I'd probably use foamcore or thrifty white tileboard so it'd need to have some support all the way up but I'd like to avoid using an actual 4x8 format frame for portability reasons.
I Googled "fake wall photo backdrop" and came up with numerous ideas on making these walls using seamless paper and they appear to be very portable. Add your choice of flooring and a piece of molding and you have a wall. The collapsible backgrounds from Impact and others could be used in the same way and be very portable and lightweight.
Thanks wobble. Your link doesn't work by the way. The text is correct but somehow it's pointing back to this thread. I've looked at those collapseable backgrounds. They are cool but I should have been a bit more specific. I need mine to be something someone can lean on. At the very least, I probably need it to be painted luan with some type of frame that would make it free standing.
While heavy 1/2" drywall might be an option to consider. It is cheap, widely available, and easy to work with.
If you put two pieces together at a 90 degree angle to create a corner all you'd need is a bracket or even just gaffer tape to hold them upright. You could repaint them easily, they would store compactly vertically along a wall, and when they get worn out you can just score with a drywall knife, break into pieces and toss in the trash.
I remodeled a house and did the drywall myself. I even created a curved wall by soaking 3/8" drywall with a hose then bending around the curved joints horizontally. Its really easy stuff to work with. Get a big metal T-square, score with drywall knife and snap: like cutting glass.
Regardless of what you decide to use you I'd suggest creating and 1/8 or 1/16 scale model of the sets you are envisioning out of foam core first.
I am using a 4x8 foam board about 1/2 inch thick. You could double it by glueing together and should support itself. If not then needs some support. It is super light weight and easy to move. Remove the protective plastic skin before painting!
Thanks guys. I'm thinking the pink foam boards might be cool because they are a bit sturdier. I think you can paint even the film side if you prime it first. Just have to figure out a base that could add some support so someone could lean on it.
Chuck I like your idea but my studio partner has a bad back so i have to move everything myself and the drywall boards are pretty heavy are they not?
We use cheap bi-fold closet doors in the studio for flags for background lights. They're pretty light and reasonably durable. We needed to increase the height of them so we laminated them with partial sheets of melamine. You could laminate with melamine or masonite but you may need additional support on the far edge. Maybe a shutter on each end and a support to tie the 2 shutters together top and bottom?
Sorry, just read your last post - I think that the foam sheets could work with the doors but you'd need to put in some supports to tie the 2 sets of doors together.
Can't tell for sure, but the OP pic looks like a sheet of luan (1/8" plywood) mounted to a frame. This is essentially how hollow core doors are made ... just that you only are making one face. Thinking the frame might be 1x3 sticks with the reinforcing braces.
If you made a wall that was (top & bottom) hinged or stacked, it could break down for storage. The obvious objection to that would be the "joint line". But, if your wall was intentionally designed as one with either a "chair rail" or wainscoting, the seam/joint could be hidden. You could use bead board on a frame (as above) for the bottom and your painted foam on a frame for the top.
You could even have multiple bottom halves, i.e. bead board, brick, stone, etc. to change things up. Might not be the solid color wall, but it could aid with your portability/break down/storage goals. I suppose you could also do painted foam on the bottom to give you multiple color options (chair rail to separate color / hide joint).
Thanks Rusty, those are great ideas. Not sure if the wainscoting would work or not for what I have in mind. I may have to try it and see if it turns out to be distracting. I could always photoshop the seam out but I'm thinking a luan frame made out of 1x3s ought to be pretty light weight and easy to handle. The thing I am struggling with is how to make the feel so it's free standing but that's probably the easy part.
sleibrand wrote:
Sorry, just read your last post - I think that the foam sheets could work with the doors but you'd need to put in some supports to tie the 2 sets of doors together.
I managed a publishing center in Manila during three tours spanning 1983 > 2001 and we used a ton of the stuff (literally) to make light weight shipping crates. I used it in the 1980s to make a make a carrying case for the first personal computer and a case for my racing bicycle. The Lauan I'm familiar with has a rough texture, not smooth like spruce faced plywood. You may be able to see what I mean in the photo of the computer and case:
Not sure what "Lauan" refers to today since the Philippines was pretty much deforested by the late 90s by illegal logging.
OT: That Rat Shack computer was the first laptop, circa 1982. It has 24K of memory, a 4-bit processor, an 8 x 40 LCD display and a built-in 300 Baud Modem. It runs on four AA batteries. It boots interpretive BASIC from ROM. Microsoft wrote the operating system for it and I've read it the last product coding that Bill Gates did personally. I wrote a lot of DIY applications on it and took it back and forth to work in the saddlebag of my motorcycle because we didn't have any computers in the office at USIA, hence the need for the wooden case which fits into a canvas bag.
lifthard2001 wrote:
sorry for the spelling
Not a problem. It is a common mistake because it is pronounced "Lu-wan" and Americans drop the "w". Bataan is similar. Americans pronounce it "Ba-tan" when in the Philippines is pronounced "Ba-ta-an". Many Tagalog words are two letter syllables.
If you hinge two units together along the long side, they will be self supporting. An alternative is a hinged leg attached to the back. An "A" shape with one leg vertical and the cross bar at the bottom should do.
cwebster wrote:
If you hinge two units together along the long side, they will be self supporting. An alternative is a hinged leg attached to the back. An "A" shape with one leg vertical and the cross bar at the bottom should do.
