I am preparing to do some airbrushing of a Great Northern scheme and I have two bottles of Polly Scale acrylic GN Empire Green that I got some time ago. Both bottles have not regressed to the “sludge” level and I was able to mix them up back to full liquid condition quickly. I test painted a small piece of styrene, let it dry and then compared it to an old Athearn diesel (in GN colors) and an old AHM diesel (also in GN colors). The Athearn model shows that the green is almost a dark green, while the AHM shows a significantly lighter shade- closer to the Polly Scale color I test- painted. I researched (online) color images of GN diesels in the orange and green scheme- and I found that the darker green (on better color images) was more appropriate.
I note that the Badger Modelflex color chart shows a darker green as well
Now, I have seen the “Hustle Muscle” GN diesel in person and noted that it’s green was also darker, as well.
At this point, I am wondering if the Polly Scale color I have is right, or should I look to a darker green alternative?
Not sure if you actually have the exact color, however, test the green airbrushed over a gray primer. Most “water based” paints are just not that opaque compared to solvent and a primer is needed in many cases. The test paint on white styrene could have showed lighter results.
Painted Model Flex red over conrail blue once just for test purposes of a new airbrush, I had a great shade of purple even after a second coat the blue hue was still evident.
I made up a full dome car a couple of years ago to round out my Empire Builder consist and ended up using Pullman Green to paint mine with. It turned out so close to the factory painted cars that you can hardly tell the difference.
It sounds like you wound up with the color very similar to NYC and PC Jade Green that GN used to paint their freight cars for a while. There were even a few ore cars painted this color to designate that they had experimental door seals.
My nephew is restoring the Lewis & Clark Pass and just finished some structural repairs to the traps and vestibule. He had paint custom mixed from samples taken off the car and also matched that to known samples of Pullman green from other private car owners.
Just like the controversy over “Brunswick” green, lots of paint finishes oxidize very quickly and get chalky and fade from effects of chemical washings, ultraviolet rays and atmosphere.
Look at these photos and you can see the new finish and also some of the faded paint as well.
Under layout lighting conditions colors always tend to look darker so our models may benefit from a bit of lightening…
Fresh paint on the step trap vs. faded paint at the upper right area.
The “better” side of the car. It sat for years and one side of the car was constantly exposed to direct sunlight while this side was more protedted, thus less faded.
Here’s the faded side…
And the “clean” side.
I have Pullman color drift cards at home and I can refer to them later but for now maybe these photos will help you decide.
I’ve also got some of the older AHM/Rivarossi passenger cars and they seem to have used two different greens, neither one correct. The older color was more like Army Olive Drab and the more recent was closer to Pullman green but with a more brown tint to it.
I neglected to primer the styrene test piece- will correct for that with another test, but Ed’s pictures tell a story- my Polly Scale bottles both reflect the “faded” color more so than the fresher one, as per the carbody images of the sun side and the shade side in comparison. Not that I am trying to be a rivet counter or anything, but the online color photos seem to have been taken at a time of fresher newer paint jobs. As a former Minnesotan, I know that the sun (when it was out) didn’t fade paint very much (since it never rises past 10:30 in the sky), but GN cars ran out west, where more constant and intense sun (and therefore fading) was par for the course.
I believe I can correct the color down a bit- or try to rustle up the pullman green tomorrow before it disappears from my local Hobbytown (he inherited his stash from a failed LHS) as insurance.
The Great Northern Ry. Historical Society recently put out a color chart, and a common question on the “Modeler’s Pages” is mixing GN paint colors. You could check to see if it’s still available as a back issue.
Notice that the Pullman Green is darker than the dark green used on locomotive boilers - and the dark green used on passenger engine boilers was different than the green on freight engines.
