WOOHOO! Good weather = time to build

[nachoman]

Backdrops are one of those tricky things - sometimes less is more. I have seen some magnificent hand painted "true" backdrops - those meant to represent a distant background. But usually, if one desires some kind of detail of trees or buildings on the backdrop, the hand painting usually fails. I have seen photo backdrops and pre-printed backdrops work well, and other times where they too looked awkward. I have seen painted ones that werent intended to look super realistic (with silhouettes of buildings and mountains), but worked extremely well with the layout theme and style in that they brought attention to the trains. The backdrop was just a "suggestion" of what lies beyond, rather than a "definition" of what lies beyond.

From my time in the humid south regions - one thing I notice is the lack of visibility. Here, I can sometimes see mountains 50 miles away. There, things that are just a few miles away fade into this gray-blue haze. My suggestion is to do a "less is more" approach. Start with the blue/gray sky, and blend down to a hazy gray horizon. Add maybe only a few hints of clouds nearer to the horizon, and lastly give the suggestion of clumps of treetops in the distance - dark gray/blue with a tad of green. Hide the corner where the layout meets the backdrop with trees or building flats, and it should look detailed enough to work, but not too detailed that it works badly.

Before you hire someone, I would suggest experimenting for yourself, as it could be valuable learning experience. A little paint and time are relatively cheap. The hardest part for me would be to find colors that compliment each other and compliment the color on the layout. I have learned that the fewer paint colors you use, the more things blend harmoniously. For example, don't buy two blue colors for the sky because those colors likely uses different amounts and types of blue pigments. Instead buy ONE blue color, and vary the tone by adding only one other color of gray. I would also seriously consider painting the whole thing using an airbrush. You will get a smooth background, well-blended coors, and may give that "hazy" appearance common to humid regions.