@Burl posted:If you go with 3/4" plywood and several 2x3 (4?) vertical supports, I think you will be fine. Just think about warping over time, so I do suggest several, several vertical supports. Strength will not be an issue at all with 3/4" plywood. You can also help avoid warping with some strips along the out edges of the plywood, though that would make your scenery more of a challenge.
That should be easily doable. I also thought about maybe adding some 1x3/1x4 boards underneath (wide side against the plywood) to help with support. Adding boards along the perimeter shouldn't be an issue for a good chunk of the upper level either. I was planning on putting scenery escarpments with greenery and a few trees, or retainer walls along most of the lower portion of the layout, which would cover the side boards. (if stretched to 12", I think retainer walls wouldn't look natural to my eye, and escarpments would be turned into cliff faces).
Thank you!
@Mallard4468 posted:Before you buy any wood or cut a single board, I strongly suggest that you search for information about the "L-girder" benchwork system that was developed by Linn Westcott - it's been a standard for building layouts for a half century. Strong, lightweight, and easy to modify.
After googling L-girder and reading about different types of benchwork, the design I want best fits the box-type. Although I just bought this house and hope to be here for years, I know I can't stay forever, so I would like to make it easy to disassemble for the inevitable move. I will save my ideas for how I am planning to build this benchwork in an easy-to-disassemble fashion for another thread, but I think the box-type design will ultimately make this easiest. But that being said, is L-girder easily moved as well? The idea is not set in stone and I am open to better ideas.
