Has anyone used their backdrops and what are your impressions?I ordered a couple to try them out and was interested in any expereinces good or bad people have had.Thanks
I use backdrops often. I usually roll them out and cut the foreground scenery from the sky included with the backdrop so that the sky blue color matches the backdrop previously painted on the wall backdrop. My favorite backdrops are the Instant Horizons sold by Walthers but there are other ones out there that are just as good. Kalmbach sells a really good book using backdrops for city scenery. I’d recommend you get a copy and read it to get good ideas relating to “forced prospective”.
I posted this a while back and was hoping for more of a response.Has anyone used Sceniking backdrops?Any comments on them?Maybe some tips on the best way to install them?Thanks
Just this past week, I installed a Sceniking backdrop against the end wall of my layout. I used the long one with the Appalachian type tree covered hills. Overall, I am very pleased with it. I trimmed off the sky and pasted it directly to my blue sky backdrop. Rather than follow their instructions, I used a spray adhesive and mounted one sheet at a time to the backdrop. They did mention that this was an alternative that a lot of their customers had used and it I think it is simpler to do than the way they suggest. I also used the one with 3 sheets representing a residential neighborhood and this worked out well too. The seams between the sheets do not completely disappear but they aren’t real obvious either so I don’t find them distracting. To me a good backdrop directs attention on the foreground scenery and these accomplish that purpose. They aren’t real tall but they do a good job of representing distant hills. If you wanted something that appeared closer, you might consider an O scale backdrop, assuming you model in HO. If you are an N scale modeler, the HO hills would probably work well for you but anything with structures would probably be out of scale. There is some foreground vegetation that might be a little large for N scale. They appear not to be a very high resolution. Up close, diagonal lines create a stairstep effect with the pixels but you don’t see that when they are mounted on the backdrop, at least my old eyes can’t see it. I think these make an excellent choice, especially if you need a long backdrop.
I need a little clarification if I’m going to repsond to your posting. Are you talking about “Scenic Express” backdrops? If so, I can help you.
I just wasn’t sure what “sceniking backdrops” were.
Mondo
Sceniking is the brand name. They are based in Canada. Their backdrops are printed on sheets of paper and are strung together to create murals of varying lengths. Some are made to wrap around so you can extend them indefinitely.
Jecorbett, thanks for the reply.I picked up some 3M spray adhesive today.I model in HO but this backdrop is normally for N scale. I like the look of this particular backdrop and it will connect with itself,so I can put it around the entire 81feet of my layout.