@arev A technique I like to use deals with layer visibility. So let’s assume your model is on layer 1, as is the default active layer. If you select another layer in your scene – preferably an empty one – your model will disappear while the background image is still visible. At this point you can hit the tilde key (above the TAB key) which enables all layers and bring back your model.
With this setup you can simply toggle on and off the tilde key to show and view your model in shaded view over top of the background image. This way you have an alternative to wireframe view and can avoid being confused by the front of the model overlapping with the back and vice versa.
