Was on a mission today to match Great Northern paints and came up with these two:
Omaha Orange= Valspa Fonda Copper Satin at Lowes
Pullman Green= Krylon Fusion for Plastic in Hunter Green Satin found at Wal Mart.
Anyone else come up with any close approximations in a readily available spray can without having to go to a hobby shop where they are usually out of the color I want. I am also looking for Montana Rail Link dark blue and Burlington Northern green and white schemes.
Why not buy Scalecoat II plastic compatible paint in 6 oz ‘rattle’ cans? They have GN Empire Builder Green & Orange…
http://www.weavermodels.com/page11.html
Jim
“Why not buy Scalecoat II plastic compatible paint in 6 oz ‘rattle’ cans? They have GN Empire Builder Green & Orange”
6oz. $8.25 versus 12 oz.for under $6.00 ??
In a very recent (this last week) project, I used Krylon “mandarin orange” gloss Fusion spray paint for GN Empire Builder orange, followed by Testor’s Dullcote after decaling. Very, very close approximation, based on a visual comparison to an existing RTR model with GN colors. I did this comparison in direct natural light (indoors) and away from such light, as well as under artificial light- same results. This was a standard spray can purchased at Walmart for under $5.00! Many uses remain- quite an economical purchase- the gloss coat was ideal for the decals applied, and the dullcoating after toned down the color considerably, making it even better-looking than other models on which I used Pollyscale acrylic GN orange with an airbrush!
Cedarwoodron
(I also have a similar spray can solution to GN empire builder green, but will comment back on that later).
My reasons:
As mentioned by another–half the price and twice the paint as Scalecoat. Many of us are looking to stretch our modeling dollar.
Rattle cans are readily available at Loews, Home Depot and Walmart as well as other hardware stores in most towns. If a close match is available why not take advantage of it?
It is 90 miles to my nearest model shop and they can be out of stock. I avoid travel expense and shipping charges and minimum purchase amounts when ordering online.
“Close match”.
Is it?
Rich
I can’t answer your question specifically, but I don’t think that even the hobby brand paints always match exactly the prototype color, despite what the label is. Some are closer than others.
And model producers don’t use hobby brand paints necessarily, and paint their stock in different batches, so they neither match the prototype exactly, the after market hobby brands exactly, or even previous runs of the same model necessarily.
IMO, the key is to try to match the colors of your existing models, knowing that different manufacturers have slightly different presentations of MRL blue or BN Green; and to be consistent once you choose which brand looks best.
Having said all of that, Scalecoat II looks the most like BN Green. That shade of green is a pretty tough match in the hardware paint brands. Hunter green is easier to find.
Exactly, So why worry about trying to make an exact match. Prototype fleets vary depending on the batch of paint, how old they are, how weathered they are, etc. I would not even want all my layout fleet to look the same for the above reasons.
I didn’t know the fusion paint would put a thin enough coat of paint on. I gave up the airbrush years ago and went to rattle cans for flat paint. Has worked well but some brands don’t, too thick due to spray pattern ort paint (and no, you can not always just change out the nozzle as tollerences are different).
[:)]
I have found that heating the spray can in a bowl of hot water and rewarming it when it feels cool to the touch seems to allow for a finer finish with any rattle can.What I do is heat a cereal bowl half full of water for a minute or two.Set the rattle can in the hot water and keep checking it. Once it is warm all the way to the top it is ready to spray
When the can feels cool reheat.I try to maintain a 8" to 12" distance from the model and make sure to spray in a straight line.atleast 4 " before and after the model for even coverage.
I am not saying this is the only way,I am saying this is what works for me.[swg]
Some Krylon Fusion colors- notably the yellows- need a white primer backing (not light primer gray) to enable them to cover properly. Even then, sharp external (outward) edges may be problematic without a second coat, but the darker colors appear to do well with my first use of light gray primer for medium colors ( greens, reds, etc.), and I sometimes use a dark gray primer underneath the dark medium colors (blues, dark browns, etc).
I find that distance is key to better application- as per other’s advice- 8 to 12 inches plus sufficient overspray at the ends of each pass.
Cedarwoodron
Real railroads painted their with paint shipped to them from manufacturers, and shades varied from batch to batch. “Close enough is good enough”.
As I mentioned in an earlier response to this topic:
The spray can solution for "GN empire green" (that I have used) is Dark Hunter Green- it’s either Krylon Fusion or Rustoleum (at Walmart), followed by your decals, then Dullcoated (Testor’s). The paint is a gloss enamel at first, excellent for decal application. I used a light gray (cheap) primer spray first underneath.
This- combined with the Krylon Mandarin Orange- does the trick for the GN empire scheme- for me!
Hope this helps…
Cedarwoodron
Thanks for the tips. I hadn’t thought of using the gloss paints. I thought the satin matched better but I will see if I have problems with decals sticking. I am still looking for suggestions for Montana Rail Link dark blue and Burlington Northern green. I may take my shells in today to see if there is a good match.
BN Green looks similar to a “kelly green”- a medium green hue…
Cedarwoodron