I am wondering if anyone has any experience or opinion as to the best color for the edging of my layout? I’ve seen everything from grey, green, natural wood, black, etc. I am leaning toward the color black, as I have a large double deck N scale layout and I want the levels to be very distinct from each other. Black also seems to be a color used in several museum layouts, and it looks very professional.
Bob, New York
There is no best color for the fascia of a layout - it purely depends on your liking. Most used colors seem to be black, green, brown or gray. The extension of MR´s “club” layout was painted in red, causing quite a discussion. In Britain, dark blue colors are also common.
Personally, I prefer gray or black.
I may be wrong but I do believe that you mean “perimeter of my layout.”
Thanks much. I agree grey and black seem good. Guess I’ll try black and see how it looks. Thanks again.
A color the same/similar to your basic ground color is an option too. I believe something that is least distracting is best.
Mark
First, you need to understand the objective for painting the fascia of the layout. The objective is to make the fascia as invisible as possible. You don’t want it to distract the viewer from looking at the layout. Black is a common choice. As you stated you see in used on some layouts, even museum layouts. You also see in used in theatrical settings and in places like restaurants. They’ll paint the entire ceiling black to hide all the lighting, electrical conduits etc. But sometimes on a layout a large expanse of black can be a distraction. Black can also serve to ‘frame’ the layout view, especially on a double deck layout. Some people will choose a dark green which is similar in color to the predominate scenery color. This helps blend the fascia to the scenery. So, the choice of color becomes more personal and can depend on what you want to achieve. Paint a test section of two with your color choices, you can always repaint over the color you didn’t choose. One last note is to use a flat or satin sheen paint. The objective is to hide the fascia and a gloss coat will be distracting both in personal and in photos.
I know others have mentioned painting their fascia a flat black and then finding it to be too much of a contrast from the scenery found on the layout. Yes, the eye “stops” at the fascia, but it’s a hard stop.
Joe Fugate ended up using a dark green… Others report a shade of gray. Depending up on the main color of the scenery, those colors seem a little less abrupt to the eye.
Have used various over the years, but the current layout, which dates back to 1984, models the red dirt country of Oklahoma, which can be a deep red in many places. So, I used a reddish brown for the facia, for the waybill holders and other devices attached to the facia, with dark brown pleated curtains (thanks to my wife) below to the floor. The walls are sky blue with backdrops, the carpet is a nondiscript brownish color, and it all blends together quite well. I also used a standard color mix from a local hardware store so I can obtain a “refill” when needed. Anyway the whole mess blends in well with the railroad scenery base so that the fascia, etc. is not noticable.
Bob
I painted mine a flat black. I agree with the person who said it creates a frame and is a hard stop on the eyes. I think I will end up changing to a dark green. I would avoid gloss or semi gloss paints, the idea is not to draw attention to the fascia.
I would think matching the overall color tone of the fascia to the overall color tone of the layout scenery would make it less distracting.
As others have already suggested, painting fascia black is a method of directing the viewer’s eyes into the scene by minimizing any distractions within the viewer’s field of vision. This is particularly applicable to multi-level layouts and especially those where the layout’s lighting originates immediately above the layout, as in an overhead valance. In such situations, a black fascia is used to create the highly desirable shadowbox effect.
Since the layout lighting in my situation is basically the room’s ceiling lighting, I chose a dark green for my facia. This softens the transition from the layout to the surrounding room environment for the viewer’s eyes.
The one thing that should be avoided is any sharply contrasting, or bright, color to the fascia. These will distract the viewer’s eyes away for the layout itself.
CNJ831
You might get the best contributions of all colours you use if employing a banded approach faded/blended a bit, just as we do the whitish/bluish effect in the distance nearest the horizons of our backdrop skies.
It doesn’t have to be only grey, black, or brown… Begin with a green, blend it with another band of darker green, and then blend that with black…sort of…
It might be very effective.
-Crandell
I used a medium dark green fascia and charcoal gray skirting…
Nick
I used a color similar to hunter green, it is just a touch darker than the dark green curtain that I have hanging below it. Similar to pastorbob, my wife pleated the curtain and it added to the overall effect,I attached the curtain with strips of velcro so it is easily removable… It looks great and gives the layout a finished touch,. although the layout is far from finished. .
Many good suggestions/ideas here already, just wnat to throw my [2c] worth. I’ve been doing Free-Mo for several years and the “standard” fascia color is Great Desert Beige. While it does look good, especially on the western modules, I feel it tends to “dry out” the look of our more great plains scenery I have. So I’m going to try either a flat black or a hunter green to see if that gets the eyes more focused on the scenery and not cause it to take on a percieved characteristic. While it’s not supposed to take away from the scenery, I think it can enhance the mood that one is trying to create. For example, a rust belt, heavily industialized scene migh benefit from black or grey as it would help highlight the urban feel.
I would suggest getting some small cans of paint and try several to see what works best for you.
I’m pretty much set on my home layout, when constructed, wikk be a dark green.
Ricky
Hi, Bob.
Black is a common color as well as a medium green or beige. I personally think it depends on what YOU like most and appeals to you. I don’t care for green or brown. My layout is set in the Fall so I chose a color from Behr called “Pumpkin”. It goes well with my scenery and is pleasant to look at. I also think flat is a poor choice as well as gloss. Satin or semi-gloss is what I like. I don’t know how to get pictures posted here but I can send you a picture of my fascia if you’re interested.
Roger Huber
Hi!
I wrestled with this question on my under construction 11x15 HO layout, and settled on black satin latex paint. It is a nice defining edge, and yet not obtrusive. In fact, I’ll probably paint the legs that color at some point in time.
I’ve used brown, green, and even paneling on previous layouts and they were OK too. So I guess it all comes down to what you like best, but I would suggest the flat/satin black as a starter.
Mobilman44
I’ve often read that flat facia paints will show fingerprints much more readily than satin (gloss being too…glossy). Have you all found flat to show more smudges and fingerprints than satin? I’ve always had dark greens but I’m seriously considering black this time to (hopefully) make my modest sized layout look a bit larger.
Bob,
As others have mentioned, there are several ‘popular’ colors. Myself, The fascia is painted a dark brown, and I have orange trim around the control panels - A Milwaukee Road ‘theme’. Our club uses a green, and that looks quite good. A friend down the road also uses the same green and it looks good on his two level layout… I think the fascia color is really a personal thing. I would not use a ‘flat’ color. I used a ‘satin’ color and it cleand up good, and does not show things like thumb prints.
Jim
I think it is both a personal feel sort of thing, combined with the overall “theme” of the layout. To me black is way too jarring unless, like in a museum, the whole room lighting is muted so only the layout is lit diorama style. I’ve gravitated toward an earth tone coloring, much as others above have said that is close to the natural ground color in the area I’m modeling (redish brown). If I was outwest, it would probably be a be more of a tan/brown.