Backdrops - Soon

Well, I haven't done any more benchwork or any other construction these past few months. Lots of other priorities popped up. The CAD work was completed by Byron and I've had full-sized prints made by FedEx ($$$ ouch) so I can start work as soon as I get some backdrops done.

I've settled on 3-foot high backdrops along the back next to the wall, using the bottom 6 inches for securing it to the benchwork. Based on the dimensions of that part of the layout, I technically need 17 ft, 2 inches, but there is an intersecting backdrop at about 14 ft. I'll put up a total of 3 pieces, cutting at 6 ft for the second one. The third one will only be about 3 ft long but it will merge with the intersecting one. Once these are installed, I can move the benchwork to the wall and start on the rest of the layout construction.

My original intent was to use commercial backdrops with various scenics to match the foreground layout. That turned out to be very expensive and when I tried to order, the process failed. After spending way too much time, I decided a simpler approach was called for - paint!

I've re-watched some videos I had regarding painting backdrops. What - it's so simple a child could do it. Not with an airless paint sprayer. I pulled my old Craftsman sprayer from the cobwebs in my shop and found that, while almost everything was there and clean, I only had one container and since it's over 25 years old, I can't get a second one. I wanted separate ones for the 2 paint colors so I could clean the first later and not interrupt the process. So, today I bit the bullet and got a new Wagner sprayer that I can get an additional container for but won't need at this time. I'll just use both sprayers for the different colors (a sky blue and white).

I'm going to put up a plastic drop sheet on one of my shop rollup doors (inside of course) and place the backdrop material (masonite) on 3 sawhorses, draping the sheet over the horses. That should keep overspray, splatters, and drips to a minimum. I hope to start next week with the painting after doing some related prep work (thinning the paint, etc.).