The Atlantic and Southern Build, Part 1

[ACL1504]

Tom,
        Like I was telling Frank the other day, wholly cow batman!  Everything looks really awesome. This is turning out to be another one of those-"this is the way you want to do it" layouts!  Great looking backdrops from Joey, it's looks good Tom.  Can't say enough.    Have fun boss!      Thanx Thom...

Thom,

Hey, much appreciated. Joey did a superior job on the photo backdrops and they really look fantastic in virtual reality. For those living in Longwood it means they look good in person.

I thank you for the kind words and thanks for checking in.

Tom

[ReadingBob]

What can I say that hasn't already been said about the backdrops.  They look fantastic.  When the foreground scenery is in place it's going to be fantastic!         I can't wait to see them.      

[Erieman]

Tom,

I'm with Bob, awesome pics of the backdrop. Are you done yet? More pictures this afternoon please.

Frank / Erieman

[ACL1504]

What can I say that hasn't already been said about the backdrops.  They look fantastic.  When the foreground scenery is in place it's going to be fantastic!      I can't wait to see them.   

Bob,

Thanks for the support on the backdrops. All the credit goes to Joey Ricard and his fantastic photo skills with the backdrops.

Tom

[ACL1504]

Frank,

Thanks for checking in and commenting on the backdrops. They are wonderful and look great in person.

Hopefully, I'll have a picture or two this afternoon.

Tom

[ACL1504]

Okay, here goes. I had a college poly sci prof who came in one day and said, "Okay, I have a lot to cover today so pay attention." Yes, I'm saying the same thing here.

I'm also going Hollywood on the thread for the next several posts. I'm calling it "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly".

I'll start with the good.



The trees look 3D and how cool is the stream/river? Thank you Joey Ricard!


Continued in a few.

[ACL1504]

Now for the bad. The Masonite shifted on me as it dried. Remember I used Loctite glue to attach the Masonite to the wall so there is no fixing it without a major overhaul of the Masonite. That ain't happening.  Here is the shift.



This almost ruined my day but then I went into "save your butt" mode.

My concern was to make sure the vertical edge of the photo backdrop stayed level or perpendicular to the base line.





Continued in a few.

[ACL1504]

In the next photo you can see the photo backdrop is level. However, If I continued this line, the backdrop will be off two inches from the base line. In other words, the further I go to the left the higher the photo backdrop will go.




And, finally here is The Ugly! In order to maintain a level photo backdrop to the base line, I'll need to make an adjustment to the next 96" section of the backdrop.


Oh yes, The Ugly.



I need to drop the photo down 3/8" and maintain the level from here. Keep in mind Joey makes the backdrops to fit flush with each other on each end. This won't happen here.

NOTE:  This is a problem with the Indian and not the bow and arrow. Joey isn't responsible for any of this. My bad all the way. However, I did fix the problem.

If there is any good news from this, my blunder, it will be that the top of the sky really can't be seen from the isle and hidden from the eyes of curious visitors.

Continued in a few.

[ACL1504]

I went ahead and glued the backdrop in place 3/8" lower than the other one. You can see in the next photo by dropping it 3/8" the trees don't line up. I also had to overlap it a fraction as the vertical on the left photo didn't match the vertical on the right.



In the grand skeem of things, this is but a little bump in the scenery. I'll either place a water tank in front of the trees or cover it with a building flat.

In the next photo, you can see the difference at the bottom right of the base line. Dropping the scenery backdrop the 3/8" gets me back on line.

On a side note, look how fantastic Joey's backdrop looks in the photo below. The trees just pop right out at ya!



Continued in a few.

[ACL1504]

Here is a look at the 3/8" lowered backdrop section.



And, it's level.



Time for a Diet Pepsi and or water break.

More later this afternoon.

[ACL1504]

Two of the sections of the West wall were 8' in length. I took my time and worked 1 ft. at a time. I sprayed and little, squeegeed a little and so on until the 8' section was finished.



Here's how the second 8' section looks.



See what I meant by the back drop going up as I moved to the left. This is only 1/2 inch compared to the 2 1/2" I was originally looking at. This is the corner section.



Continued in a few.

[ACL1504]

I'm using 1" blue foam to cover the difference in the base line and the backdrop.

BEFORE:



AFTER:



The blue foam will have some foreground trees and scenery to cover Tom's shifted Masonite.

Continued in a few.

[ACL1504]

I can say with satisfaction I have now finished the West second level side of the layout with the photo backdrops.









All told time wise it took me about three hours to add the photo backdrop.

More in a few.

[ACL1504]

[ACL1504]

I must have a famous layout as I have a Danny Raymond truck on the layout.



It's probably more like, I have one of the famous Raymo trucks on my layout.