Presentation

I don't think it'll come as much of a surprise to find that I'm planning on something French as my next venture. At the moment no firm plan has bubbled to the surface, though the gift of three four foot diameter circles of good quality ply has made me consider a circular HO layout. I seem to be making a bit of a habit of models set on islands (Shell Island and the Isle of Avalon Tramway) and have started to wonder about the possibility of locating this latest venture on an island in the Seine.

I have been hugely impressed by photos of Brian Harrap's latest HO layout in the round, but I do like a backscene to finish things off. Trying to combine all these elements has led to the sketch above where a free standing backscene a small distance behind the layout helps focus the eye on the modeled foreground. I think it's also worth making the backscene significantly wider than the layout so that it's edge doesn't show whatever angle the layout is viewed from. It may also be possible for the one backscene to serve the layout whichever point of the circle is positioned at the front.