Using Your Pictures for Model Railroad Photo Backdrops

For those of us who haven’t been blessed with artistic talent, the idea of painting backdrops for model railroad scenes can be pretty nerve-racking. But fear not—there are a number of excellent alternatives available to help create a beautiful scene without ever having to pick up a paint brush. One such option is to use photograph of real places, which requires you to travel to your favorite locations to take some pictures.

Creating model railroad photo backdrops is a pain-free process that takes little time and effort to complete, but the benefits are bountiful! Have your trains travel along glorious mountain ranges, across unending desert terrain, or through thick jungles. Have them travel wherever and however you want. Let’s see how it works!

Making Model Railroad Photo Backdrops

Once you’ve determined that you don’t want to test your skills with a brush in your hand, it’s time to pick out the pictures you want to serve as your backdrop. Model railroad picture backdrops can be as long or short as you want; the only limit is the number of photos you can take!

To help you piece the pictures together, Doug Tagsold teaches the proper method for arranging your series of photos and aligning them according to reference points where the pictures overlap. He uses an example series of photos he captured to demonstrate the simple process for making model railroad photo backdrops, and then shows what it looks like once the resized images are lined up correctly.

Last, Doug explains what to do with model railroad photo backdrops that have large portions of sky, and finishes by introducing a commercial alternative that you can find at your local craft store if you don’t have the capability of getting to your favorite spots to take pictures. With model railroad picture backdrops, you get to take your trains anywhere in the world!