It is about that time for me to paint my facia and would like so see some examples and opinions as to why that color was chosen.
I wanted a shadow box effect and earth tone, so went with dark brown for the facia and valance. The facia isn't as dark as it appears in the photo.
Regards, Peter
My reasons...
I like green.
The color works well with the general overall scenery palette for the prototype.
Green looks dignified.
Green looks official.
That said. I would prefer a different shade, a bit darker, if I were granted a do-over..
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
My facia and valence are black as is the ceiling over the aisle. The walls are a dark green.
Why black ? Well, the facia isn't part of the scenery, so I don't want to see it. Black makes it disappear.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
I have to vote for the dark facias. It focuses the eye on the scene. However, I would have to have some lighting where the control panels and other facia related details are. I don't seem to do too well in the dark.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Mark's comments brought something else to mind about why green works well for me. Green is a lot like black once you start ignoring it. Sometimes with a fascia, it's got to be right in the middle of things, so black may be too severe. My layout is a no-lix design, although there is a part that is doubledecked. The advantage of green is that it blends in better with the foilage that surrounds it under these circumstances than black would. So double-decking and such might change your calculus, where you hjave sceenry both above and below the fascia.
I like green because it blends with the scenery and unlike black,green is warm to the eyes..
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
In theory, the colour shouldn’t really matter, as long as with any good “frame” the eye is led to the subject, which is also enhanced.
I read some years ago that the eyes is like a camera lens,they focus on the main subject while overlooking the details of the scene.
BRAKIE In theory, the colour shouldn’t really matter, as long as with any good “frame” the eye is led to the subject, which is also enhanced. I read some years ago that the eyes is like a camera lens,they focus on the main subject while overlooking the details of the scene.
If Your modeling skills are'nt that great...you paint your facia ''pink''
Mines semi gloss black, like the control panels with white track diagrams on them.
Take Care!
Frank
My home and club layout facias are Hunter Green because we believe people look at the layout instead of the facia if it's a dark color. Too bright a color detracts from the layout.
I'm with Mike and Larry on the dark green. Not sure exactly what color... it was something someone had mixed a t Home Depot and then not taken, so I picked it up for a song ($5 for a gallon of Behr interior flat latex, IIRC). It looks like Mikes, although perhaps a little darker.
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
I stain and polyurethane the benchwork wood, using "Early American" stain. I use 2-inch foam, set behind the front face 1 inch deep, so that there's an inch above the benchwork. Then I round off the edge so the scenery "rolls" into the front face of the benchwork.
I mount my control panels below the benchwork. I use white "shower liner" plastic-coated hardboard for the panels, framed with wood. The panel frames mount to the back side of the benchwork with screws for easy removal.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
CTValleyRR I'm with Mike and Larry on the dark green.
I'm with Mike and Larry on the dark green.
Rich
Alton Junction
I used Sherwin Williams, Grays Harbor #6236 in Satin finish. This is a darker than medium gray color. Gray is a neutral and blends with everything so you don't hardly look at it except for diagrams and toggels but yet the edges are a finished product. Doug
I paint mine black. But forrest green looks good too.
I went with British Racing Green (which is a similar shade to Forrest Green) in Semi Gloss.
I am able to attach my Town Signs - Industry Signs etc with Double Faced Tape and still able to remove them if I need to change the sign!
As I am doing Western Pa - with lots of Green Trees - The Green Fascia compliments the Green Trees and seems to carry the Western PA Green look to the edge of the Layout!
BOB H - Clarion, PA
I like using a color that picks up something out of the scenery, usually something dark.
My current layout uses a sagebrush green.
Rob Spangler
Dark green for me, it complements the scenery.
I had always assumed I favored very dark fascia colors, such as black or the dark "CTC panel" green that seems so popular now, but in photos and videos the light neutral gray of Jack Burgess's Yosemite Valley layout seems totally unobtrusive and very effective. I no longer recall the western themed layout that used a sandy beige for its fascia and it too was unobtrusive and effective and a light color. Tony Koester published an article on fascia styles and colors in MRP some years ago which is where I think I saw that beige fascia. If I recall right their theory was that a layout without trees should not have a green fascia.
By contrast I have found the red fascia used by the Model Railroader staff on their Wisconsin & Southern adjunct to the MR&T to be utterly distracting. I had read of modelers who have more than one prototype on their layout and used fascia colors to indicate this, and I assume that is what the MR fellows were trying out on their WSOR layout, but perhaps that is a better theory than practice. I had briefly toyed with a layout that would feature a C&NW and Milwaukee Road interchange, and thought that orange+black and yellow+green fascias would make plain to visitors and operators whose track was whose. Seeing the red WSOR fascia photos convinced me that was not a good idea, and the layout idea never came to fruition anyway.
The take away is that perhaps the distinction is not really between dark and light colors but rather to prefer tones and shades that are calming and neutral and avoid grabbing the eye such as primary colors --and absolute white -- tend to do. Rule of thumb: if it is a color used on national flags, banners at auto dealers, or children's cereal boxes, avoid it for fascias. If it is used for doctor's office waiting room furniture, military vehicles, and business computer cases, it is probably OK.
One could argue that the frames and matting used for artwork and photographs have much in common with layout fascia. If there are professional art framers on this forum it might be interesting to hear their insights.
Dave Nelson
dknelsonOne could argue that the frames and matting used for artwork and photographs have much in common with layout fascia. If there are professional art framers on this forum it might be interesting to hear their insights. Dave
I agree..
What a interesting thought..
Black can work quite well on double deck layouts as well ....
Ultimately, all comes down to personal taste ....
Always personal choice but most don't want to redo it. I never thought of black before doing this research. Was toying with the idea of a brown to match my basic ground color but really like the black look. After looking at stuff I am leaning towards black or very dark green.
dknelsonI had always assumed I favored very dark fascia colors, such as black or the dark "CTC panel" green that seems so popular now, but in photos and videos the light neutral gray of Jack Burgess's Yosemite Valley layout seems totally unobtrusive and very effective. I no longer recall the western themed layout that used a sandy beige for its fascia and it too was unobtrusive and effective and a light color. Tony Koester published an article on fascia styles and colors in MRP some years ago which is where I think I saw that beige fascia. If I recall right their theory was that a layout without trees should not have a green fascia.
Dave,
Yes, an important point here. Fascia color often works well when it really depends on the overall color scheme to a great degree. Rob's picture illustrates this well.
And Mark's right, black can work with double deck, especially when you are doing the shadow-box thing. In my case, I'm trying to blend things that my no-lix doesn't quite have enough space to transition more subtly, so I want something to blur that as best possible. As you say, it's also a matter of taste. In fact, I can think of several layouts that I might build where black would work.
But if someone is uncertain where to start, take how the example here work and complement each other and size up what you intend. This can be tough to do. Maybe order some trees and ground foam and consider what the color scheme will be when you get that far.
On the other hand, paint is paint. If things aren't too complex, consider painting up a test section and see how it sets for a few months as you see it over a longer term..
I'm in the dark neutral camp. After a couple of experiements, I settled on a leather brown for mine. To me solid black becomes to jarring to the eye and the standard pine tree green is too bright. The brown seems to be a color the eye just doesn't "see" and therefore disappears. I also like the arguement, put forth by, I think, Tony Koester and Dave Barrow that the fascia should be a bit darker, but in the same family as the primary scenary so that it disappears into the background "noise".
Where I can see the black working well is in a shadow box type arrangement where the layout is the only thing lighted in the room and then everything else disappears.
jmbjmb I'm in the dark neutral camp. After a couple of experiements, I settled on a leather brown for mine. To me solid black becomes to jarring to the eye and the standard pine tree green is too bright. The brown seems to be a color the eye just doesn't "see" and therefore disappears. I also like the arguement, put forth by, I think, Tony Koester and Dave Barrow that the fascia should be a bit darker, but in the same family as the primary scenary so that it disappears into the background "noise". Where I can see the black working well is in a shadow box type arrangement where the layout is the only thing lighted in the room and then everything else disappears.
Our Club was undecided as to what color to paint the fascia!
The Fascia was made of 1/8" Masonite and curved around the edges opf the layout.
We had left it the natural BROWN for a few years as we finished up other parts of the Layout!
While we all seemed to feel the look of the BROWN was OK!
We were still torn between the Hunter Green and a BROWN that was close to what the Masonite was (which was a medium to Light Brown.
We finally decided to just paint the Fascia Hunter Green and if the members didn't like the color we would repaint it!
Once the Members saw the Green - they were all for it!
We did nothing other then paint the Fascia Green - The Scenery was done in Autumn Colors (which would dictate a Brown Fascia Color)
BUT once the Green was on the Fascia - there was such a changed look to the layout.
When we looked at it now the Green Fascia seemed to make us look at the Autumn Trees instead of the old BROWN Fascia!
So don't be in a rush to paint a fascia a certain color
Get some of the mini cans of paint and try different colors
You might not like any of them that you pick!
But at least your are not out a Gallon of paint!
Basic scenery is all done, many final scenes done too (except for some added detail).
If you already have bare Masonite installed but are unsure what color to paint it, you can take a photo of your layout and alter the color of the fascia in photo editing software to see how different colors will look.
Use the Magic wand tool to mask off the fascia. You'll probably have to click in a few different areas to get it all. Make sure the Add to Mask option is selected.
Once it's all masked off, completely desaturate the Masonite so that it's all gray. You may need to brighten it a little if it's dark.
Add a new layer and use the Fill tool to fill the fascia area with your color of choice. It's going to be one solid color with no shadows, so set the blend mode for this layer to Overlay so that shadows and highlights will show through. You can create a new layer for each color.
(This isn't my layout, BTW.)
Steve S
Steve,Thanks for posting that.
As a observation the first thing I notice when I looked at photos the was the black..To my eye the green blends in and is less noticable...
I have found an earth tone works well, unless you go out of the box and hit it wout of the park with the WSOR red like MR did! The facia does set the tone (no pun intended) of the layout; and if you are modeling a particular railroad with a identifying color (like WSOR) it can really set off the layout!
I model the MKT in green & yellow, and neither color works well in this instance. That is why I used a earthtone.