Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Backdrop number three!!!

Here goes my third attempt at getting a backdrop material put in that I'm satisfied with. 

This time, I went with 4X8 sheets of 3mm Komatex. Its a sheet made of expanded ABS "foam" sandwiched between to thin sheets of ABS plastic. So far, I really like it. I first put in some extra support on the benchwork. The Komatex is very flexible so I wanted the extra support in hopes that it won't buckle like my Masonite did. After that, I applied liquid nails to all the supports then just stuck the Komatex to it and it stayed. At each joint, I added a 4" wide piece of Komatex to the back of the backdrop glued on with plumbing "all purpose" glue. It holds like a charm. 

I'm going to fill the small gaps at the joints with squadron green putty. I'll post more photos as I clean up the joints and paint. For painting, I'm thinking of renting an airless spray painter. 

Just to get a feel of how smooth it was, I tested it with a backdrop structure. To me, it looked like a good fit. So, for now, Komatex seems like a winner. More photos soon.

Been a slow layout week...

I've had a slow week working on the layout as I got involved in a few DCC installs on some locomotives. One thing I've learned is DC...