Want a terrific backdrop

[Anonymous]

My adopted campaign to improve the hobby is the issue of quality backdrops. For most guys, the only "art" they knew when going to school was a guy named Art. For me, for a backdrop to look believable, it has to be good. Many many guys don't complete their backdrop because quite frankly they are intimidated about it. Your backdrop should be installed early on in the layout's life, either just after the benchwork goes up or your track work is completed.

Instead you will see layout after layout that have been around for a decade or more without a backdrop. If you talk to the owner of the layout, he will say he is going to install his backdrop "some day."

Or if you have visited many layouts, I know you have seen some pretty bad backdrops. The guy who only knew Art - the guy in school - should have accepted that perhaps his talent didn't lay in painting scenery. There is no disgrace in saying that you don't have a talent in a certain area and instead turn to other quality options. Photo backdrop options are slowly opening up. Below is a link I am providing you to a guy who started to fool around with his digitral camera creating some awesome looking backdrops.

Some say that backdrops shouldn't be too realistic that the realism detracts from the layout. To this I say - "Good grief man, have you ever stopped following movie because of the backdrop?" A backdrop sets the tone for quality, provides a mood and a location, it defines the season and the terrain of the layout.

So check this link out: (there is another link to trainboard if you want to see more, but if you just scroll down the atlas thread you will see photos.)

http://forum.atlasrr.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=43957

[Anonymous]

The backdrop is very nice, And you do make a valid point, However, I am wondering, reading the gentlemens thread that you provided the link for, is the background there physically, or was it added in on the computer. In a couple of shots, he talks about doctoring the shots. Thats why I ask.

[Anonymous]

P.S. The bacdrops are very cool looking I might add.

[Anonymous]

The backdrop he has is a blank wall. He took images and modified them to simulate a backdrop. He has no backdrop as yet installed himself.

[AntonioFP45]

Guys,

Check out this website! For those that have never seen it before I think that you will be impressed! Good quality. [:D][;)]

www.backdropwarehouse.com

A good background adds so much more to a layout.

Hope this helps!

[mondotrains]

Hey Guys,
Last Labor Day, when most people were at the beach or at family picnics, I drove through Hartford, Connecticut and using my digital camera (3.2 megapixels), I photographed dozens of historic buildings, including the Traveler's Tower and the Colt Building. I mention the holiday because it helped to have little traffic, people and cars in the way when I was photographing. Then, I went to Wal-Mart and using their photo Kiosk, enhanced, cropped and then printed 8 x 10 photos. What I like about Wal-Mart is that they use matte finish paper, rather than glossy, for their Kiosk processing. I then fastened the photos to 1/4" thick foam board, available in large sheets at craft stores. I used large glue sticks from "Staples" to attach the photos to the foam board because the glue doesn't bleed through. I found out the "hard way" that Elmer's causes the foam board to warp because it is water-based. I bought the black foam board because the foam inside is black, therefore, once I used my sharp hobby knife to cut out the sky and inappropriate cars, fences etc. from the photos, the edge of the foam which shows is black and provides a somewhat 3-dimensional appearance. I mention this because I previously bought white foam board and then had to paint the edge all around with black acrylic paint.

In my city, elevated behind my yard, I have all sorts of interesting "buildings" against my backdrop. Considering my city scene is only 10" deep, I only had room for one "layer" or row of various 3-dimensional structures, but the photos in the background make it look much deeper. It's also fun to see buildings you're familiar with and visitors to my layout get a kick out of seeing them too. I even have a photo of the Aetna building in Hartford, where I worked for 22 years.

I should tell you that my backdrop is simply masonite painted sky blue. But, with all the photos, it looks real busy. I've even used photos between and behind industrial structures around the layout, including a picture of a factory where I worked in order to finance my college education. The photos work much better than the usual "building flats" which as the phrase implies, look flat. Considering each 8 x 10 photo costs around $3.00, they are an inexpensive approach.

Mondo

[Anonymous]

Mondo,
You can get commercial sky with clouds through Faller and I think Noch (but don't hold me to this company) for around something like $20 for about ten feet of it. After the sky is in, then do what you did.

[mondotrains]

Hi Rick,
Actually, I didn't tell the whole story.....I learned how to paint great clouds myself and therefore, have a beautiful sky with clouds. Next time I may take you up on your idea and just mount an already printed sky backdrop. There are some great ones out there.

Thanks for the tip.
Mondo

QUOTE: Originally posted by rsn48

Mondo,
You can get commercial sky with clouds through Faller and I think Noch (but don't hold me to this company) for around something like $20 for about ten feet of it. After the sky is in, then do what you did.

[DonaldAgne]

As AntonioFP45 mentioned above, BackdropWarehouse is a THE place to buy a ready-made backdrop. That's where I bought mine, and I love it. Their products are printed on sturdy paper, and the variety of scenes is outstanding. The only problem is that they are quite expensive; and for those of you who are building a giant around-the-wall layout, the cost might be prohibitive. The backdrop for my little layout (which can be seen if you click the "Web" button below) cost $180, but it was worth it.

[Anonymous]

Painting a Basic Skybackdrop is actually fairly easy if you follow simple directions by the master ,Dave Frary!!
He did an article in Model railroader awhile back on a simple technique for an easy (heavy on the easy)skybackdrop with a wispy cloud effect.No big fluffies here,just a hazy white streaked kind of cloud effect.Its simple and looks very good for those of us who never even heard of Art let alone sat next to him.
2 quarts of paint (1 blue and 1 white) will do a couple miles of 18" high backdrop.
Ricks done a great job with his Faller? backdrops as ive seen the pics and they are not only a great look but quite cost effective.A bit more than the frary method overall but if you want a cumulous cloud effect a great way to go.

I used Backdrops from another sourse that were inexpensive and cut out all the buildings and placed on my own painted backdrop.it seems to add more depth this way and eliminates variations in sky colorations on the printed scenes..

[Anonymous]

Don,
I dearly wanted backdrop warehouse offerings for my layout, but to be honest, it was too expensive for me. I'm in Canada so not only do I have to deal with the high price, but then I have to add more money due to the difference in Can/Am dollar. I have about 65 feet up of Faller's that I ended up using. Of course to get 65 feet, you have to order more as there are odd spots where you don't use the whole photo material.

Even using Faller's which is relatively cheap, I estimate my backdrop, including masonite for the backstop, screws and glues, modge podge for glue (slower setting time), the actual backdrops, two types of sprays a paper fixative and a matte finish (to dull the shine when using a flash camera), it cost me close to $400.

For me the only negative is the seams, but I'd rather live with a "seam" problem than a bad backdrop with no seams.

[CBQ_Guy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rsn48

For most guys, the only "art" they knew when going to school was a guy named Art.

Rick, in my school we also had Jim (gym) and a John! [:D]

Speaking of backdrops, Green Frog video has a new one out on using the photo mural types like those available from Backdrop Warehouse.. They also have an existing one in their catalog on painting a backdrop.

http://ss02.lynk-systems.com/greenfrog/html/product441.html

There is another photo mural type company selling their backdrop, I believe a Canadia(e)n outfit but can't find the book mark!

New London industries, the cloud stencil company, has a video on building/painting a "cyclorama" type backdrop and techniques for using their stencils.

http://cloudman.home.texas.net/

Finally, I know some of the Allen Keller videos have segments showing backdrop work. The main one I recall is Doug Tagsold showing how he incorporates actual photos on his layout backdrop.

http://www.allenkeller.com/GMR33.htm

N'joy!

[Anonymous]

Hello Rick.

Just an add on to all that has already been written re. backdrops ;

If you do use the Faller type of printed sky try the following as an experiment, mount a small amount of the sky paper roll on a suitable mounting board painted BLACK. You should end up with a very interesting stormy sky as the background board colour affects the Faller product.

Spits

[cwclark]

well speak'in of backdrops..that's where i'm at on my layout right now....spent all evening yesterday painting clouds ..my wife said it looked fine but i thought they looked like a kindergardener painted them...It frustrated me so much i couldn't sleep last night so i got up early this morning and repainted the wall blue before going to work and will start all over tonight...gonna try the stencil method with homemade cloud stencils...I can't and won't give up!

[mondotrains]

[Hey Chuck,
When I heard you say you had difficulty painting clouds, I just had to contact you because I had the same problem. I'll try to explain how I managed to paint great looking clouds.
The problem I initially had was trying to prevent them all from looking the same. I took a railroad book and looked at the cumulous clouds in the pictures and drew various sizes and shapes on plain white paper. I made probably around 20 different clouds of varying sizes. Then I cut each cloud out and put a piece of masking tape folded over on the back of each cloud so they could be stuck temporarily on my blue sky backdrop. I kept rearranging the paper clouds on the backdrop until I was satisfied that I had enough variation and liked the realative position of the clouds relative to the skyline and each other.

Now for the painting: I traced around each paper cloud with a light wash of white acrylic paint (probably 50/50 paint to water) ...just enough to get the outline. Once all clouds in an area were traced, I removed the paper clouds and began the actual painting. I used white acrylic paint, full strength. I use Delta Ceramcoat which you can get at craft stores...it's only about 99 cents for a 2 oz. bottle. Use a brush around 1inch wide and just fill in the clouds within the tracings with round, sweeping strokes. I had a little bit of light grey paint handy to mix in and to give the round swirls a little depth. You'll be surprised how easy this is. Again, with this approach, you get the chance to position and vary the clouds with the paper cut-outs before any painting begins.

Let me know if you try it and how it works out for you. By the way, I really liked your favorite quote from the Bible you had in your profile.

Regards,
Mondo

quote]Originally posted by cwclark

well speak'in of backdrops..that's where i'm at on my layout right now....spent all evening yesterday painting clouds ..my wife said it looked fine but i thought they looked like a kindergardener painted them...It frustrated me so much i couldn't sleep last night so i got up early this morning and repainted the wall blue before going to work and will start all over tonight...gonna try the stencil method with homemade cloud stencils...I can't and won't give up!

[Anonymous]

CBQ guy,
I'm embarrassed as the "Canadian guy" is local, here in Vancouver. I know on his site he has a link to backdropwarehouse, but they don't have a link to him. He has some good stuff and is cheaper, especially with American dollars that back...house. I used to have his site bookmarked but in a hard drive format, you can guess what happened to his link.

I liked the link you gave to greenfrog and I have book marked it. I'll probably flog it over at the Atlas N forum.

The more guys get interested in photo backdrops the more choices we will have and I'm convinced the prices will start to drop once there is some genuine competition. Right now there is very little competition out there.

[CBQ_Guy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rsn48


The more guys get interested in photo backdrops the more choices we will have and I'm convinced the prices will start to drop once there is some genuine competition. Right now there is very little competition out there.

I'd like to see the "cartoon" drawn backdrops that Walthers sells be updated with actual photos or something a LOT more realistic looking.

I think there's a whole market out there that could be exploited and brought to the market place. Maybe some type of system where various backdrop scenes and buildings could be interlocked, mixed and matched, somehow. Sort of like DPM parts but realistic looking backdrop scenes instead.

Oh well, just thinking out loud...

[philnrunt]

CBQ guy, would it be like a foamboard with various scenes,buildings, landscapes etc with common interlocking edges like a big jigsaw puzzle? With mix and match, you could slap up a backdrop in no time, and, with enough forethought in attaching it to the background,could re-arrange it at will!
Ya know, this could work!

[AntonioFP45]

DonaldAgne,

Went to your website. It's not an exaggeration: Your scenery is TOP OF THE LINE! [:D][:)]Great attention to the big and small details. All of those pictures are very helpful for guiding modelers in layout scenicking, regardless of scale.[;)][8)][:)][:D][4:-)][C=:-)][C):-)][swg][tup]

Has your layout been featured in Model Railroader magazine?

Great job!

[mondotrains]

Hi,
You're on the right track. Please look at my post above (mondotrains) where I detail how to use actual photos as you're thinking. The pictures don't need common interlocking edges as you suggested. All you need to do is place photos of more distant buildings in the back and more close-up photos in the front, thus providing depth perception.
Hope this helps.
Mondotrains

QUOTE: Originally posted by philnrunt

CBQ guy, would it be like a foamboard with various scenes,buildings, landscapes etc with common interlocking edges like a big jigsaw puzzle? With mix and match, you could slap up a backdrop in no time, and, with enough forethought in attaching it to the background,could re-arrange it at will!
Ya know, this could work!

[CBQ_Guy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by philnrunt

CBQ guy, would it be like a foamboard with various scenes,buildings, landscapes etc with common interlocking edges like a big jigsaw puzzle? With mix and match, you could slap up a backdrop in no time, and, with enough forethought in attaching it to the background,could re-arrange it at will!
Ya know, this could work!

I suppose. Maybe there's some way to do it like the old "Color Forms" toy scenes where the very thin material actually sticks to the wall and the backdrop itself. Actually, you've given it more thought so far, than I have!

Maybe a generic type, basic backdrop for different areas of the country, sort of like those ones that Walthers has with the mountain scene, country scene, desert, scene, etc., and somehow a transition from one to another. But there would basically be no structures or vehicles painted on, except maybe WAAAAAY in the back where it's almost unnoticeable.

Then various buildings, vehicles from past and present eras, maybe even flat-back trees and shrubs, in a variety of sizes for various scales or for forcing perspective, could be made available and stuck on the backdrop wherever you want.

I'm talking actual photos, though, not the drawn on Walthers type, which I earlier refered to as "cartoon" type.

[philnrunt]

Mondotrains... I should have made sure CB&Q guy had read your post too, you seem to have a fine deal going there.
What I was thinking of was your cutouts, with the interlocking edges, and pictures of scenery ( trees, woods, forests, mountains, etc.) that could fill out the buildings. You could even have blank ones for the modeler to add local pics. Your own house, family, whatever you wanted!
Of course, using your cutouts alone, attaching them to a commercial backdrop, would produce a unique look also.
I'm starting a new layout in a few months, if I give this a try I'll let you know how it works out for me.
CB&QGuy- A t-storm rolled thru, knocked out the power here at work, so I had nothing but time to think about it! I remember Colorforms, maybe that would be worth thinking about awhile. Hope another storm rolls thru soon!

[CBQ_Guy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by philnrunt

CB&QGuy- A t-storm rolled thru, knocked out the power here at work, so I had nothing but time to think about it! I remember Colorforms, maybe that would be worth thinking about awhile. Hope another storm rolls thru soon!

"It's more fun to play...the Colorforms way."
(Old 1960's era commercial jingle.)

[DonaldAgne]

AntonioFP45,

Thanks for the kudos[bow] MR is considering doing a spread on my DDW, but most of the pictures I've sent them are not quite magazine quality. Also need to come up with a story line. Working on it.

Thanks, again[:)]