I'm finally getting started with my first layout at age 63 - never too late !!! I have a 11X12 bedroom I'm building a shelf layout with a 4X8 table at one end. The layouts will cover two walls only. Backdrop will be on masonite mounted on 2X2. My question concerns the best color to paint the remaining two walls and the area above the backdrop. It is currently a light mocha color. Should I use a light color or a darker color to accent the layout and should I paint the area above the backdrop sky blue all the way to the ceiling. Lighting in the room will be a single overhead fixture for now - Thanks
I carefully picked a good fit for sky blue, but for a somewhat polluted area, so not the deeper 'bluer' blue one might find in the Himalayas, say, or deep in the Rockies. It's very slightly yellower and greener...just a whiff.
I painted the entire room that colour, including the drywall on the ceiling. Then I built the benchwork and the sub-roadbed. From there, it was easier to judge where to paint the items I wanted to show above the scenery. Saves paint that way.
By having the entire room the same colour as the sky, the layout and its backdrop seem (to me) to be more realistic and natural as a setting.
I'd also advise to go blue, best choice in shade is up to you.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I did all the walls a sky shade of blue and once I figurre out the height of the scenery I will scrub in some white to simulate the horizon , afterwards I will paint the backdrop to blend with scenery.
Lynn
Present Layout progress
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/p/290127/3372174.aspx#3372174
I like a very pale light light blue. Nothing bright or vivid.
I plan on doing the two walls that are drywall the same blue as the sky on the 2' high backdrop. Haven't decided to do the same to the paneling on the other two walls or not. Will do the light color transition from skyline to high sky on the backdrop, as not to have the transition line left on the wall when the layout goes.
Just my thoughts.
Good luck,
Richard
Textom,
There are a variety of painting techniques that have been posted on this forum, including transitioning blue sky shades from light to darker tones.
For my shelf layout, I kept the sky very simple. I went to Home Depot and purchased a quart of a blue shade that, to my eyes, reasonably resembled a summer sky at approximately 10a.m in the eastern USA. Afterwards, I added added simple clouds to the sky. The clouds were painted white with a shade of gray on the bottoms.
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
Paint the room sky blue. Paint the backdrop sky blue. Lighter with a bit of gray looks better than a color that's really blue, IMO.
- Douglas