# Two diorama backdrops painted..



## agentsmith

I thought these may be of interest here, I painted a couple of new backdrops I use when taking pics of my finished models. These type of backdrops could be useful for dioramas too.

Here are a few in-progress pics of the painting of these backdrops.

1. I used a large sheet of white foam board for the backdrop and the first step in painting it was using a rattle can of Testors Sky blue to paint the blue sky. At the bottom of this pic you can see the can of spray paint and from that you can get a good idea of the size of this backdrop.









2. After the ''sky'' was dry enough I used my airbrush to paint some random clouds.









3. Here you can see I started to add some trees and goundwork.









4. The finished backdrop minus the photobase it was designed to be used with...









Below is a smaller backdrop that was also painted at the same time as the large one, this smaller backdrop is intended to be used when taking pics of 1/72 scale and 1/144 scale models.









Here are a few test shots of the new backdrops with the photobases and models.

























Agentsmith


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## scottnkat

wow - you've got talent, for sure. My mother could paint very well, but I just never got that talent from her. They look fantastic!


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## John P

Perfect!


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## agentsmith

Thanks guys!

The small backdrop is better than I hoped it would be, the large one needs some work...the trees I painted are too pale looking and don't show up that well, I will have to use deeper shades of green and do more painting to fix this problem. I did not realize airbrushing could be so much work!

Agentsmith


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## bucwheat

Great job! :thumbsup:


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## agentsmith

Thank you bucwheat!

I love to paint things but I have to admit painting the large backdrop was a lot of work...part of the problem was trying to paint such a large object in a confined space.

Agentsmith


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## steve123

What a great job! I love what you did there. That is really nice looking, and when you aren't shooting pics it can go on the wall.

I guess I need to make one, my black pillowcase thing aint working out so well..
let me see, a happy little tree here,.. 

Steve


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## agentsmith

Thank you Steve!

Making these backdrops is not very expensive and can be easier to paint than you think they are.
For the smaller backdrop I used a sheet of white foam board I bought at a local Wal-Mart for about $6.00, the paints I used were model paints I already had so I did not spend very much on this project.
If you are going to try and paint your first backdrop keep it simple and go with a clear blue sky and grassy field scene, later on if you want a more detailed scene you could try painting clouds and adding trees or mountains on your second backdrop.
I have painted four backdrops now and storing them is easy, they are leaning against a wall in my basement and don't take up hardly any space.

Agentsmith


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## steve123

I like the first pic you show. It has a Gerry Anderson feel to it. I think that is what I'd shoot for. Did you shoot the Blue directly over the white board?

And it's fairly simple..
Thanks for showing this!

Steve


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## agentsmith

Steve,
Yes I just spray painted over the foam board with no surface prep at all, for painting the blue sky I recommend using a rattle can or a small airgun, an airbrush like we use for painting models would take forever to paint such a large surface. I should add that I used enamel paints for painting the backdrops.
If you would be painting clouds on something like the size of the large backdrop I painted a small airgun would be the way to go. Painting the larger clouds with my airbrush took a long time because white does not cover as good as darker colors do. Painting the smaller distant clouds was no problem with the airbrush.

Below is the airbrush used for painting both backdrops.









Agentsmith


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## steve123

Thank you! 
Harbor Freight has a sale!!
I have a compressor but no brush. This would be the perfect starter project.

Your stuff looks great, and I was looking at railroad backgrounds last week. No reason to buy pre made stuff. Thanks again!

Steve


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## roadrner

Amazing background! :thumbsup::thumbsup: rr


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## agentsmith

Thanks roadrner!


Steve,
The Iwata Revolution BR airbrush is the perfect airbrush for painting scale models, not only can it spray larger projects it also can spray very fine detail as well, I have painted a couple of 1/144 scale Me 262s earlier this year and had no trouble painting the mottling on them, I just thinned my paint a little more and used lower PSI.
I have seven airbrushes and a couple of them are the more expensive Iwata detail airbrushes, so far the Revolution BR can do anything they can do and do it easier so the fine detail airbrushes are my back-ups in case something should ever happen to the BR. There is no reason to spend hundreds of dollars on an airbrush for painting models, some of the cheaper airbrushes can do the job.

Agentsmith


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## steve123

Thanks. This is something I have needed to get for a long time. I just kept playing with spray cans.

It's time to step up.

Thank you for all your help!
Steve


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## StarshipClass

Wow!  Love the technique and the effect is dynamite! Perfect realism for the camera!


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## agentsmith

Thank you PerfesserCoffee!

These pics of the finished backdrops were just test pics and from what I can see I will need to make some slight changes to the large backdrop, the trees in the lower left side need to be darkened a little bit so they will match up better with the trees mounted on my photobase.
The smaller backdrop is good enough as is so I will leave well enough alone.

Agentsmith


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## steve123

My airbrush is heading this way... I might need to PM you.

Steve


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## agentsmith

Steve,
Feel free to ask as many questions as you want.


Agentsmith


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## dipstick

*Awesome - like a Bob Ross painting......*


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## agentsmith

Thanks dipstick!

I remember watching some of the Bob Ross programs when I was a kid, I could sure use some of his advice these days.


Agentsmith


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## lalo

... :thumbsup:Congratulations. I liked the diorama. Good integration of the landscape.
Sincerely ... Jorge.


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## agentsmith

Thank you lalo!

After I make some improvements to the large backdrop it will look much better.

After I finish my current group of models you will see more of my backdrops when I take pics of the finished models.

Agentsmith


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## bert model maker

Simply AMAZING ! great detail ! Do you ever paint space related backdrops 
like an apollo lunar landing where the backdrop could be the backround of lunar mountais and black sky ? I would put my Lunar Module on a gray powdered base and have the lunar landscape with mountains & a black sky with a tiny bright blue earth hanging in the backround.
Bert


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## agentsmith

Thanks very much Bert!

I am a big fan of the Apollo program. No I have never painted a backdrop of the Lunar surface but painting a backdrop of the Apollo 17 landing site would be fun to try.

Agentsmith


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## bert model maker

That site is perfect as it sits in a valley with 2 high mtns on each side and crater groupings and very distinct features. I have studyied the landing site in exhaustive detal & look at it in my telescope and although i cannot see details I can see areas in between their point A & point B destinations. I can resolve areas 2 miles in size in my scope. I have on my big display shelf/cabinet, an area of 6 ft long X 2 ft wide, perfect for a long valley diorama with a 1/48 or smaller scale Lunar Module.
here is a real 3-D photo of the landing site. the yellow dot is the LEM which faces west which is towards the upper left hand corner of the picture. that narrow valley they sit in would be a perfect backdrop for you agentsmith


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## whitewarrior

Some of us have it (you) and some of us don't (me!).

Terry


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## agentsmith

Bert,
I have a simple refractor type of telescope which is almost useless for looking at deep sky objects but does a fair job looking at the moon and the planets. For a long time I wanted to get a more advanced telescope with a motor drive but where I live it rains a lot and also do not have a very good look at the night sky because of all the trees so spending big bucks on a new scope would be silly, but at least its dark where my house is with few street lights.

Terry,
Do I have 'it'? No I don't think so, you should have seen my first attempt at painting a backdrop!!! With some practice I have made improvement in painting these things.
Thanks for the comment anyway!

Agentsmith


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## bert model maker

I have a celestron go to scope & a galileo reflector that has NO motor drive & it drove me nuts on high power having about 3 seconds before the moon drifted out of view. my celestron will keep something in the eyepiece all night by itself. They have a special filter that is inexpensive that is great in light polluted areas. It filters out all street & city lights and is good for viewing the moon & planets however faint galaxies are washed out. I have DARK skys. AH yes TREES, always in the way of where you need to look. Your backdrops are OUTSTANDING, I WISH i could do that. How about a partial earth backdrop ? it would be just like your sky only with some brown for continents.


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## steve123

It would be cool to have a lunar mountainscape with earthrise in the sky...









Steve


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## bert model maker

Hi Steve, Nice Moonbus ! that would look great on a lunar landscape in a flat area surrounded by high mountains. Just like the moebius boxart


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## agentsmith

Sweet looking Moonbus!

The biggest reason I have never tried a space type backdrop is I don't have any space related models, almost all my stuff is Luftwaffe or WWII related.

One good thing about doing a lunar backdrop would be the ease of doing so, there are no clouds to paint!


Agentsmith


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## steve123

Thanks!... If I sent you a space -related model would you consider doing one?

Steve


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## agentsmith

Thanks for the offer Steve, but I would have to decline.
For over a year I have been out of work and have avoided spending any money on the hobby, the two backdrops I just finished painting were made with supplies I already had and right now I am not sure I would have enough of the paints to do anymore backdrops, also I am out of foamboard. The small backdrop I painted was made from a sheet of foamboard I found at a Wal-Mart and only cost a few dollars, the large backdrop was made from an extra large size foamboard sheet and was rather expensive, I don't have that kind of money to buy one now.

Agentsmith


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## Medic17

Agent Smith, Great Work as always, I am sorry to hear about your economic situation, I hope you find a new endevor soon,so that you can share your talent with us! Oh I finally did get my airbrush, Harbor freight had a compressor/airbrush kit on sale. Still in the box. for the last 2 weeks..guess im still nervous to go to big leauge anyways Best of luck and can not wait for your next project. Maybe you have a Do-17 on your shelf? 

Medic17


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## agentsmith

Thanks Medic17,
Which airbrush/compressor combo did you get?
Before you try to paint one of your new build models do some practice on some old models or large unused model parts. I have many years of airbrushing experience but I still spend a little time practicing to keep the skills sharp. Painting large objects like the backdrops does not require much skill compared to painting 1/72 and 1/144 scale models.

Below is a pic of some of my paint mules I use for practice.










Agentsmith


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## gnukuf0001

Absolutely outstanding Moonbus!


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## steve123

Thanks! I had a ball doing the Bus and the plaster base Agent S. I will fund a backdrop or two.
send me a pm

Steve


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## starduster

These are some outstanding backdrops, especially when adding trees and such, I made a backdrop with 3 rattle cans of paint, black, white and a gray for my sailing ship diorama, being at sea some backdrops can be very quiet or angry with huge clouds, I chose a more quiet backdrop but that could change. Karl











With a backdrop.












Without a backdrop.


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