12-28-2012, 02:57 AM
Thanks for the kind words, guys! 
This was her second try at the backdrop. The first one didn't end up the way she wanted it; the masonite flexed and moved a little too much and made the joints very hard to hide, and the color and surface finish was all wrong (you can see some of it right next to the window in the second pic above).
Instead of sanding everything down and struggle with the joints one more time, we decided to use vinyl flooring. The pieces were cut to the correct height (70cm) in the store, and we used regular wallpaper glue to fasten the 2 meter long strips onto the masonite.
The sky was painted with rollers and brushes, using a wet-in-wet technique we read about that she wanted to try. She did some practicing on a spare piece of masonite first, then the entire backdrop was done in under three hours. There is still some touch-up to do; in some areas the yellow vinyl shines through, and there are a couple of visible brush strokes that will be softened with some light drybrushing.
The clouds, distant hills and other details will be painted after the basic terrain is built, but before the layout sections are permanently fixed in place. The sections will be built with stacked pieces of styrofoam and spray foam cut to shape (pretty much the same way she built the diorama earlier), which then can be lifted out and carried upstairs for scenicking. The plan is to finish as much as possible upstairs, and just go over the section joints as the different pieces are put together in the layout room.
Svein
This was her second try at the backdrop. The first one didn't end up the way she wanted it; the masonite flexed and moved a little too much and made the joints very hard to hide, and the color and surface finish was all wrong (you can see some of it right next to the window in the second pic above).
Instead of sanding everything down and struggle with the joints one more time, we decided to use vinyl flooring. The pieces were cut to the correct height (70cm) in the store, and we used regular wallpaper glue to fasten the 2 meter long strips onto the masonite.
The sky was painted with rollers and brushes, using a wet-in-wet technique we read about that she wanted to try. She did some practicing on a spare piece of masonite first, then the entire backdrop was done in under three hours. There is still some touch-up to do; in some areas the yellow vinyl shines through, and there are a couple of visible brush strokes that will be softened with some light drybrushing.
The clouds, distant hills and other details will be painted after the basic terrain is built, but before the layout sections are permanently fixed in place. The sections will be built with stacked pieces of styrofoam and spray foam cut to shape (pretty much the same way she built the diorama earlier), which then can be lifted out and carried upstairs for scenicking. The plan is to finish as much as possible upstairs, and just go over the section joints as the different pieces are put together in the layout room.
Svein