not a budget-buster? What do you recommend? Please help! Thanks in advance. Bob