Random thoughts Using “photo flats”and fighting the ordinary/Bob Walker W
hen you see a title of a column that includes the word “ran- dom” be highly suspicious. It usually means that the author could not come up with a meaningful topic for the month, and you are going to be subjected to some less than specific meanderings. I’ve never tried to fool you folks, and that is exactly the case we have here. I took one look at this blank computer screen and my mind turned to mush. I’m going to sit here and glare holes through this monitor until this “writer’s block” goes away. I’ll do my best to make it interesting, how- ever, and we’ll see if Bill, Chris and Jim will let me get away with it. Wow! It’s gone! Here we go. Fasten your seat belts–this is going to be a wild ride. I was going to call this one “Back- grounds and flats” and discuss uni-di- mensional structures. You know, build a front wall and stick it on the backdrop with two-sided tape. Strangely, as big a story teller as I am, I can’t come up with twenty or
Where the layout is narrow, half and quarter depth buildings are more ap- propriate than just a flat wall. As the layout gets wider, the flat wall concept works fine, and, where the pike is really deep, photos on foam-core work nicely. Photo-flats could almost be a
month’s topic, but I’ve “been there, done that,” so to speak a few years ago. The source of subjects for these photos is seemingly endless, and right on your own (and your buddy’s) layouts. Photo- graph your own buildings.
Set yourself up a table with a nonde- script background and a couple of photofloods set at 45 degrees to the sub- ject and start plucking buildings off the layout. Photograph all four sides, then print them out to whatever size you need. I prefer black ¹/₄″ foam-core and use a good photo mounting spray adhe- sive. I trim the flats to their final size with a sharp hobby knife. Friend Roy Kell brought over a bunch of his build- ings, and together with some of my own, we had 40 feet of backdrop buildings in a single day. Then I was going to call it “selective compression” but I’ve done that recently.
I’ve had some success at reducing
the size of the background buildings to force the implied depth of a scene. Likewise, smaller than scale flats will achieve the same goal. Cog the size of
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The use of photo-flats (top) for narrow places on the layout can give the illusion of greater space. This also works with forests (above), where various color values give the scene more depth. To add character to a layout and tell a story (opposite) one must think of a scenario and find the proper figures and backgrounds to give the scene life.
AUGUST 2012
Scratchbuilder’s Corner
the building(s) down one scale or less. You folks in Z will have re-invent your own scale: perhaps HZ, as in “half-Z?” Anyhow, smaller than scale back- ground buildings work best in photos, on visitors, but not at all on you. You know what you put there and are not fooled for a minute. Neither are your guests, but most are creative enough to
PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR
appreciate the concept. If you make them look twice, you’ve brought it off. The bottom line here is that we are try- ing to fool people into thinking the lay- out is bigger than it is. We should all have a little P. T. Barnum in us and not be above a little trickery.
As far as fooling the viewer goes,
John Allen was a true master at it. In 1968, on my way overseas, I managed to wangle a visit to this most famous of model railroaders. He must have had a soft spot for soldiers headed into the unknown, for the invitation came with- out hesitation. This was the equivalent of a Little Leaguer getting batting tips
so paragraphs on “flats.”
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