I will soon be ready to start doing my layout’s backdrop and am looking for pros and cons-- (I will also be digging through the old posts so you don’t need to repeat anything that’s already been well-discussed.)
Masonite / Drywall
I feel like I’m reasonably well-informed regarding masonite (or similar) and drywall methods of doing a backdrop.
Aluminum / Nylon “Flashing”
I’ve read a little about using styrene sheets and aluminum and nylon “flashing” but what I don’t know about those is where to buy in quantity and typical costs. Any pointers on that info?
Other “Roll” or “Sheet” Product
Is there anything else out there? Pool liners? Shelf liners? Something else?? What is cost? Effectiveness? Ability to stand by itself (reasonably)? Thickness? Stiffness? Paintability? Etc.
Plastics In-General
I am also looking for information about “plastics” in general:
– How do you typically specify its thickness (I’m assuming “Mils” or millimeters “mm”) ?
– How do you normally specify its “stiffness” ? And what do various amounts of “stiffness” compare to in terms of commonly encountered items? (I.e., hefty bag, etc-- trying to get a sense of how well it will stand / hang / drape / etc)
– What types of plastics are better for painting?
– What types of plastics come in sheets, and which types in rolls?
– What, typically, is the cheapest / most useful plastic(s) for model railroad backdrop use?
I can’t take credit for this idea, it comes from Joe Fugate.
Joe uses rolled vinyl flooring, (linoleum) for backdrops. He uses the smooth back side as the finished side.
It takes paint well, it’s strong, yet flexible and cuts nicely. Joints can easily be feathered out with drywall compound.
Joe looks for end of the roll remnants on sale or if you are lucky and know an installer you can get all kinds of usable scraps for free!
Joe describes how he does it on his scenery DVD’s available from Model-Trains-Video.com If you just want to see the backdrop segment you can download it for less than $3
What can I say? Drywall (sheetrock) goes up with nails or drywall screws. You tape and mud the joints and it looks seamless. It won’t cove (bend) around corners. It crumbles if you try to bend it.
Masonite will bend and has a nice smooth surface. The dark color will bleed thru all but the most opaque primers. It want’s a coat of light gray primer followed by a coat of sky blue. Goes up with nails or screws. Every lumberyard carries it.
Styrene. Nice paintable surface. Comes in sheets. I can get it from an glass store (auto glass, plate glass, storm doors and windows). Far as I know, styrene is styrene, stiffness is controlled by the thickness of the sheet. Thickness is sized in mils, thousands of an inch. Will bend nicely for coved corners. Never heard of flashing. Was it me, I’d put the stuff up with adhesive, probably latex caulking compound. Styrene is the only readily available plastic that will bend around corners. Plexiglas and acrylic are too stiff to bend. I wouldn’t mess with anything that came on rolls for fear it would wrinkle and never lie flat.
I used styrene for my backdrop and I am very happy with it. First I screwed thin wooden strips (paint stirring sticks) to the wall and then I glued the styrene to the wood with silicone glue. I bent it around some corners that have about a 4 inch radius. To help it bend while I was attaching it, I warmed it with a hair dryer. When it cooled it kept its shape nicely. Before painting I washed it to remove any oil on it.
I obtained it from a company that sold plastic to sign makers.
I suggest that you get yourself a copy of the January 2010 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. There is a very interesting article on the use of aluminum flashing for backdrops. Apparently you can get this stuff up to 2 feet wide and up to 100 feet long. The article describes how to hang the flashing, plus some other interesting tidbits.
I use 1/8" Masonite for back drops attached off the wall with 1x2 firing strips to give it sort of a 3D effect when needed. I have painted the entire room walls that is my sky blue color and coved the inside corners using 1/8" Masonite and hid the seams with dry wall compound. One section has a small crack in the compound totally my fault but not even noticeable behind a structure.
I’m working on the backdrop for one section of our layout right now using styrene plastic. A length of it divides the scene, so we went with .125 thickness so it would be thick enough to stay upright on its own at a height of 16". Was able to bend to gentle curves into it by rolling those portions across the wooden arm of the futon sofa. An inner corner of the scene divide has a fairly sharp corner, so went with .040 thickness for that so it would bend easily and smoothly, and just glued the .040 sheet onto the .125 along both sides extending out from that inner corner.
<> Picked up 4’ x 8’ sheets at a local plastics company.
My backdrop is 77’ long. I used 1/8" Masonite cut into 2’ by 8’ strips. It is attached to 2"x2" firing and bends to a 24" radius curve at the corners of the room. Drywall mud/sanding makes it seamless, and cheap latex paint was used for the basic color. I airbrushed the clouds using a template I picked up at the LHS. I have had one small crack in the seams, and you have to look very close to see it(this has been up since 1988).
1/8" Masonite is cheap and it works well. Pursuing other materials often can cost a lot, in time and money, when considering the cost of driving around checking things out. Thinking outside the box is something I do often, but doing so often ( but not always ) has me returning to the old tried and true methods. Masonite went up quickly and is self supporting. Joints were filled with drywall compound and are completely invisible. I have tried all sorts of plastics and metals on many weird projects through the years. Some hold paint well and others are a pain and require an awful lot of preparation to paint. Also I think much more time and money would be spent building supports to hold up the other materials instead of just getting er done with masonite.I have photos on the forum if you haven’t already had a look. Good luck.[:)]
Flashing is used in the housing construction industry for waterproofing (controlled run-off) chimneys, skylights, etc. Usually in conjunction with tar or some similar substance.
Thanks for the plastic sheet info-- one thing you didn’t mention-- do you know how much plastic sheets of styrene cost (ballpark estimate is fine)? And are we talking big sheets, e.g. 4’x8’ or what?
Wow! Good timing, seeing as I literally have just got it in hand. Bought it this afternoon. Must be an omen (cue spooky music [:)]) I have read about people using flashing, both kinds aluminum and vinyl, for backdrops.
Thanks for the tip, now I know what I’ll be reading tonight!
When I was at this point a year ago I did masonite. It went okay but it sucked trying to hang it by myself. And as you pointed out there’s additional work to work the seams and whatnot. Though nearly any scheme will have that issue. I never got to the point of painting it though. Probably should have before I took it down. (I got my layout to the point of laying track and then decided I’d rather have a double-decked layout instead).
I promised my wife I wouldn’t cover the windows with anything opaque. I figure in the end it won’t matter, she isn’t going to use any of the window space and the beefed-up basement lighting will more than compensate for the lack of sunlight. But I have to at least go through the process of finding out I figure.
Maybe I’ve already seen them, perhaps last year? But if you have a handy link I’ll be happy to look again. (Or else I’ll spot them when I do a more comprehensive site search).
I have two 3’ x 150’ rolls of aluminum flashing. It ain’t cheap. As a backdrop you would have to glue it to masonite or something similar using contact cement. It would dent and crease easily and in the end not look good. Painting flashing??? Don’t get me started[|(]. I don’t know about vinyl flashing. I am curious to hear about that.
Here I cut out 31/2" to go over the 1"x 4" bench. It is attached with 10/32 machine screws and tee nuts.
Here you can see the joints. The secret to doing it well. Close your eyes and feel the dried mud with your fingers. If you can feel an imperfection with your fingers you will see it when painted. Sand until you feel no rough spots at all. Use primer as soon as the mud is perfectly smooth. Primer gives the patch its strength and will prevent cracks.
I am using styrene. I buy a 4x8 sheet for about $20, cut it in to three 16" high lengths. Mounted on 1x2s bolted to walls of bedroom used for layout.
I have done Masonite(r) with rounded corners and its great but I couldn’t fit it this time. So corners are square. Also, I could not permanently cover the windows. But I have sky pieces that hook on nails and remove.
Here is a window covering in place. I covered it with computer printout of digtital pix of PVC plumbing pipe I will use for export grain elevator. Building comes right to edge of background section so at least the break in background does not show there, though it does on the sky…
Uncompleted mockup of exporr grain elevator in front of corner.
Freestanding bay background on rollaway removable causeway section. Held up by sticks screwed to back of causeway layout section and glued to styrene BG with Loctite(r) building adhesive. There is a 45 degree bend in the background at the left end behind the 2-story house (a standin for old time seaside enjoy-the-seabreeze hotel with wraparound porches and balconies…)
Don’t know the price of styrene from a glass shop or a plastics distributor. I think it can be had in 48 sheets and perhaps smaller. You might be able to get the shop to cut 48 sheets down to 2*8.
I bought something like 12 square feet of plexiglas to make doors for a train display cabinet some years ago. It was unpleasantly expensive, maybe $30.
