Creating a City and Industrial Backdrop
You can see how the background adds so much already as is. However, to add dimension, I will be placing both background kit bashed buildings as well as using Model Builder software by Evan Designs to fill in. Trees will also be added to help give dimension and will blend in with the backdrop. I will be using both trees from Woodland Scenic's and Timberline Scenery Co. along with ground cover from Woodland Scenic's and Buffalo Grass from Scenic Express. The photo below features a consist of three Southern Pacific locomotives, led by a GP40-2, followed by a B23-7 and another GP40-2, moving along the plain white back wall of the room the layout is housed in.
To start this project, I will install a paper backdrop along the entire back wall giving dimension with scratch built industrial background buildings which will feature animated roof top signs and landscaping consisting of ground cover, shrubs and trees to give a three dimensional feeling.
I searched the internet for a good looking city backdrop. I wanted a cluster of buildings, a good downtown skyline. I found two backdrops of the Memphis City skyline. I downloaded them from the website Scale Model Railroad Downloads at http://www.gatewaynmra.org/download.htm#backgrounds.
After selecting and downloading the background, I did do some editing using Microsoft Paint to enlarge and crop the background to suit my needs. I combined the two backgrounds to cover more distance, actually cutting and moving buildings to suit my needs. I used a basic sky blue background behind the buildings and pasted the buildings directly to the blue background.