Installing overlapping building flats

 Jim, great post on how to mount flats. I've used Velcro in the past and at times tried various methods of holding them in place with magnets. It all comes down to hiding the way they are secured with an invisible mount. I have a few resin and wooden flats that are braced with quarter inch stock. This method works well mounting flush and tight to the backdrop. It helps if you have a window lined right up with a stud or backdrop support. 

 Place a piece of quarter inch wood that covers the window opening. You must plan ahead and not model that window or multiples if you chose. Glue it in place and drill a hole for the screw you are using to mount the flat. It will look like this. Then just screw it into the stud.

 Now you must hide the screw. On a resin kit with snug fitting windows it's possible to darken or fog the glass and just push it in place. Some thin wood or styrene can make the fit tighter. File a little notch so that you 

can get behind it and pop it out to access the screw if you decide to move it or further detail it at the bench. On the above structure I simply made a wooden window that pops in place giving it a boarded up look. You can model open double hung windows with an open bottom and use a shade to hide the screw. Just lift up the shade to access the screw.

Great ideas guys...I am going to "steal" them

Alan

You can also use refrigerator gasket magnet material. It is easy to drill through, and can be made bigger or smaller by cutting it to the needed length. I use this sometimes for my music. I made an extra wide music stand out of steel as opposed to the standard aluminum ones. To hold the music in place, I use small pieces of the magnet. It's very hard to turn pages and play guitar.

Don

Thanks, Jim, very nifty idea.  I am about to make a 64-inch wide background section with downtown building flats on it and I like this idea.  

Amazing how myopic I  can get.  I use several dozen magnets in my workshop, as in the photo below.  I drill 31/64 inch holes in the wood below shelves and insert 1/2" diameter magnets into them.  The magnets hold tools conveniently right out where they are easy to reach.  But I never thought about using them for backdrop holders.   Again, thanks. 

Great idea Jim. Thank you.

 Thanks Jim, Great idea.

Makes a big difference. Thanks for the idea, Jim.

Should be able to adapt some of these ideas for mountains and forests, too.

Thanks.

Thanks Jim, great as always!

I bought a pack of small "rare earth"magnets years ago, and have used them for many things...like attaching a wall to a building so you can easily get inside to change bulbs or re-arrange room details. It works like a "temporary glue". Just make sure there is a small gap between the magnets, since they are VERY powerful, and hard to separate from each other.

Great post Jim. It's something I needed to learn. Thanks!

Jim and Dave - Thanks for the great tips.

Art

Gotta Luv it !  and so simple too