I have cats and live in the country with lots of dust. Couple this with intentions for half of it to be a city scape and the design for night illumination and the need for an enclosed layout is apparent. I'm looking for opinions for the front viewing panel. I'm debating whether I should leave it as one long panel that flips down, or break it into 2 panels that either flip down or slide. I am designing it so that the rural half isn't clearly visible from the city end and vice versa (when seated). Trying to get a lot of mileage from this small layout (essentially 3x8 with an additional 1x8 attached to the back. So a two part front panel may not be such a bad thing. As always I value experience and wild guess work.
Although it is more involved, I would use the twinned flip-up panels for ease of handling. I would use 1/4" plexiglass, perimeter sanded smooth with 500 grit, and drilled to accept the screws for a couple of smalll brass cabinet hinges. This is assuming the panels will be about 22" or more in height from their lower edge up to the hinged upper edges. If they are substantially less, you could keep it as all one panel.
Agree on the single pane approach - much cleaner. Sliding version will introduce an annoying line that will detract from scenes, and only one side can be fully open at any time.
I am no artist so I hope you can understand what I am saying without a drawing. Take your scenery divider and use it as a hinge point. paint a back drop on it that matches your divider. Then the front/back panels become the sky when opened up. Kind of like a gull wing door on a car. You could even put some lighting in the front panel so that when it is open you have overhead lights. Anyone have thought on this?
Well I thought I'd update this here. Ignore the flowered background. It used to be a girls bedroom... I'll get around to painting it. The overall structure is together now. Once I get the back on, I'll start laying the track in. Once it's roughed in with grades and such, I'll add the scenery. The LED lights seem to be exactly what I was looking for. While intense in the photo, I have a great range of combinations and intensity.
