Hello everyone, just curious....Is there a general rule of thumb for the heigth of the layout fascia or is it just whatever looks good? I am to the point on my layout that i need to plan for it and was wondering what heigth everyone is going with? As far as above the benchwork other than where there are elevation changes in the terrain what is a good visual heigth to have the hard board above the top of the benchwork? Thanks everyone!
The layout I'm building is a shelf type around the room. Its a fixed depth throughout with the inner corners simply cut at 45 degrees. For fascia, I'm simply using select 1x4s attached by finish nails, cut at 22.5 degrees to fit into the corners smoothly.
I don't have scenic elements that rise above grade along the inner edges. All of the above grade scenery is towards the wall side of the shelves. There is no fascia above the benchwork on my layout, so I don't have to shape the 1x4s. The level line along the front edge of the shelves simply provides a neater line, IMO, so the straight 1x4s work in this situation.
- Douglas
M ost base it on benchwork, mine is 2" foam on 1x4's so height is 5 1/2".
My facia top edge is even with the edge of the scenery, which continually undulates to match the rolling hills. It is anywhere from 3 inches to 14 inches depending on what the scenery is doing where the aisle cuts through.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
Trainzman2435As far as above the benchwork other than where there are elevation changes in the terrain what is a good visual heigth to have the hard board above the top of the benchwork?
Top edge follow the profile of the scenic ground formations.
Bottom edge, "what looks good" but also tall enough to cover and hide the benchwork structure, provide a valance for lighting the lower level (if multi-deck), enough space to provide labelling (station names etc.) and other aids, card boxes if you operate with car cards/waybills, turnout controls (if you use something other than manual ground throws), plug ins for walk-around throttles, etc.
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
Most follow the contours of the scenery or landscape. This usually looks quite good.
I may have mine rise above the edge of the scenery a little bit where trains are near the edge as a sort of guard rail.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
My fascia is two feet above the back of the 48" height of the layout. I'm shocked that fascia bends quite well. You can't go completely 90 degrees with it, but getting tight curves is shockly easy.
Mine generally follows the contours of the scenery, but ranges in height from 6" to 31"...
This view, at the entrance to the layout room, taken before I added a partial second level, has fascia 6" high, but you can see the deeper one at the far end of the aisle. It's part of the grade to the second level, and at that point, is about 25" high...
Once the partial second level was added, I made most of the upper fascia about 10" or 11" high, the excess extending below the track level in order to shield the lighting for the lower level, which is suspended from the bottom of the upper level's framing...
In the photo below, the high point in the near-left of the frame is where the 31" depth is located....
I used 1/8" masonite for all of the fascia, which allowed me to eliminate sharp corners. Instead, the fascia simply flows along the edges of the layout...
Wayne
I used 1/8 inch hardboard for my fascia, and then painted it .. It's even along the bottom, and rises and dips with the scenery edge on the top.. It extends about 3/8 of an inch above the scenery edge in most places where it runs, all the way on the open edging...
Guys, your replies and suggestions/examples were awesome and much appreciated...One last thing....My benchwork is open grid with 2" foam and plywood sub base built shelf style around the room....As for attaching the hard board fascia to my benchwork, can someone tell me the best way to do this? I assume that screwing the hard board directly to the benchwork would not be the best method so im thinking of adding some 1" by pieces to screw to????? Any examples or suggesrions? Thanks again everyone!
You would not want to screw into the side of plywood or foam. Your question is a bit perplexing because most of us build the benchwork so that the end of the plywood rests on the 1x or 2 x edge of the open grid, providing a good surface with which to attach fascia.
Yes, if you don't have a good surface, attaching 1x under the plywood table top on the edge would be a good idea.
My experimentation with layout building led me to decide that a fascia ranging in height from 4 inches to 14 inches would be best for me.
That gives me space to flush-mount my Troller power packs and small control panels as needed.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I used staples to attach the fascia to the benchwork, not really noticeable once painted, fairly heavy staples out of a 'gun' type stapler
My open grid benchwork on the main level of the layout is all done using 1"x4" clear pine.That on the upper level is a combination of 1"x2" and 1"x4" crossmembers, but the aisle-side member is 1"x4", so it's very easy to screw the Masonite fascia to it.
Where the fascia deepens on the grade leading to the partial upper level, it's screwed to the risers which support the track's sub-roadbed...
Once all of the switches and fascia-mounted controls are installed, I'll paint the fascia, then add labels as required.
doctorwayne My open grid benchwork on the main level of the layout is all done using 1"x4" clear pine.That on the upper level is a combination of 1"x2" and 1"x4" crossmembers, but the aisle-side member is 1"x4", so it's very easy to screw the Masonite fascia to it. Where the fascia deepens on the grade leading to the partial upper level, it's screwed to the risers which support the track's sub-roadbed... Once all of the switches and fascia-mounted controls are installed, I'll paint the fascia, then add labels as required. Wayne
Thanks Wayne, my benchwork is also 1"x4" pine so i think i will be able to acrew the hard board to that with no problems.....I will add some pictures as soon as i make a little more progress.
Last time I used a carpet stapler, worked great but the spring died so this time a borrowed a brad nailer, worked even better.
Where the top of the fascia is depends on how you contour the scenery relative to the track level.
I set the bottom height of my fascia to hide the support structure for the fascia skirt. (See Installing a layout skirt on straight and curved fascia, MR, August 2015, p. 52.) In my case this was 5" below the lower horizontal benchwork member. All told, the fascia is about 12" tall, allowing room for all the stuff we want to stick onto it.
Jim
doctorwayne Wayne
Mind answering a few questions?
When working with those large sections on the curve how much help did you have getting them into position? Is there a tip for having it come out level? Is it safe to assume that you put the curved section in place first and then filled in the straight sections?
Also, how did you reinforce the seams, and did you do anything special on the curves? Before painting are you going to use joint compound on the seams and screw heads?
Rick
I used C-clamps to temporarily hold the fascia in place, then drilled and countersank holes for the screws. No assistance was needed. The joints are reinforced on the backside below the front members of the open grid benchwork, using left-over pieces of Masonite, cemented in place with construction adhesive. The 1/8" Masonite is very easy to curve - the second photo in my first post shows a corner on both the lower and upper levels, with radii of about 8".
I have no plans to cover the screw heads or the joints, as that will make it more difficult when it's time to take down the layout.
As others have noted, the fascia top edge often follows terrain. My benchwork is 3-1/2" plywood + 2" foam. The 1/8" hardboard fascia is in place but I have yet to shape the foam. The bottom edge extends 7/8" below the benchwork to prevent lower deck LED strip light from shining into the isle (lower deck not yet built). Fascia is attached to benchwork with countersunk 3/4" drywall screws which are mudded over. Marks on rear of fascia show screw positions in case I need to cut the fascia in the future. I am going for a "no visible fasteners" look.
Alan
Freelancing the LK&O Railroad
cv_acr Trainzman2435 As far as above the benchwork other than where there are elevation changes in the terrain what is a good visual heigth to have the hard board above the top of the benchwork? Top edge follow the profile of the scenic ground formations. Bottom edge, "what looks good" but also tall enough to cover and hide the benchwork structure, provide a valance for lighting the lower level (if multi-deck), enough space to provide labelling (station names etc.) and other aids, card boxes if you operate with car cards/waybills, turnout controls (if you use something other than manual ground throws), plug ins for walk-around throttles, etc.
Trainzman2435 As far as above the benchwork other than where there are elevation changes in the terrain what is a good visual heigth to have the hard board above the top of the benchwork?