Page 22 - 39. MRH13-05-May2013

Bending the sky!
A regular report on the construction
of a 1950s-something layout
T here are very few 90-degree corners in nature, especially
in the sky. That being the case, I determined some time
ago to make the corners in the backdrop behind my cur-
rent Bear Creek and South Jackson disappear.
As far as I know coving is the easiest way to make a corner in the
sky vanish or at least greatly reduce its obnoxicity. There are many
ways to do this. I prefer pushing pieces of sheet styrene into the
corner, then building up a lip of drywall mud or spackle along each
vertical edge to hold the styrene in place, and to feather the edges
into the backdrop.
White styrene is available in 4'x8' sheets in various thicknesses. It
flexes nicely, takes paint well, and although it can be spendy when
purchased from a plastic retailer, I found a local plastics wholesaler
who was willing to sell me sheets for a very reasonable price.
Styrene does have a serious drawback. It can't be glued to any-
thing other than more styrene or other similar plastics. Its nat-
ural oiliness prevents construction adhesive, ACC, and epoxy
Up the Creek column
by Charlie Comstock
Coving backdrop corners with styrene ...
Up the Creek Column - 1
Reader
Feedback
(click here)
1: The corner in the backdrop behind South Jackson
yard prior to coving it.
1
from getting a solid grip on it. My technique fixes the sheets in
place mechanically. In addition, it allows the curved portion of
the coved corner to float freely. When the walls expand or con-
tract the styrene flexes with the walls.
The coving process gets a bit messy so it's best done before
detailed scenery is installed.
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MRH-May 2013