Painting Backdrops for Model Railroads

Nothing completes a model railroad quite like a well-made backdrop. You can add a remarkable amount of realism to your model railroad layouts by setting the scene for a nice blue sky day with a painted backdrop. To create your own illuminating backdrops for model railroads, all you’ll need are a few basic materials and a single afternoon—no artistic talent required. In this lesson, we teach you the expert tips and techniques you’ll need to paint beautiful backdrops for model railroads that will give your scenes whole new layers of depth and realism.

Creating Blue Sky Backdrops for Model Railroads

When it comes to painting backdrops for model railroads, it’s good to keep in mind that helpful phrase, “less is more.” You can opt for commercial backdrops with sprawling landscapes and intricate scenery, but generally all it takes to give your scenes a touch of realism is a roller, a brush, and blue and white paint. To help you perfect the process of making simple backdrops for model railroads, modeler Tom Lund teaches you the expert painting techniques you’ll need for a realistic blue sky.

Tom begins his step-by-step demonstration by discussing his favorite way to pick a flat, latex shade of blue for backdrops for model railroads. He explains why you don’t want to go with a paint that has any shine to it to avoid reflections. Once your color has been selected and you’ve poured some into a tray, Tom shows you how to use a small roller to apply even coats to your backdrops for model railroads.

While the blue paint is still wet, you’ll learn how to seamlessly incorporate white into the base coat with a medium-sized brush. Tom also teaches you how to do something called the wet-on-wet technique, which helps to blend the colors together, and then shows how to use the stippling technique to apply subtle clouds to backdrops for model railroads. With Tom’s techniques, you can create a simple backdrop in no time that utilizes just a few basic materials and adds terrific realism to your model railroad layouts!