This is one of your pictures.
How did you build the hills so that they stand off the backdrop by what appears to be an inch or so? Any details on how you pulled it off whithout messing up the backdrop would be appreciated.
Anyone who has done something similar feel free to chip in.
Rick
I don't know how he did his but I carved foam and test fit until it was what I wanted and then used plaster cloth to wrap it and then zip textured the surface. Caulked it in place and then did any other scenery work. In some areas I tapered the top back a bit to give the illusion of the downside of a hill. Once on another layout I put one very thin mountain in front of another, total depth end up being about 1 1/2" overall, very effective.
rrebell I don't know how he did his but I carved foam and test fit until it was what I wanted and then used plaster cloth to wrap it and then zip textured the surface. Caulked it in place and then did any other scenery work. In some areas I tapered the top back a bit to give the illusion of the downside of a hill. Once on another layout I put one very thin mountain in front of another, total depth end up being about 1 1/2" overall, very effective.
Any pictures, under construction or finished?
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
I did mine against a wall.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I taped pieces of printer paper on the wall. The mountain has a back to it and the rest of the skeleton of the carboard webbing is attached to it.
hbgatsfThis is one of your pictures.
You're right, it is one of my photos, but it is somewhat deceptive. The first photo, more-or-less in the coved corner (1/8" Masonite hardboard) is actually about 16" from the backdrop...
...while this area, where the road and stream disappear (the latter not yet done) is about 4" from the backdrop...
...and this one is only 2" from the backdrop...
I'm going to take a few more photos that will better illustrate how things were done in that corner, and will add them here, as soon as I can.
Cheers,
Wayne
I'm afraid that the additional photos aren't going to add much in the way of enlightenment. I slid open the sliding doors under this portion of the layout, then layed down on my back and slid onto the plywood surface (used to keep stored items off the concrete basement floor).I hung a trouble light on the layout's framework, then pointed the camera upwards...
This photo shows some of the plaster-on-screen, along with some random scrap wood which supported the plaster as it hardened, and you can also see some of the room's drop-ceiling...
...this one shows part of an upright that supports the cut-out 3/4" plywood roadbed (along with the plaster-on-screen)...
...and a couple more views of scrap-wood supporting the plaster-on-screen (which will eventually have a bunch of "tree trunks" sticking through the plaster, too).
Pretty-well all of the layout has storage space under it...some of it is locomotives and rolling stock, others are scenery items, and, of course, the power for running the trains. There's also household items (Christmas stuff, outdoors summer items, tools, and toys for visiting grandchildren.
Because the plaster is strong and well-supported, it will be useful for leaning on while planting trees, as it requires a bit of a stretch.
Sorry that there's not much of interest to be seen.
Thanks for all of the tips and suggestions.
Brent - I went back a looked at your Cliff Face thread. I do like the idea of using the boxes to protect the backdrop but I am more familiar with making hills using hydrocal over lattice or screen so that is the method I will use.
Wayne - I would never have guessed that your hills were that far from the backdrop. I had focused on the very left side of the photo I posted that looks like it is only an inch or so. I thought you had used lattice or screen; I was thinking you had attached it to the backdrop and then went up to a peak before coming back down. Thanks for all of the pictures.
You're correct about the distance on the lefthand side, but the rest of the gap was likely much further away from the backdrop, simply because it was too much of a reach from the dead-end aisleway. A couple of years ago, I purchased a gadget (I think that's it's called a "top-side creeper") that will allow me to rest my torso on a padded cushion while adding scenery details that would otherwise be out-of-reach.
It will require that the bottom fascia is temporarily removed (like in the picture below) so that the wheeled gadget can be pushed into place, with the upper portion of it projecting well over the layout, permitting much easier reach than would otherwise be available.
If I can figure out how to assemble it, I'll try to include a photo (only if it works, though).
Topside creeper as sold by Micromark:
If you look around via Google, you can probably get the same item less expensively.
It also appears the the name topside creeper has become generic, like kleenex. If you Google that term you get a bunch of different flavors.
Thanks for that picture, Maxman. That looks very similar to the one I have (which I've not yet assembled).I hadn't thought of it before, but that may also be useful when I have time to start developing the partial upper level of my layout. I originally used a step ladder to get onto the deepest portion of the upper level, as laying the track was almost at the backdrop, which was out-of-reach from the ladder. It was lucky that I'm not big and heavy, as I was a little concerned about the strength of the benchwork, as the cross-members are 1"x2"s (while the front and rear members are 1"x4"s).