The ugliest backdrops ever created...

After much procrastination, I've decided to complete the white foamboard backdrop around the layout. As you can see, the prefab scenery panel in the middle of the top level was removed so that the backdrop could be painted behind it.

This was painted a sky-blue-ish shade... and despite me using some putty to smooth minor imperfections in the joins, I'm a bit bummed that you can see them more clearly now that the blue has been installed. This may be because of the directional lighting coming in from the right...

I also used a pretty crappy brush while applying the blue which has left some horizontal strata that also picks up bright light sources from above. Drat. Definite blue-fail.

On my last layout I experimented with super realistic photo-backdrops but here I've moved to the opposite extreme and really dumbed things down. I didn't even graduate the blue with white towards the horizon or pop any clouds in... Because Switzerland's weather is always perfect blue skies... Not.

After the blue had set, some green paint was mixed with the sky blue colour (distant things almost always inherit a bit of sky colour) and this was used to paint some rudimentary 'hill forms' behind where the scenery will be. I then used the green (which is a reasonable approximation of my pine tree colours) to vertically daub on some distant 'trees'. These are not intended to be representations of anything specific, but break up the solid colour of the 'hills' in the distance.

As you can see below, this is pretty ugly when viewed au natural...

However with the prefab scenery installed in front of it in the picture below, you can see how the ugly duckling is transformed an appropriately vague backdrop rendered in appropriate shades of nothingness that doesn't scream at you. For once, I completed painted the backdrop all around the layout, even to the ends which don't have much scenery on them yet.

Other than the messy blue I think I've gotten away with it.

With the backdrop not even dry, the prefab scenery was finally glued into place so that some overhead wiring poles could be installed on the top level of track..