mlehman rrebell Queston is do I want to buy all that black material to finish it off, have to look into that. I can help with that. It also reminds me I do use black, down below the green fascia, for my layout skirt. What's it made of and about the cheapest price on black material going? Landscape cloth. Yep, dirt cheap, widely available, fairly sturdy, and easy to fabricate with scissors and a little hot glue, etc. There was a tip on doing this in MR a few years back and I just went with it. Works well.
rrebell Queston is do I want to buy all that black material to finish it off, have to look into that.
I can help with that. It also reminds me I do use black, down below the green fascia, for my layout skirt. What's it made of and about the cheapest price on black material going? Landscape cloth. Yep, dirt cheap, widely available, fairly sturdy, and easy to fabricate with scissors and a little hot glue, etc. There was a tip on doing this in MR a few years back and I just went with it. Works well.
I have to second that about using the Landscape Cloth!
You can't get anything cheaper and it works so well!
BOB H - Clarion, PA
rrebellQueston is do I want to buy all that black material to finish it off, have to look into that.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Aside from computer colorizing, pick the two colors you think you'd like and try a patch or two. You'll know which one "turns you on" pretty much right away or at least in a few day's time. There's nothing like the real deal in the real train room to "speak to you" which one is THE one for you.
I've chosen black as I believe in the theater school of "if it's black it's invisible". The only exception for me is desert layouts where for me, a lighter color tan/grey, etc. would be preferred. Any greenery and dark green or black are my past and present choices. Green on the last one, black on this one because there are larger urban area(s).
One patch of green paint (my original choice) and one of black and I knew right away...
Jim
Raised on the Erie Lackawanna Mainline- Supt. of the Black River Transfer & Terminal R.R.
Black is the only color the mind's eye does not see. That's why they paint un-finished ceilings in restaurants black - they don't want you to see it's not finished !
Walk into any room that has a bunch of pictures on the wall - your living room for example. What's the first thing your eye picks up ? - the color of the wall, then you focus in on the pictures, ignoring the color of the wall.
Looking at all the pictures in this thread, including the photo-shopped ones, the first thing that grabs my eye is the color of the facia, not the layout. That wall of solid color grabs my attention first because it is the most predominant color in my initial view. The mind's eye does not see black, so the first things you see is the layout itself.
My layout room is elevated about three feet and is accessed by five steps coming up into the room. With the aisle-way valence and ceiling also painted black, I've had more than a few tall people coming up the stairs extend their hand upward as they are unsure where the actual ceiling is in fear of hitting their head ! The ceiling is at seven feet, but being black, you can't tell where it is !
As for matching the facia color to the scenery, that (to me) then just looks like "unfinished" scenery.
Understand - these are MY observations, not critisizing what anyone else finds appealing. It would be a pretty bland world if we all liked the same thing.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
I used some black constructon paper to make a temporary facia on a section, It dose make it pop and most of my lighting is consintrated on the layout being track lighting. Queston is do I want to buy all that black material to finish it off, have to look into that.
I guess I'm in the minority. I prefer a tan color:
This was on my old layout in New Jersey. I'll be reusing this fascia (with some profile adjustments at the top) on my South Carolina layout. The cutouts are (and will be) for access to hidden track beneath the scenicked area.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
I guess I'm in the minority since I like the color the Model Railroader Club Layout used. It brightens things up but is not too loud. (I may also look at a salmon color.) Fascia is up in most of the main layout room but I'm not in a hurry to paint it as will not have scenery for a long time and have yet to finish the track and lighting too. I am also buidling some interlocking model boards for towers and will be using green for those, so don't want those to blend in or clash with the rest of the layout.
When I get all the lighting up and some of the scenery down, I guess I'll experiment with fascia colors. Right now the brown masonite looks drab but OK. But, like I said, the color the MR&T used looks cool to me.
Thanks, I have a real problem getting some programs to work the way they should. Right now I am working on trying to make blinds for the buildings I have built. Drew lines in word and discovered I could not control the print options as far as % size. Tried scaning the print so I could print via the regular print program but failed to get the scaner to work (HP printer programs have issues unless you have a more modern computer though mine is less than 10 years old and dose what I want). I was going for HO scale 2" blinds.
Here ya go. I used the eyedropper tool to sample the sand color and darkened it for the second one. The third one is the sand color.
I don't recall whose layout it is. If anyone recognizes it, let me know.
Steve S
Steven S 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
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.)
I used hunter green for my fascia. Instead of using masonite, I used some paneling that a friend donated (he was remodeling a bedroom). If cut with the grain running vertically, it forms very nicely around curves. Because of the texture in the paneling, it required a second coat. I haven't taken any pictures of the final project.
Looking at the left side of the fascia, you'll notice that the white streaks are gone after the 2nd coat.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
dknelson 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.
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.
45% of national flags use green and 31% use black, so that might not be the best rule of thumb. And business computers tended to be gray and silver these days. The Good Old Tan Case is a dinosaur.
hon30critterBy the way, the kid has started to talk in earnest about moving out when he gets a job in his field. He is working very hard on his job search. The day of finally having layout space available is approaching! Dave
The hell with the kid....I need my layout.
Dave, really!?!
Take Care!
Frank
Interesting discussion.
I said earlier that I liked the dark facias but having seen the other examples it clearly depends on the overall view especially with regard to lighting. I think Mark R's black facia works well because it he also has painted the valance and the ceiling black. His layout is also well lit so in his case the only thing you see is the layout which 'pops' if I can use that phrase.
I was also impressed with the gray facias on a couple of layouts where the scenery was primarily desert. They do not draw the eye away from the layout even though the whole room was well lit. I guess the Navy paints their ships gray for a reason!
Thanks for all the great photos everyone!
One more question to consider when I build my layout.
By the way, the kid has started to talk in earnest about moving out when he gets a job in his field. He is working very hard on his job search. The day of finally having layout space available is approaching!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
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.
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...
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Basic scenery is all done, many final scenes done too (except for some added detail).
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.
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!
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..
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.
Black can work quite well on double deck layouts as well ....
Ultimately, all comes down to personal taste ....
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..
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
Dark green for me, it complements the scenery.
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
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!
I paint mine black. But forrest green looks good too.
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