Share backdrop experiences?

Good topic...I've been wondering the same thing.  

I used backdrops that were printed by Duquesne Graphics (?). I ordered them from Scenic Express a few years back. There were city scenes (Pittsburgh), steel mills and mountains. They are printed on heavy paper and I put them on the wall with wallpaper paste. It took patience to get the few bubbles out with a hard roller. My layout is in an attic room (in SC) and it gets hot up there in the summer and after 4 years there has been no shrinkage or lifting seams. I used premixed high adhesion wallpaper paste formulated for hanging border paper over wallpaper. Both big box home stores have it. 

The biggest drawback in my mind was that each piece was 13" X 36", so there were 5 seams on each side of the layout and two on each end. The problem was that the photos used were taken on different days so the sky was a different shade of blue in each piece. I wound up painting every bit of sky the same color with latex paint. Getting the paint around the railings on the steel mills was challenging to say the least. 

Some of the mountain scenes with homes on them have a bit too much sky and too little mountain, but I'll make them work.

The backdrops look faded, but it is my poor lighting and photography skills(?).  The city scene has a long way to go and some items like the signal bridge will be moved. The missing "windows" in the backdrop buildings light up for night scenes. I built out the backdrops by 1 " onto masonite panels and have a string of warm white LED Christmas lights as my light source. Unfortunately, I don't have a decent photo of the mountain backdrops.

You are far more ahead of the game than I am with backdrops and city scenes. For me your work looks great.

I used mainly Walthers & Pioneer backdrops and just cut them up and pasted over each other I like things simple. Roo.

we used carpet tape to hang our from backdrop warehouse. don't press it down firm at first, that way you can make an adjustment if needed. once it's in place, press it down and smooth it out. Hang it from the top only, let it hang a few days, and then tape the ends if you choose. We left the bottom free as it's covered by the top of the layout anyway.

I just bought a self adhesive backdrop from Track Side Scenery but haven't put it on yet.

KERRIGAN,

What ever you decide to go with, myself and everyone else here on the forum would enjoy seeing it. So if you have the time, I would like to see some pictures.

Thank you. 

I used backdrop Warehouse.  Like Doug I used the carpet tape, and it was simple to hang.

This post is helping me decide what to do. Does the carpet tape or the velcro stick directly to the wall, or on to some kind of backing not attached to the wall. Thanks.

Trainfun posted:

I used backdrops that were printed by Duquesne Graphics (?). I ordered them from Scenic Express a few years back. There were city scenes (Pittsburgh), steel mills and mountains. They are printed on heavy paper and I put them on the wall with wallpaper paste. It took patience to get the few bubbles out with a hard roller. My layout is in an attic room (in SC) and it gets hot up there in the summer and after 4 years there has been no shrinkage or lifting seams. I used premixed high adhesion wallpaper paste formulated for hanging border paper over wallpaper. Both big box home stores have it. 

The biggest drawback in my mind was that each piece was 13" X 36", so there were 5 seams on each side of the layout and two on each end. The problem was that the photos used were taken on different days so the sky was a different shade of blue in each piece. I wound up painting every bit of sky the same color with latex paint. Getting the paint around the railings on the steel mills was challenging to say the least. 

Some of the mountain scenes with homes on them have a bit too much sky and too little mountain, but I'll make them work.

The backdrops look faded, but it is my poor lighting and photography skills(?).  The city scene has a long way to go and some items like the signal bridge will be moved. The missing "windows" in the backdrop buildings light up for night scenes. I built out the backdrops by 1 " onto masonite panels and have a string of warm white LED Christmas lights as my light source. Unfortunately, I don't have a decent photo of the mountain backdrops.

 

 

Hi Trainfun,

I am just days away from hanging my backdrops. Based on your entry on this thread it seems like you may have overcome the obstacle I have and that's having a layout in an attic. Even though my train room is not in an attack it is over my garage which has the same type of ceilings you would see in and attic. Would you mind sharing more pictures of your backdrops and also share how you applied them, explaining particularly how you dealt with those "hard to fit" areas.

Backdrop Warehouse.  Possibly the best high end product out there.  He even provides a rebate if you send him photos of the finished job.  We hung it with glued on velcro tape  for a slick reuse.

Have patience with the website.  Lots of variations of product available.

Raised bench work support for a roll out work table.

LUVINDEMTRAINS,

I hope this helps.

Some suggestions: I like the velcro solution described by others above. If you think you might move and would want to take the backdrops with you it might be preferable to using wallpaper paste.

Patience is a must!

I began in an attic space over a garage. There was an 8' by 12' platform of 3/4" plywood and drop down stairs. I doubled several of the floor joists and then extended the platform to 8' X 25'. I used 2' X 8' masonite panels 1/8" thick (cut down from 4' X 8' sheets at Home Depot) to cover the roof beams and create side walls. I just screwed them on and painted the walls Honolulu Blue. I painted the flat ceiling white. I wound up with a barn shaped room. There are 4' X 8' tables at each end and a 30" X 16'  table along one wall and an 18" X 16' table along the other wall. The result is a giant rectangle, open in the middle.  Due to space considerations, the table is only 18 inches above the floor, a very tight fit when I have to work under it.

Whether to put up the backdrops first (as most recommend) or after some scenery is done is a chicken and egg question that depends on your individual circumstances. I installed mine after the elevated platform along one side wall was in place and after I had built the foam cliffs along the other side wall.

To attach the backdrops I used premixed wallpaper/border paper paste from the big box store. I put the backdrops face down and used a 2" paintbrush to apply the paste to one backdrop. Then I placed the backdrop in position and used a stiff bristled wallpaper brush to smooth out the bubbles. I followed the same procedure for the adjoining backdrops, carefully butting the seams. A few curled slightly at the upper seam edge and I used Scotch Magic tape to hold them down.  After 24 hours I carefully removed the scotch tape.

I still have yet to hang some backdrops on one end wall and parts of both side walls. Once the backdrops are pasted in place and the paste dries, I used Honolulu Blue to paint all of the sky areas on the backdrops so they all match perfectly. This really helps to hide the seams.  It is also very time consuming and takes a steady hand and a combination of small artist brushes and a larger brush to quickly cover large areas. (If the sky areas in your backdrops match you can skip this annoying step.)

Most areas on my layout are not hard to reach. I was able to do all of the work by myself. Unfortunately, I don't have really good photos of the installed backdrops. I found a few that might help.

First photo below shows the 2 city backdrops before the sky backgrounds were painted Honolulu Blue.

Second photo shows the mostly finished city scene at "night" with all paint matched.

Third photo shows mountain backdrops before sky backgrounds were painted. The trees between the tracks and backdrop were added after the backdrop was in place.

The 4th photo shows the same side. By the truss bridge, the wall juts in by 2 inches. I just used lichen and the Honolulu Blue paint to minimize the impact. The last "mountain" was just a photocopy, held in place with tape and you can see it's edge has curled up. I may try painting a mountain on oak tag and gluing it there as a longer term solution.

Trainfun,

Thank you so much for your very descriptive explanation and photos. This helps.