TrainJunkies
  • Home
  • Planning
    • Planning/Options
    • Mounting Backdrops
    • Samples
  • Backdrops
    • Gallery
    • Most Popular Backdrops
    • Mountains >
      • Above the Clouds
      • Alabama Hills
      • Alaska Range
      • Alaska Range II
      • Christmas North Pole
      • Christmas North Pole Village
      • Dolomite Mountains
      • Donner Pass
      • Donner Pass No Snow Sheds
      • Early Valley Winter
      • Eiger Mountains
      • Fall Mountains
      • Feather River Mountain
      • Fresh Snow
      • High Sierra
      • High Sierra 2
      • High Sierra 3
      • High Sierra 4
      • Lake Tahoe
      • Lake Tahoe Winter
      • Mount Shasta
      • Mount Shasta 2
      • Mountain Spring Snow w trees
      • Mountain Spring Snow no Trees
      • Rocky Knoll
      • Rocky Mountain Fall
      • Rocky Mountain with Clouds
      • Rocky Mountain with Blue Sky
      • Sierra Mountain Divide
      • Spring Pasture
      • Winter Pines
      • Winter Storm Approaching
    • City-Industrial >
      • Big City Skyline
      • Big City 3
      • Big City 4
      • Big City 5
      • Big City Dallas 1950s
      • Big City Sydney
      • Big City 9 Kansas City
      • Coal Power Plant
      • Fall City
      • Feather River Main Street
      • Main Street America 1
      • Main Street America 2
      • Main Street & Big City
      • Main Street From Behind
      • Mountain City
      • New York City
      • New York City Fall
      • Oil Refinery
      • Residential Hill
      • San Pedro Seaport
      • Seaport
      • Seaport with Ship
      • Steel Mill
      • Suburban Hill
      • Union Pacific Yards
    • Sky-Clouds >
      • California Sunset
      • Just Clouds 1
      • Just Clouds 2
      • Just Clouds 3
      • Just Clouds 5
      • Just Clouds 6
      • Just Clouds 8
    • Desert >
      • Arizona Desert
      • Big Thunder Mountain
      • California Desert
      • Desert Fall
      • Goblin Valley
      • Monument Valley
      • Southwest
    • Forest >
      • Alaska Trees
      • Autumn Trees
      • Florida Forest
      • Golden Fall
      • New England Fall
      • Pine Forest II
      • Rocky Mountain Forest
    • Rural >
      • American Farm
      • Appalachian Foothills
      • Appalachian Valley
      • Arctic
      • Black Mesa
      • Blue Ridge Fall
      • Central Valley Field
      • Clear Cut
      • Clear Cut II
      • Continental Divide
      • Copper Mine
      • Fall Meadow
      • Georgia Forest
      • Grassy Hill
      • Great Plains
      • Heartland Farm
      • Highway 1
      • Just Corn
      • Just Corn II
      • Just Corn III
      • Midwest
      • Northern Plains
      • Old Faithful
      • Patchwork Farms
      • Rocky Bluffs
      • Tuscan Hillside
    • Rivers >
      • Columbia River
  • Custom Backdrops
    • Custom Backdrops
    • How We Create a Custom Backdorp
  • STREETS & ROADS
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • The WP
    • Feedback
  • Photos
    • User Photos
    • Videos
  • Home
  • Planning
    • Planning/Options
    • Mounting Backdrops
    • Samples
  • Backdrops
    • Gallery
    • Most Popular Backdrops
    • Mountains >
      • Above the Clouds
      • Alabama Hills
      • Alaska Range
      • Alaska Range II
      • Christmas North Pole
      • Christmas North Pole Village
      • Dolomite Mountains
      • Donner Pass
      • Donner Pass No Snow Sheds
      • Early Valley Winter
      • Eiger Mountains
      • Fall Mountains
      • Feather River Mountain
      • Fresh Snow
      • High Sierra
      • High Sierra 2
      • High Sierra 3
      • High Sierra 4
      • Lake Tahoe
      • Lake Tahoe Winter
      • Mount Shasta
      • Mount Shasta 2
      • Mountain Spring Snow w trees
      • Mountain Spring Snow no Trees
      • Rocky Knoll
      • Rocky Mountain Fall
      • Rocky Mountain with Clouds
      • Rocky Mountain with Blue Sky
      • Sierra Mountain Divide
      • Spring Pasture
      • Winter Pines
      • Winter Storm Approaching
    • City-Industrial >
      • Big City Skyline
      • Big City 3
      • Big City 4
      • Big City 5
      • Big City Dallas 1950s
      • Big City Sydney
      • Big City 9 Kansas City
      • Coal Power Plant
      • Fall City
      • Feather River Main Street
      • Main Street America 1
      • Main Street America 2
      • Main Street & Big City
      • Main Street From Behind
      • Mountain City
      • New York City
      • New York City Fall
      • Oil Refinery
      • Residential Hill
      • San Pedro Seaport
      • Seaport
      • Seaport with Ship
      • Steel Mill
      • Suburban Hill
      • Union Pacific Yards
    • Sky-Clouds >
      • California Sunset
      • Just Clouds 1
      • Just Clouds 2
      • Just Clouds 3
      • Just Clouds 5
      • Just Clouds 6
      • Just Clouds 8
    • Desert >
      • Arizona Desert
      • Big Thunder Mountain
      • California Desert
      • Desert Fall
      • Goblin Valley
      • Monument Valley
      • Southwest
    • Forest >
      • Alaska Trees
      • Autumn Trees
      • Florida Forest
      • Golden Fall
      • New England Fall
      • Pine Forest II
      • Rocky Mountain Forest
    • Rural >
      • American Farm
      • Appalachian Foothills
      • Appalachian Valley
      • Arctic
      • Black Mesa
      • Blue Ridge Fall
      • Central Valley Field
      • Clear Cut
      • Clear Cut II
      • Continental Divide
      • Copper Mine
      • Fall Meadow
      • Georgia Forest
      • Grassy Hill
      • Great Plains
      • Heartland Farm
      • Highway 1
      • Just Corn
      • Just Corn II
      • Just Corn III
      • Midwest
      • Northern Plains
      • Old Faithful
      • Patchwork Farms
      • Rocky Bluffs
      • Tuscan Hillside
    • Rivers >
      • Columbia River
  • Custom Backdrops
    • Custom Backdrops
    • How We Create a Custom Backdorp
  • STREETS & ROADS
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • The WP
    • Feedback
  • Photos
    • User Photos
    • Videos

Options

Planning your backdrop

When building a model railroad, Christmas Village, or slot car layout, you need to put on your Hollywood set director's hat and view your scene as through it were going to be viewed in a movie.
Things to keep in mind:
  1. Perspective.   What is the audiences point of view?  What do you want them to see and what don't you want them to see?  Example: I have three layouts.  The first is an On3 that runs around my office, 12 inches from the ceiling.  The audience's point of view is from below, looking up.  From the vantage point, the viewer can not see the track... so I used Kato HO snap-track.  No need to do lots of ballast work since no one can see the track anyway.  I also have an HO layout that is at eye level (if you're 60 inches tall) and wraps completely around a 14 X 16 foot room (my barn).  For this layout detail is very important up front, but gets lost towards the back.  And my third layout is an N scale that is two feet below my HO layout.  The view point of the audience is looking down, so the background detail isn't as important as the track and landscaping are.  Get my point?  Backgrounds are just that, backgrounds and should add depth to your layout, but not the reason that someone is looking at your layout.
  2. Focus.  Next time you watch a movie, notice that the background in usually not in focus.  This is intentional.  Movies are shot this way so you focus on the actors, not the scenery.  The same consideration should be given to your layouts.  What do you want the audience to see, your trains, village, cars or the background.  In my world, its my trains.
  3. Media.  What is the backdrop printed on.
  • Matte:  A backdrop with a dull finish.  If the backdrop is not what you want the audience to focus on, this is recommended.
  • ​Vinyl: A backdrop printed on banner material.  If your layout is going to be subjected to climate, such as an outdoor layout, you might want to think about having it printed on vinyl.  Also, if you have a portable layout that you pack around and put up and take down often, then vinyl would be a good option as it is much more durable than paper.
  • Back-lit film: There are times when you want a sunset to really shine through, then a back-lit film might be perfect.  Mount the backdrop to opaque Plexiglas backing and shine light through it.   Spectacular!   Think, the SP Daylight, on the Southern California coast at sunset...
TrainJunkies offers the following:
  1. Matte Paper: Coated matte photographic paper: (90lb) -  Perfect for when you want the background to almost stand up by itself!  Very stiff.
  2. Self Adhesive Vinyl: Matte, perfect for those layouts that might be subject to high humidity or a backdrop that might get a bit of wear and tear.. such as portable layouts or one where the grandkids play.
  3. Back-lit film: Very thin plastic film - Perfect for sunset/sunrise dioramas. (email us for special pricing)
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Mountains    Industrial-City   Sky-Clouds   Desert   Rural   Forest   Rivers   Custom
Picture
Train Junkies is a division of WEPrusso, Inc.  (C) 2007 - 2022
www.trainjunkies.com