I built the module out of 3/8″ plywood; Iain Rice suggests that 1/4″ plywood is sufficient; however I had a few sheets of 3/8″ lying around.
I constructed four L-girders using 3″ and 1 1/2″ strips of plywood. Cross pieces were 3″ strips of plywood and use an overlapping joint system with the L-girders. The subroadbed is 3/8″ plywood with 1/2″ Homasote on top. All joints are glued together with white glue; no nails or other fasteners were used.
The benchwork is supported by a robust two-track shelving system that I purchased at Lee Valley Tools. The shelving standards are lag-bolted to the wall studs using 1/4″ by 2 1/2″ lag bolts. The brackets come in different lengths; I’m using the 11″ and 14″ brackets. I’ve installed the brackets on 16″ intervals using an electronic water level to get them all at the same height.
The track is 54″ inches from the floor. It’s a nice height for viewing; I have a footstool available to work on the layout. I’ve also added some shelving under the module for magazines, etc.
I used an utility knife to bevel the sides the Homasote to a 1:1.5 angle. I then painted all the cut edges of Homasote with a ground coloured flat paint to seal it.
Finally, I added the side and back pieces of plywood to the module. This creates the display box look for each module and will support the backdrop.