Hi folks, I am now offering the backdrops on an adhesive vinyl paper in addition to the enhanced matte.  This paper offers the same level of detail and matte finish, while coming with a self adhesive backing and offering a little more moisture resistance for those with a damp train room.

Also a couple of new backdrops and cut out kits have been posted.  Let me know what you think.  I am also getting close to purchasing a larger printer in the next few months.  For those that might be looking for taller than the 17" I currently offer what size would yould you be looking for?  New printer will likely go up to 44".

Also, we will be at the Greenberg show in Wilmington, MA November 19 and 20 and at the Big E show in West Springfield MA on January 28 and 29.

Dave

Hey dave,

Really like how the vinyl is looking.  and looking forward to see what else will come along.  Was also wondering if could do  a series perhaps by time of year...I did get your sample and was also wondering if you did get to getting some fall shots yet? 

Hi Nathan the leaves have only just started changing and due to al the rain we had this year it doesn't look to be a good season.  We are taking a drive North today though to see what we can see.  Maybe a couple shots will come out of the trip.  Will let you know.

Nathan, and all,

Just posted the newest backdrop.  New England fall foliage.  Colors are still in early stages but this one had some nice color in it.  Measures 17" x 100" and can be made larger or smaller as necessary.  Its on the HO Misc Scenes page.  Follow the link below its GEN009.

http://www.backdropjunction.com/hobackdrops/miscscenes.html

Let me know what you think.  Might be able to get another couple tomorrow, going for another family drive.

I am finding it difficult to imagine how I will visually join backdrops along a length much greater than your print length. Is it practical for you to photograph a panorama so there is a continuous scene when several backdrops are combined end-to-end?

Alan,

I've seen layout where the seams between backdrop panels are hidden by foreground scenery  of "flats".  In one instance the panels were joined where there was a "low" area of the hills and a foreground building covered the joint.  Of course, this was where the modeler had cut off the sky from the backdrop so the low hill area was only about 6" high.  The modeler had painted his own clouds on the wall above the printed backdrop.  I hope that this helps.

Rick

Hi Alan, sorry for the late reply we were doing the family thing all day.  Mighta got a couple more backdrops shot though.

As to your question about using more than one scene.  There are a few options for using more than one scene.  As another poster said it is often easy to simply use on layout scenery elements to hide the area that the transition occurs.

If that is not something that will work for your setup, like my own layout and backdrop, there are editing techniques that can be used to blend the backdrops together.  When I do this the customer will tell me what two backdrops he wants combined.  I will use editing software to manipulate the image in order to try and make it less abrupt.  There are a lot of ways to do this.  One could be extending a tree line or mountain ridge.  Another could be to copy a field or building from another area and place it near the area the two scenes meet.

With the skies there are also three options I know of.  Some modelers will simply cut away the sky in favor of the painted sky on their walls.  THis seems to work pretty well for many.  Another option is after merging the two scenes, I can remove all of the sky elements, and place a new sky image behind the scene,or put a nice sky blue color behind the scene.  In this option I can grade the sky so it goes from a darker blue at the top to a lighter blue or white at the horizon helping add a sense of depth.  Actually both these methods are displayed on my wbsite.

If you look at IND001, that originally had a terrible sky, so, I removed it, placed a solid blue behind it, and applied the grade as I mentioned.  It worked pretty well.

http://www.backdropjunction.com/hobackdrops/industrial.html

The other method of actually replacing the entire sky was used on AGRI006.  I also like how this came out.

http://www.backdropjunction.com/hobackdrops/farmsandfields.html

What I tell all my clients about manipulating any image is that the more you mess with the original appearance, the less real it is going to look.  There is only so much you can do and some scenes will just never look right being put together.  

The final thing I have done when each scene had a nice sky of its own was to use a grade between one color and the other.  I have no examples of this on my site right now.  I did this to preserve the elements that were nice and because over 55' it seemed good to have the sky change a bit.  This meant the sky gradually changed from one to the other.  Again it does not look perfect but it provides a smoother change than a straight line.

Dave, thank you for providing the options. I will be "backdrop ready" sometime this winter so I really need to make up my mind what I am going to do. There is an area on my top deck about 60' long where no structures of any substance will be up next to the backdrop so that makes the "hide the seam" option tricky. Plenty of trees but few buildings. Out of curiosity, do you ever find yourself in NE Ohio with your camera?

Hey Dave,

Fall here is coming in good, I will see if I can get someone to take me out to a couple of places.  I am trying to get mid to late fall, so the more color the better.  Keep me posted please, as I'd be looking for hills, and trees, perhaps a road with fall trees on either side...perhaps a backdrop for my gravel pit if something for that could be done and a mine site

Alan, in my work as a corporate pilot I have very little notice of where I will be going on a daily basis.  I do get into places like Cleveland and Columbus pretty regularly.  Unfortunately I have not had much time available when I get up that way.

Nathan, will do.  I have a couple favorite spots picked out, just waiting for the leaves to change.  If you do choose to use your photos just be sure to take the photos at the highest resolution possible, and overlap each image by about 20% so the stitching software knows what to do.