In 1953 Vess Bottling Company of St. Louis commissioned a giant revolving neon-lit soda bottle. The 12 foot tall bottle sat on a 13 foot pole and at the time was the largest lit bottle sign in the world. Two ways to model this type of sign are discussed, including a photo of the Vess ...

A simple sky blue backdrop changes the whole look of your model railroad. It makes your railroad immediately appear more realistic and expansive. Although it's fairly easy to paint hills and general landforms on the backdrop, buildings are a lot harder to paint. One easy solution is t...

For those with limited painting skills, applying trees to the backdrop to transition from three-dimensional to two-dimensional scenery can be daunting. With the judicious application of scissors to sponges, simple shapes may be created to allow you to stamp trees onto your backdrop....

Here's two photos of the Memphis city skyline appropriate to print for your layout's background....

Photographs copyright Richard Schumacher. Reproduction is granted for personal use only, all commercial rights are reserved....

Here's two more Memphis buildings perfect to print for your layout's background. Dixie Machine Welding has a great sign....

You can download and print these building exteriors for your layout backdrop. The Fulton Bags warehouse fits in almost any industrial scene....

The Domino Sugar Plant is one of the largest in the world. Both the refinery and Domino Sugar are downstream from New Orleans. These make perfect backgrounds of the scene "across the river" if the back edge of your benchwork represents a riverfront or dock....