Creating a Backscene: A Railway Modelling Companion

All railway layouts deserve a fitting backdrop to bring the whole scene to life. In this book artist Paul Bambrick encourages scenic modellers to create their own landscape backscene. In this attractively illustrated book he introduces the reader to useful theory and history, with superb examples of illustrations for the reader to aspire to, but always concentrating on useful tips about how to break down the painting into practical stages to get the job done. The author deliberately aims the book at the average modeller who is not an artist. The backscene serves its purpose as an element of the model layout and even if the reader has not painted a picture before the author demonstrates through exercises and guide examples how you can make interesting creative choices about your railways appearance to achieve a well observed end result. Each stage is accompanied by sketches and photo examples of applications, explaining the principles and methods and showing how directly the reader can get the most practical benefit. The skills of building a layout or a model can be adapted to the job of producing a backscene.And if the reader would prefer a 3D backdrop, the author shows that the skills required require more modelling than painting so they are little different to any other scenic model railway work. The chapters follow a sequence from study to method, as a guide to avoiding common mistakes and to encourage the modeller to adapt the backscene to his or her own modelling methods, materials and preferences, eventually creating a backscene in the modeller's own style, following his or her own view as to what part an environment should play as it surrounds a layout. The book could also be used to sort out any problems in existing backscenes - the modeller can easily look up the relevent guidelines on perspective, sky or buildings for example. The co-author John Ellis has also added useful sections on alternative methods and processes of producing backscenes using digital photography and editing software for those who are more comfortable with cameras and computers than brushes and paint

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1. Does Your Layout Need Context? 2. Influence from Old and New 3. Your Inspiration and Mood 4. Looking at Skies, Seasons and Light 5. Theory, Conventions and Perception 6. Research and Reference 7. The Photographic Panorama 8. Planning Space and Placing Features 9. Full Size Mock Up 10. Finish the Mock Up 11. Ready to Start the Job 12. Pencils, Paints, Brushes and Spraycans 13. Colour and Texture Matching 14. Apply the Sky 15. Below the Skyline 16. Trees, Foliage and Nature 17. Working on the Buildings 18. Drawing and Painting 2D Buildings 19. Into 3D with Relief Buildings 20. Other Elements 21. Props and Details

About the Author :
Paul Bambrick produces high quality landscape backscenes for model layouts and scenic dioramas for collectors to display their locomotives. Recent commissions include work for the highly commended 7mm Bucks Hill layout.