Paxton Road 2: Back of the scene (N part 15)...

On the journey of my continuing exploration of N scale, now through Paxton Road 2 as a small cameo layout, I found myself mulling over the best approach for the back-scene in this smaller scale...

You see (no pun intended) with these eye level layouts they're viewed in such a way that a nice cloudy sky is all that is required and previously this has worked well on Pont-y-dulais in OO and both Kinross and Beaverbrook in H0. On Bear Creek (H0) I tried a different approach entirely with a hand painted watercolour back-scene, this artistic approach placed the mountains as part of the overall picture rather than part of the model. On Renfrew I used a sky back scene but added some additional buildings along the background from photos of the real location, the contrast helping to place the layout. Previously on both Creech Bottom and East Works I've found a fuzzy, hazy indistinct back scene quite attractive and certainly adding to the feeling of space in the small layout, and it was with all this in mind that I approached Paxton Road armed with plenty of previous, albeit larger scale, experience.

What is the purpose of a layout back scene? I suggest, broadly one of two things, either to make the layout appear larger than it is, or to provide a neutral background to focus our attention on the models in the foreground.

In this small 500mm long N scale cameo I felt a plain sky might result in the small models becoming lost, depending on the viewing angle. A good back scene here would help make the limited depth appear larger than the 20 odd centimetre it was! I wanted something that didn't scream anywhere in particular apart from British, and 1970s onwards. I turned again to my favourites from ID Backscenes.

ID Backscene comparison under natural light LED. Top as sold, middle plain overcast sky, bottom dusted with white to desaturate the colour and soften the detail.

I chopped off the bottom, and a little at the top, so it would fit. The result (above top) immediately disappointed. Rendered almost as a photograph it appeared part of the model, rather than in the background. It destroyed the sense of distance I was hoping for in this minimal depth. Instead, the layout felt smaller. To contrast I cut and fitted a pure sky scene (middle). This time, the models seemed lost in the space, there was nothing to place it in the layout.

The problem with the photo backscene (top) was to do with both it's definition and saturation. Paul Marshall-Potter suggested wafting over some white paint to soften it, and the process tackled both of my concerns. The result is much more pleasing (bottom - and title). The train now appears to be closer to us than the distant housing. The colour feels like a warm sunny day (my favourite) and the balance between model and back scene is just right. The back scene is just that, at the back. I shared a photo with my good friend Chris, a life long N gauge for his thoughts…

The way the background is muted it seems to work very well. It orders the way detail is rendered in the scene to concentrate attention on the foreground models.

That sounds good enough to me, and so with another concern addressed I'm moving onto track work, painting and ballasting before ground work, and then structures... I suppose I'd also better solder up some more droppers for the DG coupling loops so I can run some cement wagons. Until next time, more soon...

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