Hardboard

I use 1/8" hardboard or Masonite.  It can be cut with a table saw, sabre saw or a utility knife.  It takes 2 coats of paint.  I attach mine with "finish washers" and drywall screws.  It could also be glued.

Masonite or hardboard

I used  1/8 inch hardboard.  

Masonite or hardboard

I used 1/8 in. masonite. easy to cut and paint.

Masonite is the best material

What I use

I used recycled 1/4" steel with 3/8" steel banding held in place with rivets.  It's a little rusty, but works.

Seriously, it's 1/8" hardboard painted to look like rusted metal.

Rick, show off!! LOL. That's

Rick,

show off!! LOL. That's some great fascia bud, a little out of my league right now.  The hardboard is just what I'm looking for. 

Thanks guys 

Beetle Juice - LOL!

I couldn't resist.

Skirting

It seems like 1/8 Masonite is a consensus.  

For skirting I use black landscape fabric.  Cheap and available at any number of big box home improvement stores.

Masonite

Masonite is fine if it has lots of support.  Where there are curves it can be a problem, especially if it's in a basement where there are changes in humidity.  It will tend to expand and buckle in the summer.  My experience has taught me that it works fine if it's sealed and fully supported on a wood frame of some kind.  Otherwise I won't use it.

@rickwade

Even though I follow your build and I knew that the fascia was indeed painted hardboard..........as I was reading your description of the rusty metal and looking at the photo I was buying it! Man, that's some good work!

"I used recycled 1/4" steel

You could probably glue some 1/8 inch masonite over the steel to pretty it up?  .....DaveB 

Foamcore or MDF and carpet

I used MDF on my last layout.

I used MDF on my last layout. Have to be careful with moisture and temp changes

phil

Masonite/Hardboard

I believe the Masonite Corp has gone out of business. Ask for hardboard or sometimes tempered hardboard. The tempered hardboard has a very hard surface treatment on one side, same thing as Masonite. Haven't been able to get either here in Canada for a few years now, all they sell now is just plain hardboard which would be more prone to moisture than the "tempered" stuff and is softer.

Thanks, Rick S!

It was fun to do.

Masonite Corporation

Actually, Masonite emerged from bankruptcy a few years ago and after reforming, now manufactures doors.  I don't believe they offer hardboard panels any longer.

The thing that did them in originally was their line of hardboard siding.  As useful as Masonite is, it ISN'T useful for exterior siding, as the moisture will eventually do the stuff in.  A huge class action lawsuit some years ago forced them into bankruptcy.

In my area (south Louisiana) hardboard panels made by other manufacturers are easily obtained in 1/8" and 3/16" thicknesses (1/4" is made, but isn't so easily obtained around here).  I use the 3/16" thickness for most of my fascia, and 1/8" where I have to make a tight radius.  Soaking a panel with water will allow you to bend it into a much tighter radius than when it's dry.  After it dries, it does just fine in it's curved state.

I used hardboard on my

I used hardboard on my previous layout.

I liked how it was flexible.

I even used it on my lift up section.

    I used recycled 1/4"

The fascia looks really great, it is hard to deny - the texture in the photo almost appears to be a rusty leather.

But at the risk of being a contrarian, that fascia stands out so much that it competes visually for your attention against the layout train scenes.  It is a distraction from stars of the show, the trains, at least when you stand back and look at the scene as a whole.  When standing up close  perhaps the fascia is not as much of a of a distraction.

I recall David Barrows approach to fascias as he described them in one of his Model Railroader articles back in the early 1990's.  He would us a dark complimentary color to the scenery environment in combination with valences where only the scenes were lit.  I recall him saying in the article people would talk in hushed tones due to the effect the museum-like presentation of the scenes.  I had to agree with what I saw in the magazine photot as it was very effective.  To me, Davids' type of presentation is pretty close to the ultimate goal.

Jim Fitch - you make a good point

Fascia (and backdrop) can be a distraction to the "stars of the show" - the trains.  It's certainly a matter of personal choice on how they should be treated.  On my previous layout I used muted color paint on the fascia.

So why did I go with a "fancy" fascia on my current layout?  One reason is it's small size as there just isn't a great deal to see on a around the wall 10ft x 12ft layout.  In addition to the fascia I'm going to decorate the top area of the walls with pictures and other railroad goodies.  Another reason I went this route is because I (and others) "digest" the layout in phases; that is, first look at this, then look at that, and so on.  When I walk into my layout room I first take in the overall "picture" which contains the fascia, curtain, landscape, backdrop and upper walls.  Next I focus on the track and scenery by walking closer to examine it more carefully.  When I'm operating I don't see the fascia much at all as I'm close to it and focused on the trains and surrounding scenery.  Here's what it looks like from eye level looking at the track.  Notice that you really can't see the fascia at all:

As I've said, it's a matter of personal choice and I guess if I just stared at the fascia most of the time it would be a distraction - but for me I enjoy having the look on my layout.  One man's opinion.

Rick

To put your version another way:  For those of us who have quite short attention spans, it's "Oh!  Man!  Look at that fascia!  Really really nice!  Ok..  Oh!  Look at the track work!  Really nice!  Oh!  Look at the trains!"  And so on.  For me, your fancy, attention getting fascia works very well.  But then I have ... what was I saying?

Bart

Go with the flow

Masonite is about the way to go. For underneath, may I make a suggestion. Instead of using some kind of skirting install plastic shelves. They are handy and will fill up easily and quickly. they come apart so you can change the stacking arrangement. The one shown is under my "helix". Notice the painted masonite fascia. that's a 90 degree bend.

For underneath

  In some spots I used salvaged kitchen base cabinets for the "legs" and built the benchwork over them , at other spots I boxed in storage with plywood doors. Now I just need to organize all the junk into the drawers and cabinets :> ) .......DaveB

  Base cabinets    

    Plywood under benchwork cabinets

I hear that

the fascia "takes away" from the models if it is too fancy or stands out in some way, but for me that is just not a concern.  I don't plan to do anything other than a dark brown or black fascia, but using Rick's as an example, I look at it and go "Wow, that's neat!" then examine it for a bit, then start looking at the trains.  It takes nothing away from the scenes or the trains.  If it was paisley or fluorescent pink, sure it might be a distraction, but I just don't buy that a fascia like Rick has in anyway detracts from the models.  I think it enhances the entire layout, actually.

Dave.  Different strokes. 

Dave.  Different strokes.  It's cool in and of itself, don't get me wrong, but it's not for everyone.  And I'd guess from reading a number of articles on fascias', it sounds like many are of the philosophy that a fascia is meant to frame a layout, and be of a "muted" appearance which is fits the theme.

Now that many more people are displaying wide angle shots of their layouts and layout rooms, you can really see how "environment" and other factors appear.  One example which is sort of a 1970's thing is wood wall paneling.  It was popular back then and some still have it.  When I see a wide shot where you can see the room walls, that wood paneling is very distracting.  Other layouts where the walls are sheetrock or drywall, and painted a sky blue from the layout surface to the ceiling, that looks much better overall.  In a few cases, the modeler would have a room with paneling but build a short backdrop with sky on it, maybe 20-24 inches high.  In a wide angle shot, it is visually quite jarring to see that paneling above the short sky back drop.

Back to fascia's.  What I find myself preferring after viewing so many layouts is a color that is themed and complimentary to the scenery styles.  Typically for mid-west and eastern scenery layouts, the fasica is some shade of green or dark green, or even black.  Western tends to be some type of earth tone although not always. For example, Rob Spanglers is a grayish green.  I recently saw a photo with a very bright yellowish-brown fascia which to me was very "loud" and stood out very strongly in the photo's.  Of course, as many will say, it's my layout and I can do what I want - always true.

This topic reminds me of home buying and selling.  My dad was a real estate agent for years after retiring from a 22 year Air Force career, and the general advise when selling a house it to try to keep it Neutral to have the widest appeal.  My wife and I have been house hunting past few months and some have seen some with very bold, personalized and specific types of paint, border trim etc. and we found it to be, at minimum, very distracting from how we would envision the way we could use the house or spaces.  At very least it's something that may have to be "corrected" and at worst, turn you away.  Neutral is more appealing visually or at least lets you see a home for it's possibilites and uses.

Fascia's to me seem a bit like the above, to have the best effect overall, they need to be neutral, and in-addition, it seems to helps the appeal if they are muted and complimentary to the layout.  The overall trend I've noticed is they seem to have a gray shade mixed in, weather an earth tone of tope, brown, tan etc. or a greenish shade.

As always, people have personal tastes and it's up to them to choose what suites them.