Color

That fascia really makes a difference to the look, or setting, of the layout.   I also found that you can't have any hardboard sections with minimal support, or they'll get tweaked.

For color, I agree with my wife the color expert.  We decided early on that a medium color for the fascia allows it to basically disappear in the foreground.  I ended up with a light grey only because it was a $5.00/gallon mis-mix at the local HW store.  Up to then we were planning on a med. green (sagebrush is close) on the side of the room with green hills, and a med. tan on the urban side that includes only minimal geeen plants in the scenery.

Unless you're doing the Nevada desert, what WP runs through deserves green, IMHO. 

I've enjoyed viewing your postings on the 8th Sub.  Thanks much, and keep it up.

Fascia and backdrop really help

Once you get the fascia and backdrop in, things really start to take a much more polished look - even if the layout is just benchwork.

It's tempting to rush things but you're better off to just slow down and take the time to work on the so called "room esthetics". It's time well spent that you'll never regret later.

Fascia work

Nice work, Rob.

Here's some photos from my fascia instal... http://rgsrr.blogspot.com/search?q=fascia

And yes, it makes a huge difference.  In my case, because of some hidden track, many of the straight portions of my fascia actually fold down, giving easy access to wiring & track behind it.  That also makes wiring the LEDs and turnout controls into those parts of the fascia much easier.

And, w/ chains to hold them when down, they double as a decent work shelf.

Colors and such

Thanks for the comments so far.  Layout and room aesthetics are major subjects of emphasis for me, despite the extra work involved.  Steven - your fascia installation looks nice and clean.

As for the color choice, the 8th Subdivision runs through the northwest Utah, in the Great Salt Lake Desert and Great Basin.  I used a sage-y green on a former layout set in similar country, then used a grayish brown on the last one having a combination of scenery types that didn't seem to work with any one green I tried.

I used this photo in the backdrop thread, but I'll throw it in here too for color reference.  I'm thinking the fascia color should tie into one of the darker scenery features, in this case various shrubs like sagebrush, rabbitbrush or four winged saltbush. The former two tend to be more gray, while the latter is typically a deeper green.

Gray

I like your decision to use a gray that ties into the scenery color. Gray is nice because it is a neutral color. Nothing clashes with gray. It is my fascia color of choice for the same reason. When you pick your paint take a look at the colorants contained within the mixture. Black is not pure black in the traditional sense. All blacks actually have a color direction. Black popularly comes in blue or green shade. Your paint formula should contain a small amount of an offsetting tint so as to create a color neutral gray. i.e. if blue shade black is used then there should be a small amount of yellow oxide in the formula, if green shade black is used there should be a small amount of red oxide in the formula.

If you add a ton of white to a black sample it is easier to discern the color shift of gray due to the black's color direction.

Examples of 90 parts white + 10 parts black - left made with green shade black, right made with blue shade black. Both look like gray until you put them side by side. Then the color direction becomes apparent. Even with nothing but black and white in the formula there will be a color direction. The small amounts of oxide colorants offset this effect.

These squares are just for illustration purposes only of course. They are not scans of real paint chips. But you get my point.

Lighter color

Rob,

Thanks for posting that last reference.

My wife and I were just discussing the color selection, and we agree that the darker you go, the more that the fascia will draw your attention, unless you're close to the layout edge.  In that case, you'll only see the top boundary of the fascia, so color won't matter.

We would pick a tan a little lighter than the dried grasses that predominate around the roads and even between the clumps of green plants.

When we scrolled up to the first photo looking down the aisle, my wife commented right away that she would want the fascia to blend more with the floor covering than anything higher up, so that your eye registers the fascia as background rather than layout.

hope our 2 cents helps.

The LED lighting

I am very interested in your plan for LED lighting. I would like to do the same so, I hope you will post a lot more

about your results, what you used, where you got it, cost compared to florescent, and ease of mounting etc.

Thanks for your posts.

Ed

LED Lighting

Gosh that is a sharp looking layout...and the scenery hasn't even started yet! Very nice Rob!

I too am very curious about The LED lighting and the decision you made to use them. Huge benefits in cost and longevity. But what about the color? Is there a specific type or color spectrum you have found. I use LEDs for lighting my marine aquarium reef tank and  know there are different types.

I kind of had decided that if I ever were to do another layout I would use fluorescent tubes. The reason why is that I've always been so impressed by Pelle Soeeborg's photography of his desert themed layout and brilliant natural looking sunlight he achieves. I inquired as to what he uses, and this is what he wrote back.

Re: Lights

So far I haven't been looking at anything too exciting.  I experimented with some LED rope light that was around $14 for a 12 foot length that I've seen at various home centers and WalMart.  It can be had in "warm white" and "daylight."   The recessed fixtures use daylight CFLs, and the rope light provides a compatible look, although neither lists a color "temperature" or spectrum on the packaging.

LED ribbon lights are being investigated as a nicer solution, albeit much more expensive.  What I'm leaning toward right now is using the rope light and replacing it with ribbon lighting as future funds permit.  The upper deck fascia has allowed room for either option.

Enough rope to ...

I have a bunch of blue rope lights festooning the ceiling of the BCSJ train room.

With less than a few days of total operating time on them, one of them has already gone dead. I think they're probably not LED rope lights. But even so, I'd expect them to last longer than that.

Makes me think of the old expression, "giving them enough rope (lights) to hang themselves".

If you're going to use rope lights I'd suggest making sure that there is a way to easily replace them when the boogers fail...

Got mine at an after Christmas sale at Home Depot - FWIW

Cheers (or lack thereof),

Charlie

Re: Charlie

I think that's good advice.  One of the reasons for mounting lights under the upper level benchwork (rather than within it) was to allow for easy access to the entire lighting apparatus.  With the planned upgrade to better and more expensive lighting in the future, providing for simple removal was a must.

Progress...

Much has been happening on the layout that will appear in other posts in due time, but here's the fascia status as of today - the mud 'n' tape process is nearly complete, and painting should start within the week (color selection still to be announced).

Most of the corners are rounded, but a few are angled as shown above.  This area is the 25th Street Industrial Lead, a new part of the layout that most of you haven't been introduced to yet.  There are a couple of 135 degree outside corners on this peninsula, plus another two at 90 degrees.  In keeping with the desired seamless look, I wanted to avoid wood moldings and such, so a drywall-style finish method was used.

I used a corner tape product with two strips of metal embedded.  It can be flexed to any angle required.  Unlike a drywall installation, plain mud won't hold it to hardboard too well.  An aggressive adhesive is almost mandatory.  I tried 3M Super 77 spray adhesive, but a heavy-duty contact cement would also work, and possibly be easier.  The Super 77 stays tacky for quite some time, and seems to adhere best after a few hours.  I had several spots where the tape/metal stuck much more securely after having been in place for some time; I went back over the tape and pushed these areas into the adhesive and it stayed put where initially it wanted to spring loose just a bit.  The tape must be thoroughly adhered to avoid finishing problems with the mud later.  Note that the product should be installed with the paper showing and the metal toward the substrate.

This tape material is somewhat trickier to use than standard metal or plastic corner bead, but allows for a MUCH thinner application of mud.  The reduced plaster coat should be more durable when inevitably bumped by visitors and operators.

All the flat seams received fiberglass mesh tape, just as with the backdrop.  As above at Milton (top deck, with the Raft River branch below), sanding is almost ready to happen.  It will be nice to follow up with waybill boxes and other operating session aids once the paint is complete.  If you look close, you might just see some backdrop sketches starting to appear.  Stay tuned.

Nice work

Nice progress. I am jealous.

Couple questions:

1. You state that joint compound doesn't adhere tape well to hardboard. I have never found that to be the case. My current RR layout endeavor is the 3rd time in my life I have used hardboard/paper tape/joint compound. There must be a reason why we have different experiences. I sand the hardboard aggressively with 120-150 grit prior to application. Do you sand first? I squeegee the tape down very, very tightly. More so than I would on sheetrock. Same for you? My first coat of mud over the tape is thinner than usual sheetrock and dries at least a full day. Same for you?
2. How in the world do you sand compound in such a nice carpeted room full of track and buildings? I would have it looking like a winter scene within just a few minutes of sanding!

BTW the backdrop sketches already convey a realistic look even being in pencil.

Re: Alan

Clarification - the tape product with embedded metal doesn't stick well.  Mud forms a tenuous bond with the metal, which likes to spring into a curve when used in short sections as it is.  Plain old tape seems to adhere OK.  I used no adhesive on the plain tape and it's been staying put. 

I keep a tray or box under the area being sanded and work carefully.  There isn't much sanding to do the way I apply the mud, so the mess tends to be minimal.

Progress

You're making great progress, Rob, and the results look really nice. And you must really be a magician with a sanding block- like Alan, I'd have a winter wonderland in no time. Have you considered using a damp sponge? When I went back and added a styrene backdrop down the center of my peninsula, I used drywall mud and a sponge to feather the edge of the styrene into the existing backdrop. It worked pretty well and there was no mess to speak of- I just had to keep rinsing the sponge.

Tom Patterson

Metal / Paper

Ah, that makes sense. I have used only plain paper tape. Every corner bead I have ever used has been a metal nail on. Thanks for the clarification.

Re: Tom

Maybe it's me, but I haven't had the best of luck sponging mud on Masonite.  The fine feathered edges too often disappear on me and leave a slight ridge I can see through the paint.  

Thanks for the kind comments too.

Very nice, Rob

I'm so glad so many put pictures up of their progress and methods.  Its inspiring and helps keep guys like me more focused and driven to do their own.

Thanks Dave

Glad you find this kind of thing helpful.  I'll keep updating as more progress is ready to share.

Very nice

Rob,

This is really coming along nicely, everything looks very smooth and even. I look forward to your continued progress as you really have a very nice setup.

Fascia paint color choice

May I suggest painting your fascia the color(s) of the road loco's on the layout your modeling.   If your using multiple roads on your layout then it comes down to maybe doing certain colors in some sections.

Jim

Re: Jim

The WP locomotive paint scheme was indeed an influence on color choice.

All I have to say is.......

Clean & Elegant,

Rob fantastic work on the fascia and backdrop, really clean lines make so much more of a difference to a layout.  Even though you have no scenery in yet, it is still visually appealing to look at out and no doubt to operate.

Seriously love that first shot looking back along the yard, and can't wait to see the finished scenery in that section.

Jas...

Re: Jason

Thanks.  Once formal operations commence on the whole layout, and the operating scheme shows no further major track revisions to be necessary, it's scenery time.  I'm tired of looking at benchwork.