Kevin,
A LIGHT spray of flat white from a 2-3 ft distance will go far in blending the cutouts to the background.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
I do basic hills, know art so do some shading but I have never been good at painting but I can tell others what is wrong and mix near exact colors which I used when I used to restore old wooden rail cars.
mobilman44All three that I've done were painted before the layout was in place and the room was already finished. Of course mine were sky and hillsides - no structures or the like were painted.
Mine will be the same way. The structures will be cut from Walthers and Detail Associates backdrops.
I picked up a great tip from Garry when I visited his layout in Kentucky. He cut the pictures from Cornerstone kit boxes and used them on the backdrops. I will do this too.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
All three that I've done were painted before the layout was in place and the room was already finished. Of course mine were sky and hillsides - no structures or the like were painted.
One thing....when I write, "if I can do it anyone can", I'm being very sincere. I kid you not!
I have tried to paint backdrops several times, all ended in failure.
On my final layout, I am going to give it another try.
This time, thanks to my 1:1 mockups I built, I have a very good idea what the backdrop will look like before I begin construction.
I plan to paint the backdrop when the room is just walls, no layout or shelves to work around. Hopefully this is not a fool's folly.
Thank you for the nice words - they are appreciated!
May I offer some encouragement to those that would like to do their own backdrops.
Without hesitation, I can tell you that I have little - if any - artistic talent. I can certainly paint walls and models and the like, but creating and painting a scene was way beyond my perceived ability.
On my last two layouts, I did paint a sky backdrop, just slopping on some shades of light blue and adding a tinge of yellow/grey to undefined cloud formations. These were my first attempts and according to others, they looked pretty good.
The thing is, its a backdrop, and if you screw up, you can paint over it. Also, being a backdrop, it should not be the focus of attention.
Anyway, when it came to this layout I wanted some hills and depth and a lake. I got a basic painting book from a craft store, and picked up several inexpensive tubes of color. And then I began.......
What surprised me was that no definitive lines were needed. Just using the edge of a 1 inch brush did the trees and hill definitions, and so on.
Also, when done, I got a couple cans of cheap flat white water based spray paint and gave the backdrop a light spray from a couple feet away. This gives a natural mist look to the backdrop, and in its own way it blends in the features.
My point to all this is simple. If I can do this, I believe most anyone can. But you have to give it a try (or three) to fully comprehend what you can do.
Oh, and this also applies to those that have avoided weathering. Get an inexpensive structure and just play with it. You would be surprised what a black/brown wash and a can of Dull Coat can do.........
That is great scene Mobileman. Nice backdrop work!
Mike.
My You Tube
mobilman44Here is one of my favorite scenes, which I will attack next.
I can see why this was a favorite scene. It has a great look to it.
Hi again! Hope I'm not boring you all, but it just seems to be a "help" to post pics and progress updates as I go along.
Here is one of my favorite scenes, which I will attack next. Towards the end of construction, I realized I had neglected to put in a bridge of any kind. So I made the cut for one, reckoning it to be a dry creek bed. Here is a pic of that semi finished (no ballast) scene, and I hope you enjoy!
Oh, you will see what looks like a couple of kinks in the track. Both were caused by a "too long for the job" recipricating saw blade.
Actually, I'm kind of proud of the lower level trackage, for in almost 12 years of use I never had a track/rolling stock sourced derailment. My only problems were caused by a clumsy "0-5-0" operator................
Hi,
Even as the layout demo progress continues, my love of trains - real and model - stays alive.
I've been a reader/subscriber of MR since 1955, and recently did a two year renewal. I continue to be a member of the Illinois Central and the Santa Fe Modeling and Historical societies and have been since the 1980s.
And of course I'll still be a fan of this Forum, and will contribute as I can........
So what this all means is I'll continue to be a "train nut", just one w/o a layout!
Tom, it is certainly not a problem.
I sarcastally and playfully suggested "it would have been nice"..........
Those that seem to think I feel it is a "big deal" are just plain wrong.
While I'm here, Tom, I wish to thank you for all the time and effort you have put into monitoring this Forum for so many years. Please know that your efforts are appreciated by this old MR.
And now, its time to get this week's loads of wood ready for the Wednesday and Saturday pick ups.
mobilman and all,
The forum software used to send an email notification to the OP when a thread was either moved, joined with another, or locked. I thought the feature was still working and the check box for "Notify author" was checked when I moved the thread. Unfortunately, that feature is now yet another of the many in a long list of glitches with the current software.
I have sent PMs before when I moved a thread. However, not everyone is set up for or checks their PMs. And the PM notification on the main page has stopped working (for me) so I only know I have one if I physically click on "Messages".
I'm sorry you didn't get the notification, mobilman...
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Same here.
Alton Junction
richhotrain I'm not sure that it matters one bit in the greater scheme of things. The Electronics and DCC forum and the Prototype forum are highly specialized forums. But Gen'l Info and Layouts could, for all practical purposes, be combined into one forum. Anyone who has been interested in your thread so far will easily find it. I recently had a thread moved from Gen'l Info to Prototype. Same thing. No notice. But, it probably belonged in Prototype in the first place and everyone interested still found it. So, no harm, no foul. Rich
I'm not sure that it matters one bit in the greater scheme of things. The Electronics and DCC forum and the Prototype forum are highly specialized forums. But Gen'l Info and Layouts could, for all practical purposes, be combined into one forum. Anyone who has been interested in your thread so far will easily find it.
I recently had a thread moved from Gen'l Info to Prototype. Same thing. No notice. But, it probably belonged in Prototype in the first place and everyone interested still found it. So, no harm, no foul.
Rich
I've never had any problem finding a thread I started or already posted in. Moved or not they are listed in the "Your Discussions" list which is accessed from the profile box on the right with your private messages and such.
In fact, it is that page I have bookmarked to get here, so the first thing I do is look at the responses in the threads I am already ativve in.
Sheldon
It would have been nice if a no reply notice was posted in General Discussion.........
mobilman44My thread got moved from General Discussion to here - Layouts and Layout Building.
I found your thread after the move.
I hate when that happens. One of my threads was moved after it was six months old.
Ahhh, a Sunday morning surprise!
My thread got moved from General Discussion to here - Layouts and Layout Building. I guess I could argue both venues, but I won't for it would be futile.
As long as I'm here, let me give a progress report......
I made some more cuts, and am almost to the halfway point. When I hit the next corner, a new obstacle will be introduced, that being plaster work (i.e. tunnel portal, rock faces, retaining walls, etc.). Most all of that was on a plaster soaked towel or screen base, and will come off fairly easily. But, it will increase the mess.
Take care!
A little late to the party but when I built the layout in my apartment I planned for moving by having track going over section joints Duck taped to hold ballast and electrical slide connectors where the wire crosses a section.
Most of the trees I saved from old layout were in great shape when I unpacked for curent one. Used trees sell all the time on e-bay but only the best comand a grood price.
Trees: to sell or not to sell. When I took down my old layout back in 2018, I stored all of the trees from the layout in boxes. As I close in on completion of my new layout, I need to decide which trees to put back on the layout and what to do about the remaining trees. I may or may not attempt to sell them. My gut feeling is that if I do an auction-type listing, I can include a low starting bid and take it from there.
It's a shame they were not on sale here in the UK. I sold some (not very good ones) on EBay and got a good price. Good trees command a good price; even at shows.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
You are right about the trees, used trees do not sell.
I have never understood this. Trees are expensive.
When I was gathering trees to use as props on my photo-diorama, I could get them by the grocery bag full for $5.00 at train shows. No one else was even slightly interested in them.
mobilman44Yes, you could access the closet thru the other (to the left) door, but it was a squeeze for sure.
Thank you for the clarification.
It all makes sense now!
For the most part, the only things of worth on a decent layout are the locos, rolling stock, some structures, certain details (i.e. people, signage, vehicles, etc), turnouts, signals, and electronics.
Once those are safely removed, you can slice and dice the benchwork rather quickly with a good reciprocating saw or whatever works for you.
Unless you are building another layout, your track, trees, shrubs, tunnel portals, retaining walls, and highways are pretty much worthless.
If the layout is in an unfinished basement or garage, it shouldn't take long to get it down and out. BUT - as in my case - the layout is in a finished room, with nicely carpeted halls and stairs between the disposal point and the layout, it takes time and care to do it without screwing up the place.
Even though there was/is extra work/time in the building and taking this layout down, it was well worth it. Having your layout in a separate room (with a door), carpet and HVAC - plus a window - has really been nice.
Of course everyone's situation is different, and "one size never fits all", so all one can do is what works for them.
This topic is reinforcing for me the importance of designing for disassembly, and making sure things are annotated. I've barely started on the design of my eventual layout and am piddling around with "disposable" layouts to figure out what I really want to do when I build "the real thing," so I have plenty of opportunity to learn lessons.
I think the big one so far is to recognize that while I can plan for how I will eventually take it down, I might not be the one who does, so I can also plan on how to make it as easy as possible for someone else to... And also make sure locos, rolling stock, structures, etc. are well-documented.
-Eric
The closet covers the entire 11 1/2 foot wall, and has two doors. That second door was blocked by the backdrop for 12 years. Yes, you could access the closet thru the other (to the left) door, but it was a squeeze for sure.