backdrop, mountain, paneling

[SpaceMouse]

I would do as Selector suggested and use about 1 1/2 of your 2" to form some sort of plater relief be it rock or sceniced hillside. If you are really creative, I do sort of a vertical forced perspective and use a darkening/greying of colors to show distance. Texture is important. If you want to disguise the lack of sace, you want to divert attention away from it. Give your viewer soething to draw their attention like a scene, half-way up, coyotes attacking a deer.

[streettrains]

Going to go with the high mountain range, in my head I hve a vision on how the track use to run here, and my vantage point.. they seemed close to the mountain and the mountains were higher.. hard to describe.. but think it will come out cool....

[selector]

My reply will probably not be useful to you, so I am uneasy offering it. However, I am in that situation on my higher level that passes behind my yard on a 4X8 sheet of 5/8" plywood. The upper main is about 3" from the sky-blue pre-painted wall. For that portion, I will do as we are discussing, adding a small, low berm of plaster hardshell with a few front trees, add moss in behind and in between to fill it out as Joe Fugate urges us to do, and then do my darndest to paint a realistic distant treed horizon and low hilltop setting to meet the sky.

As for how to deal with the yard rear that has the main towering only 8 1/2" nearly overhead, I have elected to make that a natural hillside. So, the yard abutts a steep hillside, and the lower part of the main will actually careen through a tunnel at that point.

I think your LHS fellow is on the right track, and certainly sounds like he means well. But, you might just as well pause here and start looking around for the one or two "eurekas" that will make the difference between "good enough", and "I am sooooooo glad I waited and thought about this a bit more". As my friends are urging, getting ahold of some back issues, or getting a good book on scenery, will most likely be a good investment at this point.

[2c] to be invoiced.

[streettrains]

been awhile since I had a chance to post back to this topic here are some photos of what I am asking about, the first photo the track to the left is actually is
from the lower level coming up...

[reklein]

Heres my attempt to use a cutout for a back drop in front of a window I didn't want to block out for fire escape reasons. The painting is on foam core. The window is covered with a static cling plastic sky sheet from HD.

[ARTHILL]

I have seen some silloette mountains painted in front of more distant mountains painted on backdrops. They still look like painted backdrops, but there is some two demension effects. The skill of the painting still is the key.

[bogp40]

QUOTE: Originally posted by GrandFunkRailroad

I was going by the suggestion of the guy in the LHS ,he was tellingme to do this, piant the base, then start using WS ground foam or any of their scenery products, he seemed to think that also would give a forced persective....

If you haven't seen Dave Frary's 3rd edition scenery book, you should really pick one up. If you don't find it at the LHS contact Dave @ Blue Ribbon Models, PO Box 1234, Forestdale, Ma 02644 or go to [e-mail].I have been doing MR scenery for a while and military modules long before that, but you can always learn some great new techniques. Dave's book has a chapter on backdrops that's exactly what your looking for. One example in particular looks just like the Berkshires which I think your going after.
Bob K.

[streettrains]

I was going by the suggestion of the guy in the LHS ,he was tellingme to do this, piant the base, then start using WS ground foam or any of their scenery products, he seemed to think that also would give a forced persective....

[bogp40]

I believe that using a cutout could look fake even w/ some very good backdrop painting. I would concentrate on painting the horizon/ mountain silouete first. Then airbrush a light grey/ blue to purple combination finished w/ white to haze the backgroung for distance. Some forground trees can be painted on the backdrop, but before doing this, cut a steep foam embankment to lay against the backdrop. this cut will give the perspective and the placement of planted trees as well as painted mid/ forground ones. Some of the smaller painted distant trees may need additional hazing to show depth. The forground foam can be scenicked w/ hillside or rock cut but still allow room for planting of trees. I have done this in as much as 2-2 1/2" of space. The forced perspective really works.
The base color of the mountains would depend on exactly what terrain you are modeling. If tree covered, just take a look at distant hills, try to duplicate the gray green. The gray blue to slight purple can be added later.
Bob K.

[Anonymous]

If you are a subscriber to Model Railroader, you should have recived the 1st preview video of "Dream Plan Build" series. Watch the painting a backdrop and adding color to the backdrop segments. It should help.

For a color of the mountain, I would try WS's Earth Undercoat Liqiud pigments.

Thanks,
Spit

[streettrains]

Some of my mainline runs about 2 t o3 inches from the backdrop, what I was thinking was taking paneling, turn it over, cut it in the shape of mountains and go from there.

My back drop is about 2 ft high, from my perspective, it looks better with a higher mountain range, meaning almost doing maybe foot and half,,.. what do you think?

For the mountain what would be a good base color to start....

thanks

Mike