Okay, so I am building a series of 6 foot modules and have tried a few methods of construction for the backdrop but have been unhappy with them. What have most people found to be the best material for backdrop construction? I want it to be strong but flexible, take paint well, and easy to hide seams between modules. I'm thinking some type of hardboard, but have thought about styrene.
We use 1/8" thick Masonite for our club's HO-scale modules. Our modules are put in storage when not in use, so the backdrops are removable. The NMRA web site has diagrams and suggested measurements for module backdrops as part of their modular layout standards and recommended practices.
The last time I made backdrops for moduals, I used 1/4" birch plywood. It's not flexible, but it takes paint well and is strong.
On my home layout, I use light blue craft paper.
This one is plain blue:
This one has some hills and clouds:
Nick
Take a Ride on the Reading with the: Reading Company Technical & Historical Society http://www.readingrailroad.org/
Joe Fugate Modeling the 1980s SP Siskiyou Line in southern Oregon
Hi,
I use Masonite for my backdrop with blue sky and clouds painted on it. For my penninsulas, I use Masonite that is 1/4" thick and finished smooth on both sides. I've seen all kinds of approaches to attach the Masonite, from building 1" by 2" frames to gluing the Masonite to trainroom walls and wanted a "better" way.
I went to my local home improvement store, looking for something, anything, that could secure my 1/4" Masonite backdrop and would be easy to install. You can imagine my delight when I came across 8-foot lengths of plastic "edging" in the Garden Department of the store, which was designed to be used to frame 4 by 8 foot sections of plastic gardening trellis. The slot in the edging, which forms a "track", provides for mounting along the edge of a trellis. The slot was exactly 1/4" wide and allowed a test piece of Masonite to be inserted. Even better, the edging was flexible enough to be bent into the curves I knew I wanted and better yet, it was only $6.00 for an 8-foot section. The product, which I bought at "Home Depot", is called "Tuff-Bilt Lattice: Winter White "U" Molding", with SKU number 9754520003. You can find it on the internet with Google if your Home Improvement store doesn't carry it.
I put over 50 feet of backdrop up in a matter of a couple of hours because all I had to do was screw down the Tuff-Bilt "track" and drop in the backdrops. (I did run a file along both bottom edges of the Masonite to taper it in order to allow it to slide in easily). My benchwork is 53" high so my backdrops only needed to be 15" high to keep someone from seeing over to the other side of my penninsulas. I know the Tuff-Bilt will support higher backdrops but I'm not sure exactly how high. Certainly for your modules, you wouldn't want them much higher than mine.
I had posted this information on this forum a few months ago and a number of guys with modules said it would be a great way to attach their backdrops because the "track" allows for easy insertion and removal of the Masonite backdrop. All you have to do is drive some screws down through the plastic "track" and into the back top edge of your module and then slide the backdrop in. When you want to remove it, you simply pull it up.
On my layout, I drove some screws throught the "track" and the Masonite so that the backdrop wouldn't "ride up" over time.
Hope this helps.
Mondo
Sounds like a great idea. I'll try it out next week and see what the results look like. The track will allow me to set up and take down more quickly, and hopefully make it easier to align all the backdrops together.
Joe, great website, I loved the link and will check it out periodically to see what your up to
NS2591 wrote:Thats a good idea. I'm going to have alot of track hidden behind my backdrops and if something goes wrong, I need to be able to get to it. That sounds like a great idea!
I have staging under my city and behind my backdrop. It's real nice to be able to slip the backdrop out and replace it easily. Obviously, for the areas where I want to be able to remove the backdrop, I don't put screws through the "track" and the Masonite. Actually, the Masonite stays put without the screws.
Will 1/8" masonite "bend" to curve in a corner? If so, how much room on either side of the corner will the curve have to start? Thanks!
1/8" masonite painted blue. It will curve to some degree and it's pretty strong. I use pine 1x4's to back the joints and keep them straight.
I use vinyl flashing for my backdrop. I didn't have to worry about seams on my layout because it comes in 30' rolls and my layout is relatively small, but they shouldn't be too hard to cover up. This stuff is cheap, flexible, and easy to work with so I highly recommend it. Here's a pic of my backdrop,
and a link to a thread explaining how I built it.
http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/1015747/ShowPost.aspx
cacole wrote: We use 1/8" thick Masonite for our club's HO-scale modules. Our modules are put in storage when not in use, so the backdrops are removable. The NMRA web site has diagrams and suggested measurements for module backdrops as part of their modular layout standards and recommended practices.
Do you have a link directly to the appropriate Standard or RP ?
I went here, and didn't find much in the way of suggested measurements:
http://www.nmra.org/standards/consist.html#module
Unless you mean that one drawing under the intro section which says that recommended height for backdrop (alias "skyboard") is 14" (minimum 8"), when placed on top of a layout which is 40" from the floor (ie backdrop at between 40" and 54" (ideally) or between 40" and 48" (minimum).
Nothing (or at least nothing I spotted) about materials, joins between modules, colors or such things.
Or did I just look in the wrong place ?
Smile, Stein
In my local Lowes I found at the end of the isle where the masonite was a plastic edge made for said panels. They came in corner pieces, side to side matching, and edge guards. i used them on my facia and painted them black, but hte facia is brown right now.
John