Photo Wallpaper
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Photo Wallpaper Structure Surfaces

In the past, the only practical way to create a structure surface was to detail and paint styrene or wood.  Advances in technology now make it practical, in come cases,  to use photos for the model surface, photo wallpaper if you will.  In the image above, both the structure surface and trash dumpster are photos.

I've received a lot of requests asking me to elaborate on how to do the 'photo wallpaper' technique.  Pulled together on this page is a mini-tutorial highlighting the major parts of the process.  Essentially we are just taking a photograph, cleaning it up a bit, printing it to scale, and gluing it to a styrene core the shape of the structure in question. 

You will need:

Here are some of the basic materials you will need for creating a photo wallpaper surface.

As with any project it's a matter of picking the right tool or method for the job.  Photo wallpaper is not the best choice for every project.  In general it works best for flatter surfaces with complex color patterns.  Candidates include: brick, cinder block, doors, windows, flat stucco surfaces with complex signage and weathering patterns.  Higher relief surfaces such as board and batten siding, raised steel siding, etc. don't lend themselves to the photo wall paper technique.   Keep in mind it doesn't have to be an all or nothing affair.  You could build a traditional styrene kit and insert photos for the masonry foundation, windows, and doors.

The weathering in the left photo, graffiti in the center, and sign on the right would make modeling these surfaces using conventional methods very challenging.

Step 1: Take the photo

Do the best you can in terms of getting square to the subject.

Step 2: Photo editing

Straighten.  Click the icon marked and select "straighten".  Drag the bar ends across something that should be straight such as a roof lip.  Hit the check mark and the structure will be straightened horizontally.

Perspective Correction: Normal perspective issues will make your image some form of a trapezoid.  We need perfect rectangles.  The perspective correction tool comes to the rescue.   Click the icon marked and select perspective correction.  Drag each of the four darts to the corners of the structure.  Hit the check mark and the perspective is adjusted.  Drag and click.  Not too hard is it?

Cropping:  When you have the image straightened and the perspective corrected, cut away all areas of the photo you don't need with the crop tool.  The crop tool is sort of an electronic paper cutter with an  'un-do' button.

There are a lot of other handy editing tools that are all easy to use.  If you are forced to be fairly close to the structure you are photographing, you'll notice a pronounced curve at the top of the building called barrel distortion.  Paint Shop Pro has a barrel distortion correction tool.  You may want to lighten or darken a portion of your photograph.  The burn and dodge tools allow you to sweep a lighten or darken brush over the areas you want to adjust.  Clone is a glorified copy and paste tool that allows you to remove blemishes.  Of course there is true copy and paste that works just as with a word processor. Say for example you'd like some extra windows.  Simply copy one on the structure and paste it elsewhere. Don't be afraid to be creative. 

Step 3:  Build your styrene core.

You will need a 3D core to glue your photo to.  The shape of the core, obviously will be that of the subject in question.  I use .060" styrene sheet glued together just as with any other scratch building project.  The difference being is there are no surface details, simply a flat surface that you can glue your photo to.

Here's an example of a styrene core from a previous project.  In this case I made cutouts for the open loading doors.

Step 4: Print the photo to scale.

Once you are satisfied with you photo editing, it's time to print out the images.  Most are familiar with the digital term, "image size", measured in pixels which tells you how much data is in a photo.  There is also a printer specific term called 'resolution' which tells the printer how many dots per inch, or dpi, to print the image at.  I generally use 600dpi for the wall paper images.  Go to the image toolbar on your editor and set the resolution to 600dpi and hit save.  If you forget, and the image is set to a low number such as 72, the image will not be crisp when you print it out.

Now we need to know what size to print the photo.  Examine  the prototype for clues as to the height of the structure.  The most helpful items are the standard personnel door height of 80 inches and the standard cinder block height of eight inches.  If either of these two clues are on your structure you  can get close enough.   For example if you can make out three cinder blocks then three blocks times eight inches gives you a two foot marker.  Take your dividers to calculate the other dimensions from there.

Next up, set your printer to the height you want the photo to print at.  Paint Shop Pro allows very precise size settings.   In our example I assumed  the door to be 80 inches tall and used that to scale/estimate the structure to be 16 feet tall or a scale HO height of 2.2". 

Obviously your photos must be sized to match the styrene core they will  be mounted on.  If they are slightly larger you can trim off the excess.  If they are too small then you are stuck.

Here we see where the print size is set in Paint Shop Pro.

Here is what the printout of the front face looks like.  Some creative things can be done to add the illusion of depth.  Print out two or three copies of the same image.  Take one image, cut out the windows and doors and glue it directly on top of the un-altered identical image.  Take the third image and cut out the mailboxes, air conditioners, and window sills and glue those on.  The resulting depth can be quite convincing.

Here are some sample images of Lowell Distributors if you want to practice with them.  Print them out at 2.2 inches tall.

Step 5: Glue the photo to your styrene core

After printing out your images, cut them out with a very sharp blade.  Changes blades often or else you will get fraying at the edges. 

After prepping your photo and cutting it to size, you will notice that the white edges  will be somewhat noticeable.  You can lightly paint the edges the structure color or drag a black marker along the edges to downplay the white.

For adhesive I use 3M Super 77.  Turn the photo over, lightly mist it with adhesive, let it set for twenty seconds or so, and then press it in place on the styrene core surface.  A note of caution, you only get one chance with 3m Super77 adhesive.  Once it grabs, it grabs for good, so make sure you have your alignment right the first time.  Finally, lightly press your photo onto the surface with a rubber roller (available from art supply stores).

Step 6: Add stand off details.

The photo wallpaper technique does an amazing job with color and does give the illusion of at least some depth.  In many cases, however, the flat surface will still be apparent.  Adding just a few simple standoff details completes the illusion and makes the whole surface appear to be three dimensional.  Simple stand off details include: gutters, downspouts, awnings, conduits, utility meters, security lights, mailboxes, roof vents etc.

Here's the finished Lowell Distributors structure.

Miscellaneous Notes:

Be careful about applying Dullcote to your structure as it reacts with some printer inks causing everything to turn green or purple.  Always test a sample first.

Different print quality setting can result in different color hues.  Common quality settings on your printer are: plain, best, and maximum dpi.  Plain tends to be fuzzy and on occasion maximum dpi appears too dark.  I generally get the best results with using the 'best' print quality setting.

HO scale conversion factor for print size is: prototype feet x .138 = inches to print out your image.  For example, if you know your structure is 22 feet tall then,  22 x .138 = 3.03 inches.  Print your photo out at 3.03 inches tall and it will be a scale 22 HO feet.