The time has finally come for this modeler to find a suitable replacement for Polly Scale Acrylic paint in the Concrete or Aged Concrete color. Quite plainly, my life cannot go on without Concrete paint. LOL
Vallejo has a Concrete paint product, but it is way too dark for my taste, particularly because it won’t match my previous work.
Micro Mark Micro Lux Concrete appears to be close from the photos, but without actually purchasing a bottle, I cannot say for sure.
Has anybody successfully matched the original Concrete or Aged Concrete color of the Polly Scale product? If so, care to share the formula?
I’ve got no certain answer. However, if the Vallejo is too dark, you could try adding white or of a lighter gray to it to lighten it if it turns out there’s not a pre-packaged match and you have to mix anyway.
Good. The color of concrete changes over time, so there’s no reason for all your concrete to be the same color. I think too many people make the mistake of having all their concrete and asphalt be one uniform color, and it ends up looking toylike rather than realistic. Concrete starts out nearly white, and then as it ages it tends to become more of a buff color than gray.
The next time you’re driving around town, pay attention to how many different shades of concrete (and asphalt) there are.
Any light grey to almost white color will work for fresh concrete. Any dark to light buff and tan will work for.age. because concrete is regional product in more modern time. And back in the steam era most portland came from pennsylvania with local agrogates. Added, the colors vary greatly. Ypu will have tp consult the region and era pictures for an idea of color matches.
Wrong on the concrete color, the basic color depends on the mix and other factors. It can start out a very pail grey but also start out as a very dark grey, both will change over time.
I understand that the color of concrete differs depending upon a lot of factors and that the color of a slab of concrete changes over time. And, I appreciate the comments made in this regard.
But, my question relates to the color formula of Polly Scale Concrete. It looks more realistic than other brands of paint with a color called Concrete. If someone is asked to describe the color of concrete, the response is often gray, maybe a bit tan. It often sports a somewhat greenish quality. Not really green, but grey, greenish grey, if that makes sense.
Right now, I am assembling and painting two Walthers Cornerstone kits, so-called Butterfly Passenger Platforms. I needed two kits and ordered one each from two different places since each place only had one kit. Curiously the boxes were slightly different from one another and the plastic color of the platforms differed significantly in each box. The idea was to have the plastic platforms appear to be concrete.
One kit had platforms that were more tan than gray with a hint of pink, pinkish tan if you will. The other kit had platforms that were more gray than tan, with a hint of green, greenish gray if you will. When I painted the platforms with my remaining Polly Scale Acrylic Concrete, the paint was almost a match for the greenish gray plastic.
So, my question remains, has anyone found or mixed a formulation to closely simulate Polly Scale Concrete? Interestingly, this issue has been debated on other forums but, to date, I have not found a definitive answer.
While I’ve used PollyScale and/or Floquil Concrete and Aged Concrete, I can’t say for sure which of these might show either or which is a custom mixed version. I very seldom use a colour straight out of the bottle:
If your platforms are meant to represent ones built at the same time, choose an available concrete colour and use it for both, or alter it to suit your opinion of what it should look like and use it for both.
If the platforms are to be from different eras, paint one as you wish and alter the colour somewhat to represent the newer (or older) one.
As mentioned previously, the colour of concrete can vary due to a number of different factors.
If you wish to mix your own, I’d suggest starting with white, then adding brown and yellow: I do this by placing a small amount of white on a non-porous surface, using the rough measurement of “drops”: let’s say 10 drops of white using a toothpick or wooden matchstick to pick up the paint and let drops fall from it - re-load as necessary.
Next, wipe the white paint off the dropper, and dip it in one of the other colours - use your judgement on how many drops to add, but I’d start with one drop of each and then another drop-at-a-time of either, until you see the colour getting close to what you want. If the mix veers too far from the shade you want, discard it and start again. Naturally, keep track of the drop count for each colour.
There you go, that is what I am looking for. Let me ask a follow up question this way. If white is the basic color and then I add brown and yellow, any other colors like green, gray, red or pink?
Here is a list of the ‘Railroad’ colors available again from Testors in their acrylic Model Master line of paint. I have been using them, and at least the ‘Oxide’ for freight cars is a good match for the old Polly Scale line. I see they have both ‘Concrete’ and ‘Aged Concrete’ in this line, but I have not tried them yet.
Brush on application of Delta Ceramcoat 2pt Sandstone & 1pt Mudstone, with one wash of 9pt H2O & 1pt Raw Umber. Close to Poly Concrete, but maybe no cigar.
If You like the greenish tint color of concrete, look at Microlux #29007 Aged Concrete. I tried it once so I can have a substitute when My Floquil runs out. It’s ready mixed…one thing I don’t care for…anyway, when I used it for a large area…when wet, it is a very close match, to Floquil aged concrete, until dried, then it had a way too heavy tint of green for My tastes.
Since then I have been experimenting with Tamiya Acrylic XF 55 Deck Tan and XF 59 Desert Yellow…air-brushed and with a little weathering with Woodland scenic pigments, does a pretty good job of duplicating older concrete structures in Our area and that’s what I’m shooting for. Like Rooseveldt Rd. overpass over the Rail yards downtown…You know what I mean![swg]
Thanks, Frank, I have been eyeing that Micro Lux color.
I did a quick mix of drops of acrylic paint as Wayne suggested. It is still wet, but looks awfully close to Polly Scale Concrete. That’s the good news. The bad news is that in my eagerness to get the right mix, I lost track of the proportions.
But, the base was 10 drops of white, 1 drop each of red and brown, 2 drops of cream, 2 or 3 drops of light gray, and 3 or 4 drops of green. For what it’s worth, I did not have any yellow on hand.
It’s good to hear that you tried the method and had some success, Rich. Too many people complain that they know nothing about mixing colours, but these are often the same folks who also complain that Brand So-and-So’s version of Lower Slobovia & Pacific’s Engine Black is the wrong shade. If you can recognise that it’s the wrong shade, you can probably mix a version closer to what you feel it should be. Ya just gotta give it a try. [swg]
As expected, my formulation dried a little lighter, but it really looks close to the Polly Scale Concrete color. I wish a could post a photo of the two side by side for comparison, but photos don’t really show what the naked eye can see.
