This diagram shows the side profile of the backdrop design. Three rows of furring strips will be attached to the wall, and the Masonite board will be attached to the furring strips. The line 30 inches down from the overhead lighting cabinets represents the approximate location of the lowest scenery level.

August 3rd, 2003

The backdrop panels will be cut from Masonite board, but they need a sturdy support system. I cut 2-inch wide boards from 1/2" Oak plywood as shown in the photo here.

August 8th, 2003

The furring strips are installed simply via screws to the studs in the wall.

August 26th, 2003

Next, I cut all the Masonite panels to fit their location and attached them to the furring strips with yellow carpenters glue. A brad nailer held the panels in place while the glue dried, while minimizing the amount of damage done to the panels.

September 3rd, 2003

This photo shows the backdrop panels painted with several coats of bright-white latex paint. This was needed to hide the darker color of the Masonite board, and also to cover all joint compounding. It gave me a nice blank slate onto which to start painting.

September 6th, 2003

The next step is to paint some backdrop scenery on the panels. The photo on the right shows the video tape I followed to learn how to paint backdrops. I highly recommend this video if you want to learn how to paint your own backdrops. The first thing I did was mark off a horizontal line at 62" above the floor which represents the layout height (track level). Then I sketched in the rough scenery outlines. I had been collecting photos and images from various sources that have scenery in them of the real world. Where applicable, I placed those printed images under the layout area, to use as a reference guide.

September 24th, 2003

Here are some photos of the basic scenery backdrop painting I did following the steps of the above-mentioned video.