Re: And another backdrop/background question

dobermannOGR Forum Member

I'm still a long way from the backdrop maybe but looking for suggestions so I can start planning. It's Mianne bench-work with a lift-gate. The basement has an exposed ceiling and it's too late to do anything with that. I wanted to be able to walk around the outside and inside perimeters so it's about 3' from 2 of the knotty pine paneled walls (there when I bought the house). So far the options appear to be hang Masonite on the walls or hang from the floor joists leaving a walkway or attach maybe foam-core to the sides of the layout enabling me to peer over the sides. Removing the paneling is not an option.

In addition to the layout there's a slot car setup Foosball table exercise equipment my granddaughters 4x8 layout 2 workbenches and a lot of basement stuff so a backdrop will be a necessity.

Most likely I will end up with a backdrop warehouse setup. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

8/31/171:06 AM

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Mike CTOGR Forum Member

You can do a lot with paint. Light blue, and then my wife's artist work. We had discussed this before, PBS, Bob Ross and his "Happy Trees"

Paint on drywall.

Wall paper.

8/31/178:50 AM

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dobermannOGR Forum Member

Thanks . Hand painting is one of the many options I'll be looking at for the background. My concern here is for the actual support mechanism since I want to be able to walk around both the inside and the outside

joe

8/31/179:37 AM

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AvantiOGR Forum Member

It can be very effective to hang a paper background print as a curtain. You just staple it to furring strips along the top and bottom, and suspend it from the ceiling joists using fish line:

backdrop corner 2

No attachment to the wall required.

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8/31/179:45 AM

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dobermannOGR Forum Member

Looks like that would work for me. Do you know the source for the background ?

thanks

joe

8/31/171:21 PM

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AvantiOGR Forum Member

dobermann posted:
Do you know the source for the background ?

I found the image on Wikimedia. They have many nice panoramas. I printed it at work, but there are many service bureaus and local print shops that can do it.

8/31/173:07 PM

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Michael PagsOGR Forum Member

The hanging paper background looks great and would eliminate lots of work with hanging Masonite. I had some similar issues, but went the Masonite route on the finished walls - some paneled, some wall board. After painting the skies and clouds, I ordered backgrounds from LARC products and Trackside Scenery. Both were great to work with and did some customizing. In my case, I wanted to show the change of seasons and a shot of Mt Hood (now live in Portland, OR with beautiful views of that mountain). See panoramic photo of layout and shot of Mt Hood (layout still under construction).

I also wanted access to interior and was going to go with the lift gate mechanism from Mianne Benchwork, but the unusual situation (upper level of two level track, and against a wall), created too many issues. Finally went with lift up section following system described by Jim Barrett in run 270 of ORG Magazine. Took more work, but lots cheaper...and it works! See photos.

Just some thoughts to share.

Michael