Before adding any thing to the roadbed or foam surface of the layout, I wanted to get the backdrop and fascia squared away. I imagine that both will have to be repainted or touched up during the construction of the layout, however, installed, with a base coat, it shouldn’t be a hassle to do this.
The layout isn’t independent, but rather, attached to the wall of my shop. The wall is 1/2” OSB. This was both a cost savings measure and a convenience for attaching shelves ,tool holders, etc. on the work bench. OSB has too much texture to serve as a backdrop, and I wanted radius corners. I applied 1/8” masonite over the OSB. This material will curve into a pretty tight, maybe 8” or so radius at the corners with a little work. It was attached to the OSB with drywall screws. Care was taken to place the screws on studs, and a countersink drill was used to “prep” the holes so the screw heads sit flush. There were two seams between sheets, and a lot of screw heads to disappear. I used a two part resin body filler, like Bondo for this work. It’s easy to sand and tends to fill nicer than the putties or drywall compound that most folks use. We use this in our cabinet shop for almost all painted cabinetry. When the heat and humidity return in the spring, we will have to see how the seams behave, but for now, they are invisible.
After sanding and refilling as needed, the backdrop, and fascia, which was installed in same way with same material, was primed and painted. I’m on the fence with having the sky color on the soffit, and might change to black, although that would add a third color into the mix.
