06-18-2012, 08:51 AM
Since you have a plywood table underneath, I think you have a few things to consider:
1) Regardless of what material you use, cut down to the plywood table, and install brackets/braces directly on the wood. They will be much more stable this way.
2) Add a small curve (if possible) to the backdrop. Laminating the two pieces of 1/2" foam in a slight curve will make it much more rigid. The curve will give it stability in three dimensions instead of just 2.
3) Use something else - you can get styrene in a decent thickness from public transit (bus-side advertising) often for cheap. This will take up less real estate on your layout. 4" for two staging tracks is pretty tight, especially if there is a "fiddle yard" component. It is also very close to the edge of the layout in the event of a derailment.
4) How much open backdrop will there be? With a steel mill complex, I would imagine that you will have a number of flats, shallow buildings, as well as the backdrop. If these components are all integrated, the backdrop should be strong.
5) How will you access the staging?
Andrew
1) Regardless of what material you use, cut down to the plywood table, and install brackets/braces directly on the wood. They will be much more stable this way.
2) Add a small curve (if possible) to the backdrop. Laminating the two pieces of 1/2" foam in a slight curve will make it much more rigid. The curve will give it stability in three dimensions instead of just 2.
3) Use something else - you can get styrene in a decent thickness from public transit (bus-side advertising) often for cheap. This will take up less real estate on your layout. 4" for two staging tracks is pretty tight, especially if there is a "fiddle yard" component. It is also very close to the edge of the layout in the event of a derailment.
4) How much open backdrop will there be? With a steel mill complex, I would imagine that you will have a number of flats, shallow buildings, as well as the backdrop. If these components are all integrated, the backdrop should be strong.
5) How will you access the staging?
Andrew