Blue Skies, Cutting Curves, And Some Clamps (189)

[@mikedurhan9941]

Incredible videos. You were born to do these......... Thanks so much.

[@TheDCCGuy]

It keeps me out of bars!

[@ricter591]

Thanks Larry, I Very Much enjoy the Videos once or twice a week 🐾🚂 BearCreek RR, Cov, KY.

[@jhoodfysh]

Very nice Larry, I appreciate the information and the humanness of the presentation, complete with corrections and adjustments as circumstances warranted. Thank you very much.

[@theeandlcmodelrailroad5528]

If you put a backing board it will put pressure on both uprights as long as they are the same thickness. The plastic wrap will keep the support from sticking. Good job. It's difficult to do even with six (6) hands.

[@TheDCCGuy]

Those clamps are what made it possible, worth 2-3 hands, but I still had to wrap one leg around the base into to hold it still.

[@bernardc2553]

High Desert Skies are beautiful up in NE NV. Larry..just love your videos

[@ronduz1281]

Great video Larry as usual. The sky is gray in Toronto today. Looking forward to seeing blue skies

[@nicholasbishop3300]

This looks great Larry Really enjoying the layout series Nick Australia

[@68Jaguar420G]

Good video Larry. The only thing I would suggest is that people using this method also clamp the backdrop to the vertical support. By keeping that interface tight it minimizes any opportunity for the glue to expand into the gap between the backdrop and support thereby helping keep the overall assembly tighter and more rigid.

[@TomYoureDoingItWrong]

Just like Seattle. "Blue skies, shining on me. Nothing but blue skies, do I see..." - Willie Nelson At risk of being a nitpicker, I might suggest an alternative to attaching your clamping blocks to the stationary blocks. Do you think a small carriage bolt installed in the stationary block from the hardboard side, sunk enough to be below the block surface, and protruding through the outside of both blocks, and secured with a washer/wingnut combination might work? My concern with wood screws will result in a worn-out hole that would require occasional insertion of a small dowel to reestablish sufficient screw gripping surface. Your system is a great idea!

[@TheDCCGuy]

I wanted to avoid any use of screws, bolts, etc. running through the backboard. Moving these around is sure to result in popped spackling. Better to keep it all simple and mounted on the rear.

[@selatoski]

@@TheDCCGuy Larry, respectfully, I believe Tom was referring to countersinking the carriage bolt into the glued block of wood before gluing it to the hardboard, avoiding the spackling you mentioned, but relieving the concern of the screw hole wearing out.

[@johngiaconia1385]

I see there are no complaints about the edits. They were perfect. Loved the content too.

[@peterjhillier7659]

Thanks Larry, your Back Drop looks really good and offers an excellent and inexpensive way of creating one. I fancy your Weather is probably better in Asheville than it is in Northwest Devon at the Moment, it has been quite cool and wet since the start of May, mind April was unusually dry and the Farmers were hoping for some Rain.

[@dundasjunctionmodelr.r-jam8267]

Looks great Larry

[@nicksanto882]

My lady, an artist, suggested that the really blue sky made my layout look too dark. I lightened it up with a lighter mist or much lighter overcast and agreed that it worked much better. Your backdrop looks great!

[@TheDCCGuy]

Thanks Nick. This is a color I get mixed at Home Depot, Offshore Mist. Folks do tend to pick too dark a blue IMHO. Actually the color tends to be darker towards the ground and get lighter as you go up in altitude. I know some folks who actually paint their sky using an air brush to get that gradient in color. However I use photo backdrops on my PS and the one I will use on the modules will cover the whole shooting match-assuming it ever arrives. PS-I now have the EMD 21 pin decoders from LokSound, SoundTraxx, and WOWSound so look for a 3 way comparison soon.

[@markl3603]

Excellent backdrop Larry. I reccomend using Velcro to attach it to the uprights, it makes it really easy. Velcro is also great for attaching low relief buildings to the backdrop so they can be removed when you take the backdrop off.

[@TheDCCGuy]

You could definitely use the heavy commercial grade Velcro. But I would be afraid that separating it might require a lot of heavy jiggling as well as a person for each upright just to keep it from reconnecting.

[@JohnMullerJDGCTRy]

Good post Larry. Thanks much for sharing.

[@karlgrimsley6102]

Looking good! Why not glue the support uprights to the backboard? To remove, simply unscrew the backboard from the baseboard. Safer in my opinion.

[@TheDCCGuy]

I just wouldn’t trust the glue bond to hold up over time, especially on a layout taken around to shows and meets. While a wood to wood glue bond is pretty reliable the hardboard can be a bit flaky and might pull away.

[@julianrobinson8177]

Thanks Larry good presentation on backdrops, though I would catch up on your Friday channel today ( Saturday ) as it is raining here in England today :( Keep well Julian

[@modelrailroader5619]

Nicely done...thanks!

[@1701_FyldeFlyer]

Sky is blue at 8:30pm here in North West England! Nice one, Larry.

[@donaldshroyer8633]

Nice vid. Good tutorial on mounting backdrops and using gorilla glue at the same darn time.

[@melfordhorrocks3327]

Another great video, I like the clamp system. The sky is a little too blue for Scotland today as it’s raining again. Good work, Mel

[@TheDCCGuy]

I was careful to say England and not the UK. I hear it never stops raining in some parts of the west coast.

[@marksawyer5299]

Thank Larry. I've been to London a few times. The skies were a brilliant blue every time. Looking forward to future updates.

[@andrewstevenson5449]

Very pleased you've shown how people to curve backgrounds round corner: so many layouts are - well spoiled is maybe a strong word, but not shown at their best with the 90 degree corners to the backscenes. The clamps you've made work really well too, but I wonder why you did it that way, rather than fixing the verticals to the backscene (which would also give it some stability when removed), and then attach the swivel clamps to the edge of the baseboard, where you could screw them in.

[@TheDCCGuy]

I am always amazed how tight a curve you can bend into this stuff. I didn’t want to screw the backdrop to the uprights as that would require spackling to cover the heads and the chance that would later pop off. I guess you could use Gorilla glue.

[@mikeburton8687]

Nice backdrop Larry gives me and idea how to do one for my layout, thanks!

[@roberttrains8696]

Good video Larry thanks for sharing Robert Guzman

[@michaeljamesdenniss2716]

Hi had a lot of dark clouds today in uk

[@TheDCCGuy]

Interestingly Justin at Model Railway Scenery/Railway Modelers keeps talking about how beautiful the weather has been down in Cornwall.

[@davidcurtis5398]

Using the plastic wrap was a good idea.

[@grahamblow9978]

I would use Gorilla yellow wood glue to avoid the foaming issues.

[@TheDCCGuy]

I actually like the foaming as it provides proof it is working.

[@davidbellamy5445]

Great video Larry. More than once I’ve tried to clamp something and had that same issue. What number screws did you use? Those coffee stir sticks are one of my favourite scratch building items. They are even good for cleaning real dirty track spots.

[@TheDCCGuy]

I think those on the wood blocks are #8x3/4” wood screws. I countersunk them then drilled out the outer hole so it would pivot freely.

[@chriscox4023]

Hi, the sky is a little bluer here in the UK at 6am 5/7/21

[@TheBradmarriner]

Why not at the bench and glue the upright

[@farmerdave7965]

Rule #1 on building modules ... NO PARTICLE BOARD !!! If you use particle board your module will be so heavy you will not be able to lift it.

[@TheDCCGuy]

Plus it is not dimensionally stable. At my old club the raised aisles were particle board. After a few years they sagged so badly we had to replace them with 3/4” plywood.

[@KenN.OXN.805]

So, what’s the suggested material to use instead?

[@farmerdave7965]

@@KenN.OXN.805 Use regular dimensional lumber and plywood.

[@farmerdave7965]

@@TheDCCGuy Which is why I do not use trex for decks.

[@KenN.OXN.805]

@@farmerdave7965 I may have misunderstood your original advice about particle board. You weren’t criticizing the use of the stuff Larry used for his backdrop, right?