Curved skyboards

[basementcalling]

Lots of people talk, and post, examples of coved corners on skyboards, but does anyone cove the top of the backdrop so it curves up and under an upper deck?

I am debating if doing so is worth the effort on the double decked sections of my Idaho Belt, or should the sky just terminate at the bottom of the upper deck? Obviously I would not want the backdrop to cover up all of the bottom of the upper deck, but in places I have 4-6 inches of extra material and wondered if it was better to just trim the plastic even with the lower edge of the upper deck or to leave the excess and simply curve the top edge and attach it to the girders.

[ednadolski]

I've seen it done, tho I don't have any specific examples to cite offhand.  Usually it make the most impact when up against the ceiling of a room.

Personally, I doubt that it would be of much benefit, unless the decks are really close or you have some other reasons to expect that it would be a noticeable improvement.  If it's only in some places then you might end up with a piecemeal look.   Don't forget that it has to be lit like the rest of the backdrop. 

Ed

[basementcalling]

Ed, I sent you a PM.

I was thinking of a couple places where the track rises in elevation and most viewers will have an approximately eye level view of the trains, or be looking up slightly at the trains on a hill. The fascia will prevent most of the underbelly from being seen, but the upper level benchwork will be clearly visible near the back of the scene in a few places.

[jimmo]

Taking cues from a lot of museum dioramas, I think it's up to how and what angles the viewer is going to be seeing your model world. Most layouts I see are pretty much a "just look at the trains" approach.

My shelf-type layout is mounted fairly high on the wall (about 60") and I want the viewer to see it as a "slice of life" view, even at a low angle. Curving the backdrop into a horizontal plane gives the eye no clue about where the miniature world ends. This works well in a shelf-type design with the upper structure containing the lighting behind a valance at the front of the scene. Hiding 1:1 structure and behind-the-scenes items makes a better experience for the viewer as well as myself (who has to see it every day).

I still have yet to figure out exactly how I'm going to do the compound backdrop curves. I will depend largely on what I choose for a backdrop material.

If the layout was positioned much lower with I don't think that curved top background would make that much difference.

[Catt]

For my quarter's worth (inflation ya know) If Iwere to do it I would want to do the whole layout,cuz like the man says the sky don't just end so the transition from verticle to horozontal to my way of thinking is the right way to do it Only caveat is make sure any clouds are only on the verticle  or the horozontal but never on the curved portion.

In all reality I will never have this problem because there is to much stuff on the upper walls to allow two or more decks (besides I can't seen to get a single level layout done. )

[C855B]

Interesting discussion. I have all but concluded that I will not be using skyboards in the open areas of my layout (peninsulas), favoring instead hills/mountains to separate the views since it would be in context. Most of the areas against the walls will be against a 13' ceiling, which (at the moment) I think is going to be a sky blue fading to white. Maybe all sky blue. We'll see.

However, in the area of the layout with two levels, doing the curve thing against the back of the valance is a great idea. It would even do well to have the illumination directed back at the curve rather than straight down. Like Jim said, however, compound curves are going to be a challenge.

[Philip H]

If you go over to the small layouts site that Carl Arendt used to run before he passed you'll see plenty of examples of this on European switch and shelf layouts . The British seem to take this to an art form.

[jimmo]

If you go over to the small layouts site that Carl Arendt used to run before he passed you'll see plenty of examples of this on European switch and shelf layouts . The British seem to take this to an art form.

1+

[Ian MacMillan]

Yes I have seen it done as well and it looked pretty good. I'll try amd find my photos I took of the layout.


*Edit: The layout was Rick Keller's (who unfortunately is not on Tour de Chooch this year) layout in Georgetown, MA

[jimmo]

Only caveat is make sure any clouds are only on the verticle  or the horozontal but never on the curved portion.

Personally, I don't think that clouds should be prominent in any model sky as they are only good for straight on and slight angle viewing. However, if your curved skyboard is broad enough it shouldn't matter, just avoid placing clouds directly on the compound curve as those illustrated objects get a little weird. Is that basically what you were saying Catt?

[Catt]

That was my point Jimmo.My only problem with clouds is (was) after the first time I did them everyone after that got a fresh coat of blue.I couldn't paint clouds with Michaelangelo guiding my  brush.

[Ian MacMillan]

Here is Rick's layout like I told you.



The backdrop is a little "cartoonish" and the seams are showing, but I am sure that it can be perfected.

[VonRyan]

Here is Rick's layout like I told you.



The backdrop is a little "cartoonish" and the seams are showing, but I am sure that it can be perfected.

That's some mighty fine looking scenery. So good that I wasn't looking all that much at the skyboards.


-Cody F.