Which backdrop material would you choose?

[Anonymous]

I am comming close to the backdrop installation stage of my N scale layout, but I'm not sure which material to choose. The layout is made of shelf board, so it's only 12" deep and goes around a medium sized room. So far I'm considering 1/8 wall board or styrene sheets. I haven't been able to locate anyone who sells 4'x8' sheets of styrene.
If anyone has advice for either of these two materials or any other, I'd greatly appreciate your input.

[Anonymous]

Some good alternatives are 1/8" Masonite and vinyl flooring. I've also seen some sheets of some kind of plastic in the bath/shower section at Menard's. Not sure what you mean by wall board, but you might want something that is flexible so you can bend it to a fairly large radius for the corners.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info Bill. I ment Masonite for "wallboard", I just couldn't think of that name. I'll most likely use this as it is cheap and extremely durable for my needs. I'm waiting to see if anyone knows of a styrene sheet source before I finalize my choice.
Rene'

[gerryleone]

I've been told by pretty reliable sources that one of the better materials to use for backdrops is 1/8" luan plywood (the stuff they use as underlayment for vinyl floors). It's far more dimensionally stable than masonite and cheaper than styrene.

That being said, I used masonite for mine and after 2 years, no joint cracks. Fingers crossed...

-Gerry