o.k. we have come to the cross roads , and need some advice , we would like to know everyones take on this question! back drops !painted or background sheets? , i mean there are some really nice already back drops out there! so as modelers do you think it is better to paint your city scenes or to use ready made ones? as well as the sky's! Kevin C.E.O. P.A.N. R.R. INC.
Most of the premade city backdrops I've seen are way to old for my taste.I prefer doing my own either with photo murals or painting if we're talkin country.There is a guy in our HO club that does it for free if your a member.He does all of my NTRAK modules.I guess if it were me I'd look around and choose what I liked best. ------------------ Catt!
This is something I need to sort out very soon. Art is not my strong point! I may use some printed ones if I can get any I like, and perhaps add photographs for variety, also building flats for the foreground. With my small railroad, city scenes and countryside are VERY close together - transitions are going to be very hard to do effectively. Vegetation can help, I guess ------------------ Alan The perfect combination - BNSF and N Scale! www.ac-models.com Andersley Western Railroad Alan's American Gallery Alan's European Gallery Alan's British Steam Gallery
I tried and I tried, but my hand painted backdrops look butt ugly! I just stick to the walthers ones now. The beauty of painting backdrops is that you can always rework them until you like them...or in my case rework them, and rework them, and submit to the walthers ones ------------------ Robert Ray The NP & UP N-Scale Railroad
What I do is paint the board with sky blue and then I air-brush in some clouds with light grey and white, just lightly most the time. Then I use photo's I shot of interesting houses, businesses, and land scapes when I've been out rail-fanning. I cut and past these on the painted skyboard. After it all drys, I shoot it with dull-coat to help get rid of the photo shine. When I get a photo scanner, I'll put my buildings on paper instead. ------------------ RAILROADING-TO-THE-MAX, Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Style! Brent Tidaback, Member #234
A cheep source for back drops can be wallpaper. I've found several scenes which were to scale, lake with trees, mountains. It takes alot of time to research the wallpaper shops but you can get lucky. It's fun to try and explain to the clerk what it is your looking for. I always check out the 'border' wallpapers while shopping. It's a good time killer while your wife, or girl is trying on dresses. I use the 5-6 inch high borders on my lower level back-drops and attach made up trees to the paper to give it more depth. I have over 75 feet of back-drop to cover and the ready made drops would cost too much. Eddie ------------------ Eddie Delozier PRR N-scale deloziers.com eddelozier@yahoo.com
Hello Eddie , great idea, i was just over checking out your site , and i have to tell you i would like to see more of the layout , i am not a big pennsy fans but i love the scenery ! so keep up the great work and show us more ! Kevin C.E.O. P.A.N. R.R. INC.
I'm like most guys not great at painting backdrops. On my layout I painted the backdrop a sky blue then used the front of buildings against the backdrop. I suppose the technical term is "flats" this adds a 3 dimensional aspect to the backdrop. Visit my site and look at the pics it might give you an idea of what I mean. ------------------ http://members.optusnet.com.au/~pcassar/index
Anyone try painting a backdrop flat black? Makes the foreground really stand out. The black is not noticed. Used in theaters for years to direct an audiences attention away from the background.
I wonder if anyone has tried to use multiple stencils that could be used to overlay the previous stencil to arrive at some kind of scene in multiple colors? The use of the black background sounds right up my alley though. ------------------ Residing in BNSF's St. Croix Subdivision near Trempealeau, WI
If my backdrop turns out to be a disaster, I will go with matt black ------------------ Alan The perfect combination - BNSF and N Scale! www.ac-models.com Andersley Western Railroad Alan's American Gallery Alan's European Gallery Alan's British Steam Gallery
I tell my dad I need a back drop. 10 days later I have it Happy Railroading! Dane N. ------------------ TAMR2860-AKA BC Rail King TAMR2860@Canada.com for TAMR info. To send a general TRAIN! E-Mail send to BCRailKing@Canada.com
Some people have it soooooo easy Matt [This message has been edited by mtaylor (edited 01 June 2000).]
Im thinking the same things, I have no artistic bones or granules in my body.. will look into the sheet things... they sound good. wallpaper could also work but would be hard to find the right stuff...
I paint my backdrops a solid sky blue. Nothing else. No clouds, no trees, no mountains or hills. I think it looks like a cloudless day. This way, there is nothing to detract from my modeling in the foreground. I am, however, modeling a city scene and I will use building flats against the backdrop to give a more dense industrial look. ------------------ Mike Drzycimski Arlington, TX The Southview Lines www.crosswinds.net/~mdrzycimski [This message has been edited by mdrzycimski (edited 01 June 2000).]
Has anyone tried to use a computer landscape program like Vistapro? (Rom-Tech, around $40). I figured it might save some frustration for us non-artistic folks. I've got a sample pic, but I don't know how to upload it to a post. John
I have difficulty integrating photos or building drawings onto my backdrops, so I came up with a solution that works with the limitations of my skills. On an N-Trak module I airbrushed a skyscape on the "back" of plexiglass. The intent is a dark backdrop, allowing the eye to focus on the module... like matte black stagecraft with a twist. This is a specific time of day in the Great Lakes region of the U.S., just after the last reds of the setting sun have moved beyond the western horizon. Picture the sky at dusk, with emerging stars in a darkening sky with high, light clouds and a lighter blue near "ground" level. The technique avoids having the backdrop smudged in transit... OK for modules. The trick is to plan, like a sign painter for a shop window: think ahead about foreground and background. I learned a lot from my first generation and I'll try the approach again when I finally finish the third module of the set and have a panoramic horizon to do. I've been running the heck out of one of the three modules, and use the skyscape as part of a "Roswell" scene at N-Trak Bloomington - Normal runs. It's a hit with kids. Maxwell Plant and Royal Blue have each seen the effect...I trust them to tell you if it "works." ------------------ You can always tell a model railroader; you just can't tell him much.
The "Roswell" module came out of an inspiration from my son, who has great ideas and leaves the work to dad. A parent's comment ... the only thing you'll learn this way is how to delagate authority. Most of us with jobs are NOT the delegators ... we're the delegates. Can you say, "grunt?" <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by BC Rail King: I tell my dad I need a back drop. 10 days later I have it Happy Railroading! Dane N. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> ------------------ You can always tell a model railroader; you just can't tell him much.
The club that I belong to we are using linoleum flooring with the smooth side out (side that would be put on the floor) and then we will paint our background scenes. I think that painting your own backdrops is the way to go as you can do anything you want to. Also if you have access to any photos of the areas that you are modeling use those as guides. Trainman5
Thanks for your idea for backdrops, trainman, and welcome to TrainBoard I already have my backdrop in place, and linoleum would have made a nice curve in the corners! Oh well . . . ------------------ Alan The perfect combination - BNSF and N Scale! www.ac-models.com Andersley Western Railroad Alan's American Gallery Alan's European Gallery Alan's British Steam Gallery
