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Model railway
scenery: Scenic backgrounds (by Chris Ellis)
Scenic Backgrounds
The most basic scenic setting of all for a model railway is
the printed (or painted) backscene which might be likened to a
backscene you would see in a theatre play. Model railways
depend on illusions to enhance realism and the backscene is
part of the illusion. You may not have space to model rolling
hills
or pretty landscapes or indeed towns, cities or harbours but
as in a play you can portray land beyond the or railway tracks
with a scenic representation.
 The
extent to which you use backscenes depends very much on the
layout. Hills or structures close to the railway you may model
in full or in low relief but any gaps between the hills or
buildings can be filled with printed or painted backscenes. If
you have an artistic talent, you can paint the scene you want
to suit the place but most of us have to make do with the
printed colour backscenes that are sold in model shops.
Several firms make these, amongst them Peco, Townscene (UK),
the Walthers (USA), Faller and Auhagen (Germany) and MZZ
(Switzerland). Big model shops usually have one or more of
these ranges and the sheets are generally inexpensive and
depict town, country or industry. Additional to these,
however, it is worth looking in old colour magazines of all
sorts and ‘countryside’ calendars for these sometimes have
suitable printed scenes to the required ‘eye level’ viewing
angle that can be cut out and either used alone or glued over
printed backscenes to give further variations.
Once you have
the printed backscene you still need to install it on the
layout. The backscenes are printed on paper so need a stiff
support. Card sheet will not do for it will start warping as
soon as it is in place. Much better to use 4mm plywood or
hardboard. This can often be bought very cheaply as discarded
‘offcuts’ at DIY shops. For 00/HO size a minimum depth would
be about 6 inches (15mm) as in the example shown, but if you
want more ‘sky’ or higher mountains, anything up to 12 inches
(30cm) could be used. If you want to fill in gaps between
fully modelled foreground hills, you may only need short
strips of backscene, though the example shown is more typical
and is 28 inches (66cm) long. Some printed backscenes have the
sky included, others don’t. Even where the sky is featured, I
prefer to cut it away and paint my own. This is because air
bubbles inadvertently left when you glue on the backscene will
show up only too clearly on sky. If there are any on the
ground area, they are easier to hide with a foreground bush or
building.
Detailed
Overview
1.
 Having
obtained your plywood strip (or hardboard strip, smooth side
to the front) place it along the baseboard edge and draw a
line to ensure the painted scenery is glued on straight.
 2.
Paint on your sky. you can use any matt acrylic paint but the
inexpensive way to do it is to use a sky blue or light blue
sampler pot for household emulsion, sold cheaply in DIY
stores. This is being used here here with acrylic white paint
from a tube being brushed horizontally into the blue while it
is still wet to give a cloudy bright sky effect. Note the
guideline previously drawn on the wood. Leave it to dry for a
few hours.
3.
 Cut
out the printed area required from the printed backscene
sheet. the Bilteezi sheets shown do not have any printed sky
so the outline has to be cut out using sharp scissors.
Note that
you can select sections from the sheet and mix and match them
a little to give variety.
 4.
Glue the cut out sections on the previously painted plywood
laid over the sky. Use white PVA glue applied very evenly to
the back of the paper so that no air or bubbles are left to
form.
To eliminate air
bubbles altogether use an art roller to roll the glued sheet
perfectly flat. If you do not have an art roller, an old
rolling pin, milk bottle or a coffee jar can be used instead.
5.
 Once
the glue is dry you can screw the backboard in place along the
rear frame edge of the base board. On a very narrow shelf
layout the printed backscene may constitute more of the scenic
element than on a large layout with hills fully modelled.
6. With the
backscene in place you get an impression of depth and
countryside where there was none before. On the layout shown
in picture 1 at the top of the page, foregroud scenic work has
still to be completed. Note how structures - ion this case a
small station can be placed in front of the back scene
Scenic
backgrounds by Chris Ellis.
Thanks to
Chris Ellis for this article. If you have any
secret tips that you would like to share with us, then
please drop us an email at
feedback@stocktonmodeller.co.uk,
include your web address and we will link to you.
Cheers
Stockton Modeller Team
feedback@stocktonmodeller.co.uk
Other articles connected to this
series can be found at the following addresses.
Model Railway Figures /
Model Railway Scenery /
Model Railway Layout /
Model Railway
Landscapes
Stockists of Hornby, Bachmann and Heljan Model Trains, Coaches and
Wagons.
Also stock all accessories to compliment your set with full
kits available.
http://www.stocktonmodeller.co.uk
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