How high should scenic borders (clouds, citiscapes, etc.) be from the terrain?
Thanks.
Sid
That’s a loaded question, as it depends of the type of landscape you’re modeling, preferred viewing angles, and various other factors. In general, I like to keep the backdrop horizon close to track level, as high horizons tend to look odd from anything but a direct, straight-on view, and often make the layout appear to be at the bottom of a hole. It may help to look at as many examples as you can find of backdrop treatments in the magazines to see which ones you like.
If you’re talking about overall backdrop height above the layout, opinions vary on that too. I like to locate the top of the backdrop well above my eye level.
In nature the horizon is at eye level unless you’re standing on something the size of Phobos.
To `feel’ natural, I prefer to keep to that standard. But therein lies a problem. My eye level is 200mm above my wife’s eye level. Also, do I plan to operate sitting down or standing?
Actually, unless you are modeling the prairies, or have an ocean or one of the Great Lakes on your backdrop, there is very little need to see the `real’ horizon.
As for the railroad seeming like it’s down in a hole - most of them are! Rails follow the rivers at the bottom of the valleys, surrounded by higher landforms. In built-up areas most buildings extend above the natural horizon if the viewer is standing on the ground.
My own solution is to model selectively-compressed landforms to well above my eye level. There MIGHT be a narrow sliver of `sky’ visible up there, but on a humid September day in the Central Japan Alps it might bear a strong resemblance to a white-painted sheetrock wall…
Chuck (Modeling soggy Central Japan i September, 1964)
This is a photo of combining N scale to HO scale, with a Scenicking background. Note how this forced perspective is very realistic. The N scale track is placed on a rough grey 2"x2" directly behind the HO scale track. I have ScenicKing 7"x11" spliced together around all of my 24’x24’ layout. It includes mountains, urban, harbor,etc. What I did was to match the blue sky paint to the top of the SceniKing photos electronically at the hardware store paint dept. I painted the background Luan wall before applying the SceniKing with a giant glue stick. Any glue method, which does not leak through or wrinkle the paper SceniKing, will be fine. I just completed 350 deciduous HO scale trees, from Scenic Express Super Tree Super Pack $98 With the sprinkled on Blended Floc-turf, the cost per tree was about 20 cents. per tree. Commercial trees are much too expensive. Personally, I do not like Puffball trees. They do not show light through the tree and look like an egg crate. I use Sage trunks for the trunks of foreground treesa. Perhaps for distant trees, Puffball trees are OK. For distant trees, I prefer to use WS Clump foliage. Don’t forget dead trees and forest floor debris. Bob Hahn 
Another idea is to cap narrow background hillsides with a coniferous forest cut from packaging sponge, in zig-zag pattern, painted dark green. I layer the rows at random. The forest is only 1" deep. but appears to be a forest background.
Unfortunately, Sid, your question isn’t very clear.
I assume you’re talking about what we call a “backdrop”, which is a painted or photographic background behind the layout to give the impression of distance.
And, as with almost everything in this hobby, the answer is, “it depends.”
What are you trying do with the backdrop? If you plan to take a lot of photos, it needs to be high enough that the edge is outside the frame of your photo from the POV you use most often.
If it’s to fool the observer into a sense of realism, then layout surface to ceiling is the best way.
On the other hand, if, like me, you just want keep the junk in your basement from intruding on the observer’s line of sight and present a more pleasing view, then a couple of inches above the terrain is probably sufficient. I use 24" wide foam core mounted to the edge of the layout with dowels so that it’s easily removable for layout access. In a couple of places, where the terrain approaches the edge of that piece of foam core, I’ve glued an 8" extension to the top of the original piece. This works for me. Your mileage may differ.
Is your foam core painted? - all I have ever seen is plain white and back. Judging by what you said, your foam core must have holes in it for the dowels?? It must then be self supporting. Interesting idea.
Yes, the foam core is painted with an airbrush. Cobalt blue at the top, gradually getting whiter as it goes towards the horizon (I use white foam core and just apply less blue as I work toward the horizon). Some clouds painted (flat white and gray) on the sky. I’ll probably paint some hills and trees on the lower parts, but haven’t gotten around to that yet.
I use 3/8" dowel that I buy in 4’ lengths and cut to fit (8" long gives me 6 out of each 4’ piece of stock). I glue them to the back of the foam core with yellow carpenter’s glue, leaving about 2" protruding below the bottom of the piece of foam core. These protrusions fit into brackets screwed into the fascia, so that the foam core sits on top of the fascia (3/8" hardboard). My fascia in the front is carved to the layout contour; in the back, it’s flat on top.
Disguise the “joint” between the layout surface and the backdrop with trees, underbrush, buildings, etc.
It was 24ins high on my old British layout - 00 scale, not much bigger than H0. That gave me plenty of height for photos looking across to it, but photos taken lengthwise often had to be cropped because the top edge of the board angled down into them with perspective, so as far as I’m concerned, the answer is to make it as high as you possibly can, to cater for all viewing angles.
Mike
I think you will have to look at your own layout and make a decision based on cost, location, what is or is not going to be on the layout as it progresses toward completion.
In my case I just ripped 4’ x 8’ sheets of hardboard lengthwise and mounted them using 10/32 "T"nuts and bolts. It can come off in a flash using the drill. My artistic abilities leave much to be desired as far as clouds go. When I’m finished a very talented friend will come and clean up my shortcomings in the cloud/backdrop department.
As far as how high to make your clouds and citiscapes? Just see how it looks. Remember also that things look a lot different in photo’s than they do in person. Just something to think about.
Brent[C):-)]
Thanks so much. This is helpful. Beautiful layout!
Sid