I am at the point of doing my scenery and thinking about the fascia. I’d like to use flexible masonite, which I have, and have it only about an inch higher than the table.
I think it may be easier to mount the fascia now so I can scenic right up to it.
I’d love your thoughts on both:
Recommended height of Fascia - pros and cons
When to do it - before or after scenery?
[tup][tup]
You can vary the height of the facia so to suit any variation in the contour lines you may wish to make.
Cheers, the Bear[:)]
I put some of my fascia on before I added the scenery, and some after. It depends on which way works best for the particular area.
That actually makes a lot of sense. Thanks.
Yes, I will definitely do that where the scenery dips a lot.
I do basic scenery first, then cut the facia to match and then cover up the top of the masonite with final scenery such as turf etc.
I did mine of masonite after the foam had been shaped to the basic landforms and followed the contours of the terrain.
Due to having some track very close to the edge, limited room around the edges (hit trains when you walk by), and smalll hands that like to touch, I also put up a plexiglass barrier about 6" higher than track level. I spaced the facia out enough to slip the plexiglass in behind it, so that it is easily removable.
One thingI didn’t do was to paint the masonite. I didn’t realize it would swell so much, so it got a bit wavy… Seal it with a clear sealer or paint to keep it where you planned on having it.
Good luck,
Richard
I have electric and mechanical switches that have to mount on the facia. I’m going to have to install the facia before the track is layed.
This is off topic, but something I learned as I built my first layout four years ago.
I had installed Masonite fascia all around the layout. I also needed to do some wiring, so I was working under the table.
Brother Lion posted that on his subway layout, all his wiring is connected behind the fascia. That way, you can sit in a chair and do all the work.
I took the fascia off, and made the connections like Lion suggested. I can’t tell you how much this made my wiring easier to do.
Now, as I do lighting for buildings or more wiring, I just unscrew the fascia, grab wires from under the table, and do all the connections while sitting in my chair:
David Popp is currently doing an N scale layout and he is installing the fascia first. He is adjusting the height of the fascia to suit the planned scenery. The only problem I see with this idea is that one needs to have a scenery plan.
That is how I do it.
-Kevin
Appreciate all the replies.
That depends on how you build the layout, and the material that you use…mine vary from 6" to just a bit over 31".
Because most of my scenery is Durabond 90 patching plaster over aluminum screen, the fascia serves as the “edge of the layout world”.
A few photos (click on them for a larger view)…
This is the entrance to my layout room…
…the fascia to the right is 6" on both the lower level and the upper, as is the lower one to the left. The upper one on the left is 10" deep, mainly to hide the under-mounted fluorescent lights, which illuminate the lower level. When the photo was taken, the partial upper level was still under construction.
Here’s a sketch of the original layout…
…the area in grey denotes where a partial upper level was later added, while some of the track that passes through South Cayuga loops around over the Speed River and climbs a steady 2.8% grade around the peninsula. Until the partial upper level was added, that was the end-of-track on the grade.
These photos show the fascia (1/8" Masonite) at Dunnville. It’s about 10" high, as I needed to vary the layout height to accommodate the various grades, most of which are on curves…
In regards to layouts, the term “fascia”, applies to the covering of the benchwork on the outside edges of the layout. The “covering” behind the layout has been called - in my experience - the “backdrop”.
With that settled, I have always done the backdrop first, and worked the layout scenery into it.
When doing the benchwork, I did so with the idea of making it easier to apply a fascia to the front edges. The fascia was applied after the benchwork was complete.
That worked well for me, but that is not to say there aren’t alternatives that will work for you.
Definitely Wayne - appreciate you taking the time to post them all!
I agree. I drywalled the entire layout room using 1/2" board, but at each of the room’s ten corners used 3/8" drywall, usually to fit the 16" spacing of the studs. Once the layout’s benchwork was in place I coved all of the room’s corners using 1/8" Masonite.
Here’s a drawing of how it was done…
To add the Masonite, I use a tape measure to roughly measure the curve that will be formed, then cut the Masonite an inch-or-so longer. To install it, I simply butt one edge of the Masonite against one edge of the 1/2" drywall, then push the centre of the Masonite towards the corner until the other edge pops into place. You can add screws at those edges (in many cases, they’re not necessary) then apply some drywall mud (the green area in the drawing) and joint tape (the red line). Once it hardens, sand as usual, then paint appropriately.
There are a couple of photos in my earlier post, showing both a coved inside corner and an outside one.
Wayne
Count me in for adding fascia BEFORE most of the scenery. I’d do the scenery you can’t reach first and then add the fascia as you move closer to the front. This way, you can fill any gaps between the fascia and scenery. I addressed the gap using tape and then painting it to provide some binding for the ground foam.
Yep add fascia before scenery , it shapes the scenery perimeters especially in the corners.
For me, fascia is going on first because I have a foam base on plywood and I learned early on that as I leaned over to do various things further towards the back of my layout, my belt buckle did damage to the exposed edge of the foam. Grrr.
I stopped wearing belts in the layout room and started installing my masonite.
And rule #1 of the layout area subsequently became ‘no belts.’
Still beleive it easier to do facia last. It is much easier to get the scenery right and then hold the board up to it and mark the back and jig saw exactly all the ups and downs of the scenery.
