I had originally thought I would paint my backdrop but lately I've been thinking otherwise - I'm leaning toward high quality photo backgrounds.
I know there are a lot of backdrop sites out there, and I've visited several and looked around. I'm curious what others think are the best backdrop sites?
I've been looking at https://railroadbackdrops.com lately and I think they have several scenes that will work for me.
I've looked on https://www.sceniking.com as well and they seem to have some good things too.
I'm looking at ~ 36" tall and need to cover approx 35 LF. Scenes will obviously be blended due to the length.
Andy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Milwaukee native modeling the Milwaukee Road in 1950's Milwaukee.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/196857529@N03/
Of the sites I've visited so far, the railroad backdrops site seems to have the nicest product. Appears to be very durable. But I would use the peel and stick method and at $265 for an 8' run x ~ 36' ....
The price is enough to have me rethinking just buying a few shades of blue and painting a sky myself. Obviously, if I want to add thin-profile buildings along the edge later that is easy to do, but what if I actually find some sort of printed scene that I like? Is it possible to add a printed scene on top of a flat latex paint at a later date? I'm trying to go the path of least resistance here, and leave myself options for later if I stumble on something...
A price of $265 for an 8' run is pretty nutty. I realize large photo backdrops aren't cheap but I think I'd be shopping around to see if there is something that would work for substantically less.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
I don't think you'll have a problem adhering a printed scene to a painted wall.
3-M makes some "industrial grade" spray adhesives found in the harware stores, small and big box, and wall paper adhesive as come along way.
Show us some pics as you make progress. I handpainted most of my backdrop, even added painted details to the backdrop prints that I used.
If you want to take a look, go to my YT channel.
Mike.
My You Tube
Keep in mind that you can 'mix and match' paint and sections of these backdrops, but you need to mix paint carefully to match the print, or be prepared to repaint to match.
It should be little different to put one of these backdrops up over paint than to apply a 'premium' wallpaper to a painted wall. Accordingly I'd think about NOT using peel 'n stick/contact paper but a good wallpapering 'system' to prep the surface and apply any sections of backdrop.
There have been some good articles and posts here about making a proper sky -- the colors and gradient are not what you might expect, there's an art (no pun intended... really!) to making believable weather effects, and you need to pick colors relevant to present or prospective light sources. What you might consider is spray-painting these (safely outdoors, probably) into large sheets of paper or film and then attaching, squeegeeing, etc. as if it were wallpaper. You could collage some buildings, distant effects, or scenery on this before putting it up... anything you don't want to have to paint vertical or over benchwork later. If the collage is well-glued and then finish-coated with something like damar/Kamar varnish you could easily 'paper over it' as above with little likelihood of bubbles or separation later.
Remember the trick described here of using a 'radius' of something like thin bendable board to turn inside corners, and adjust lighting in these to hide the change in direction. Outside corners require a bit more ingenuity. You might think about the transition between backdrop and ceiling also being 'curved' as you may see the transition in peripheral vision.
I found a supplier out of England on ebay that did a beautiful job on peal and stick vinyl. A good selection and big runs for way far less than 260 per piece. As soon as i find it in the purchase history i will post the name
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
Type in scenic backdrop. The seller is amandajane. They have increased the selection since i last looked. They even have a sunset now
The YouTuber BArailsystem (https://m.youtube.com/user/BArailsystem/featured) has recently been putting to get a large photo backdrop using a large printer, and some images he took photoshopped into one big image. If I recall correctly the backdrops will be in his recent layout update videos (as in this past falls videos). This technique is good for getting specific backdrops, but I notice it requires an especially big printer (which I’m guessing you don’t have), and a lot of time! So it may not be better than buying the backdrops you mentioned...
Regards, Isaac
I model my railroad and you model yours! I model my way and you model yours!
what would be cool is if there were photo back drops that would stick to the wall but could be removed without tearing apart the picture or rip the paint off the wall, sort of like some commerical stick on pictures. Maybe with a post-it note type adhesive? Does such a thing exist?
Agreed. Super stickiness would not seem to be a high priority for a MRR backdrop.
- Douglas
Velcro. Put strips or pieces of either the male or female half on the back of the photo, and the mate on the wall.
Try trainjunkies.com, they look pretty good.
They do look good.
https://www.trainjunkies.com/
Try 3M command poster strips maybe?
Joe Staten Island West
http://www.larcproducts.com/
The LARC site is interesting. Had not encountered that one before. It looks like they might have some things I can use there. They mention peel and stick for the back drops so I need to see how the price compares to the peel and stick offered at railroad back drops dot com...
The Milwaukee Road Warrior Is it possible to add a printed scene on top of a flat latex paint at a later date? I'm trying to go the path of least resistance here, and leave myself options for later if I stumble on something...
Is it possible to add a printed scene on top of a flat latex paint at a later date? I'm trying to go the path of least resistance here, and leave myself options for later if I stumble on something...
Hello. No, it is not possible to add a printed scene on top of latex paint. You can watch RailroadBackdrops web site, section "installing backdrops". There is paragraph "What adhesive do you recommend using to install your model railroad backdrops?", and there is warning in this paragraph not to glue their backdrops on surface, covered with latex paint.
Thank you for you first post. I didn't know about this manufacturer (RailroadBackdrops).