Model Railroad Layout Backdrops - How to Make Them Truly Stunning

By B. Murphy

A well designed and cleverly painted backdrop can make your model railroad layout stand out from the rest and look truly unique. This is mostly because it makes an optical illusion that produces an effect called forced perspective.

Forced perspective occurs when the layout in the foreground appears to be larger because it is placed in front of a space in the distance, which is made by adding a backdrop to the wall in the case of model railroads. It is an optical illusion that will make your entire model railroad layout appear to be larger than it really is.

The effect of forced perspective can be observed all around us. For instance, a barn several hundred feet away from you will look smaller than a Chihuahua sitting on the ground ahead of it. By analyzing natural landscapes you will notice techniques you can use to make an outstanding backdrop to use with you model railroad layout.

Projects of this sort always require lots of planning. Hopefully, you will be working on your backdrop at the same time that you are designing the rest of your model train layout. A mistake that many people make is working on the backdrop after they have finished everything else. If you design them together, you can make some interesting and unique set pieces.

To make your backdrop, you need to have in mind what season it will, what the weather will be like, the location you will be showing, and what kind of day it will be. Planning these details will save you lots of frustration in the long run.

Think about what the sky will look like. Remember that, even on a cloudless day, the sky is actually made up of several different hues of blue due to the position of the sun and other environmental factors. A good base color is Velvet Sky Vinyl, available in acrylic flat paint.
When considering what the clouds will look like, remember that no two clouds are quite the same. The grand majority of clouds are cumulus, stratus, and cirrus. The most common clouds are the white and puffy cumulus ones.

The color of clouds also varies quite a bit depending on where they are positioned in the sky. Decide where the sun is in your backdrop and then color the clouds near is lighter than those farther away.

Should you be using DCC control for your model railroad? Find out how it's different from analog control (and why it's better) on The Model Railroader website. Visit http://www.themodelrailroader.com for more helpful tips and advice about building a model railroad.
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