Painting Backdrops and Fascia

Work continues on painting backdrops, fascia and scenery. I am using a textured paint from the Ralph Lauren River Rock line. The color is called Adirondack Bark- strange name for a color that resembles red Virginia Clay. The paint has a fine black sand added to it, giving a slightly rough texture to the surface. I am using it on the fascia and as a scenery base coat.

As I paint the backdrop, I apply washes of acrylic craft colors to the scenery surface to help the colors blend. Most of this color will be hidden under a layer of applied scenery materials when I get to that phase.

Chard's book is helpful in providing guidance on showing perspective for backdrop scenes.

Just visible on the horizon in the second photo is a set of three field guns. These models are 25mm scale (1/64th) and are a test of forced perspective. They are hard to see in this shot as they blend with the distant ridge line. I think I can use 25mm figures in the deep scenes to help fill up the layout with detail. There is a wide variety of 25mm ACW figures and accessories available for the wargame market. Ideally, I would have preferred to do the layout in 1/64th scale, but the locomotives were not available.

The third photos shows my first attempt at painting a structure on the backdrop. In this case a small farmhouse. There is also a faint path leading off to the distance. I'll probably install a fence along the backdrop-scenery joint to help disguise it.

I planted some trees to see how they work with the backdrop. I painted some larger trees on the backdrop right behind the trees to help flesh out the forest that lies along the bottom of this creek. This is important in the larger scales on a shelf layout. Model trees take up a lot of room in this scale, so there is not a lot of space to simulate a convincing forest in the 8 to 12 inches between the track and the backdrop.

I am getting close to the point where I need to build the first bridge. I plan to install the bridge before I lay the track. I do not plan to use a temporary bridge, but I may change my mind as things progress. It seems to me that a temporary bridge is extra work, and may make installing the final model bridge more difficult. I plan to install a wood trestle here, though my brother was advocating a model of one of Haupt's pre-fabricated Shad Belly trusses.

Labor Day Weekend

Nothing like a three day weekend to make some progress on the layout, even if one day was our wedding anniversary.

I decided that it was time to finish the benchwork, install the remainder of the fascia and, after consultations with Alicia and Dave Emery, relocate the valance.

Photo at Left: Dave Emery is helping relocate the valance. The former location of the valance is visible on the ceiling.

The original valance protruded into the center of the room to accommodate the benchwork of the previous layout, one that was based on some of my existing oNeTRAK modules. The upshot was that the valance was in the way, made the room claustrophobic and presented a head strike hazard. The line showing the location of the old valance is visible on the ceiling in the photo at the left.

Once I decided to move it, it was a rather simple job. Dave Emery arrived just in time to be an invaluable help in relocating it. Moving the lights and patching the nail holes was not that hard.

The relocated valance is great. Combined with the new benchwork, the center aisle is now much more roomy. BTW Dave is working on his own Early Rail HO layout. You can see it here.

This photo shows the deep fascia installed at the Potomac Creek location. The completed fascia is visible at the far end of the layout room. The north end of the bridge is the narrowest point of the center aisle. The aisle is about 36 inches wide that choke point.

This photo shows the terrain forms at the big curve near Stoneman's Station. I used a can of Great Stuff expanding foam sealant to fill the holes in between the pieces of pink foam. The Great Stuff works, well... great :)

The horizon painted on the backdrop at Stoneman's Station will be adjusted from this photo to be about 3 inches lower. That is one of the advantages of hand painting backdrops, adjustments are easy.

In this photo, some of the pink foam terrain has been covered with a coat
of "Fast and Final" patching putty. This particular putty works well with pink foam. It allows trees and other scenery items to penetrate without crumbling. One this dries, a coat of paint will go a long way to making it look like something.

This will be the view greeting people as they walk into the layout room.

Certain Slant of Light

There's a certain slant of light,
On winter afternoons
That oppresses, like the heft
Of cathedral tunes.

Heavenly hurt it gives us;
We can find no scar,
But internal difference
Where the meanings, are.

None may teach it anything,
'T is the seal, despair,
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the air.

When it comes, the landscape listens,
Shadows hold their breath;
When it goes, 't is like the distance
On the look of death.

Emily Dickinson

I never really understood this poem, but when I see the winter sunlight I think of the first stanza. I always liked the late fall season, before the snows come, and the early spring before the flowers bloom. I like the color palette that arises from the browns, muted greens and dried grass tan viewed through the crisp air. Here are some sample shots that I found on-line that typify the look I am going for.




For an interesting example of how seasonal lighting affects a scene see the Sauter's Delight Blog.

More Backdrop Work

Work continued on the backdrop and hill scenery in front of it. One of the advantages of hand painting the backdrop is that I can make changes or modifications easily. As I install the terrain for the hill between the tracks and the backdrops, I see that I may need to repaint small sections to better integrate the hill with the backdrop. This is easy to do with hand painted scenes.

You can also see how the clouds formations have smoother color blending thanks to using oil paints. The acrylic paints dry so fast that it can be hard to blend the color transitions. To feather acrylic paints takes multiple layers of very dilute paint, called a wash. This is made more difficult by the vertical nature of the backdrop, as the dilute paint forms drops that can run down. Oil paints are much easier to blend. I am using water soluble oil paints that do not require mineral spirits to thin. They are very handy. They dry a little quicker than normal oil paints too.

These two photos show close up views of the backdrop. The building is a paper cut out from Brian's artwork. This one is just secured with a piece of masking tape. When I go final I will use double sided adhesive film.

I can print these at various sizes and shades to fit into the scene. I think they will save a lot of time.

There are two books I found useful in preparing me to paint backdrops. The first is "Landscape Illusion" by Daniel Chard. The style and techniques he presents are very useful in applying to model railroad backdrop painting. The other is "Acrylic Landscape Painting" by Hugh Green. This book is a more general purpose discussion of using acrylic paints in landscape scenes. I haven't personnally seen Mike Danneman's new book, but his backdrops are some of the best I have ever seen.

Backdrops Decision - hand paint or photo murals

I am at the point in construction that I have to make a decision about the backdrops. For the first section I used a photo mural that combined Brian Kammerer's art work with actual winter photos of the Potomac River watershed. This worked out great. The completed 12 ft section always gets compliments from visitors.

But the next couple sections of the layout traverse some relatively hilly ground with two stream crossings. The first will be a short trestle over Clairbourne's Run. The second is a big gap across Potomac Creek. These two crossings will require special treatment to properly convey the perspective of the run (stream) flowing around the scenery. Trying to get the computer printouts to fit this area is going to be very tricky.

I am also concerned that I can not get my scenery colors to match the backdrop colors. While it is not too obvious in person, it is very noticeable in photos.

Therefore, I thought I'd take a stab at hand painting the backdrops. I think I can handle the ground, trees and details. I can not paint the sky and clouds as well as an actual photo. Here are some photos showing the results of the first section of hand painted backdrops.

I actually enjoy the painting process, so the extra work is not an issue. The computer files are so large that they tend to bog down the computer, so working on the art process on the computer is not as enjoyable as it could be. So....... decisions, decisions?

Work is also progressing on the Potomac Creek scene. Mark was over Saturday and he continued with framing the deep benchwork. I continued some work on it Sunday, installing the backdrop

extension. Reconfiguring the benchwork in this area to accept the deep and long bridge scene was a lot more involved than we first anticipated. Not only did the benchwork have to be rebuilt, but the sky board had to be extended down to provide the depth needed where Potomac Run meets the backdrop. Although a bit of work, it was not difficult and it is coming along nicely. I am using Bondo Filler to patch the seam between the existing styrene backdrop and the lower extension. The big hole in the sky just visible at the right is to allow access to the main water shut off. It will be covered with terrain, or a structure. Alicia came down and gave the scene a "thumbs up." She also said she prefers the computer printed backdrop, but she only saw the initial phase of the test section.