NEW (?) backdrop idea

[FJ and G]

I saw a really cool backdrop (scroll down just a little):

http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=16424

I asked if he photographed it outside. He replied that he photoshopped it into the picture.

But although you can make fake scenery look real, it is really tough to make a backdrop appear real.

So, I've come up with an idea. Don't know if it's ever been tried before.

Make the backdrop out of acrylic: the whole thing.

Then, using transluscent paint, illustrate the scene. Then light up the backdrop from behind.

Having trouble visualizing what I'm saying?

Just visit the women's cosmetics section of a clothing store (I hang out there sometimes to leer at the chicks). Notice the ads like for Revlon or Chanel#9 which are essentially giant posters lit from behind.

With this method, you would not even need to paint the backdrop. You simply could take a high resolution (low ISO film speed) of a pretty scene and have it enlarged. A bit expensive but you'd get a great scene.

You could even take the idea one step further and place red, green, and blue lights behind the acrylic and adjust each light on a dimmer switch to provide morning thru evening lighting effects.

Dave Vergun

[ndbprr]

You could do it a lot easier if you just projected a slide onto the front with a slide projector. It would be a lot cheaper also.

[MAbruce]

I think that in a few years when high definition flat LCD panels get much cheaper (yeah – I may be dreaming), you can put a string of them together as backdrops. They can then display any backdrop you want, and even vary lighting to simulate different times of the day. The possibilities would almost be endless.

Hey, you can even put on your favorite TV show as you work on your layout! [:P][:D]

[FJ and G]

bruce,

as a bonus, the light from the backdrop would illuminate the layout, minimizing the need for lighting. You'd get a diffused lighting effect, sort of backlit, which is a cool effect.

[jrbarney]

Dave,
There's a thread in the fora somewhere about using Polywall, which is 0.060" thick plastic available in 4' x 8' foot sheets, for backdrops. At that thickness it should be bendable into a curve, and with some skill removing a gore, also coved over at the top. I did a Google, and according to the manufacturer it is available at Home Depot and Loew's. The Home Depot SKU is 179-646, and for Loew's it is 72405. Our local Home Depot doesn't carry it, dang nabit, and a special order would be a truckload. Haven't checked Loew's yet.

Don't yet know how translucent it is and also wondered if I backlit it would the fiber optics for stars show. Needs to be mounted with a gap between it and the scenery so that scenery shadows don't give it away. Looks like a spray job is in order so that it fades to white at the bottom to induce an illusion of distance.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543
P.S. It was in Mike's response to your earlier thread:
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14805