I have some CN&W Rivarossi 1920 era passenger cars that have a unique color green. Does anyone know what the eaxct color is ? I am making an excursion train and want to paint an F3 diesel the same exact color.
thanks for any ideas
Regardless of what the colour may be, chances of finding an exact match in an off-the-shelf bottle of paint are likely pretty slim. Your best option might be to find a colour that’s close, preferably in your favourite brand, then pick-up some colours which might best alter it to match that on the cars which you have.
I do rough paint matching by the brushload method, placing a suitable number of small “brushloads” of the base colour onto a scrap piece of plastic, then adding brushloads of the colours which I think will alter the colour appropriately. Keep track of the numbers of each added, and if you think that the match may be suitable, paint some on an inconspicuous spot on the model and let it dry, then adjust as necessary until you’re satisfied. Your rough ratio should then be converted to more accurate measurements - I use syringes marked-off in cc.s.
If your first rough matching attempt wanders too far from the target, abandon it and start over. I can usually get it right within one or two tries, just working on instinct and years of practice.
Wayne
Well, it depends. If the cars are all green, the color is probably meant to represent Pullman green, the most common color for passenger cars in the heavyweight era. Several companies make Pullman green paint, but no two are exactly alike. Real Pullman green was very dark, and many modelers like to use a slightly lighter shade of green to compensate for the inferiority of artificial light vs. sunlight.
If the car is green and yellow, there are several companies that make C&NW green paint, which is a bit lighter than Pullman green - more of a forest green. Again, you might have to do some tests to find which one matches your car best.
Keep in mind that green (and blue) paint fades pretty readily, so it wasn’t uncommon for a train to have cars that had originally been painted the same color of green that now had some slight mismatches, as some cars had faded to a lighter green.
If you want an exact match, Wayne has pretty much summarized the process. My additional comments:
I use an old glass ash tray for mixing paint. I stir my paints up really well, first. Then I measure out paint with metal teaspoon measures–usually the 1/8. If I need less of a particular color, I go to the drop method. Since I stir my paint with the back end of a paint brush, that ends up being the drop dispenser. And the ash tray stirrer. I cut strips of 3x5 card and smoosh them into the mixed paint after first writing on the end what the paint mix is. I let it all dry a day or two.
Clean up is pretty easy. A paper towel with thinner wipes the end of the paint brush, the metal spoons, and the glass ash tray.
I’ve noticed that the level of gloss affects color perception, so I do the extremely scientific method of smearing spit on both my sample and the subject model. This gives the same level of gloss so the colors can be compared. I know, sounds weird; but it works for me.
My most interesting color match (to me) was to match the green on Athearn BN diesels way back in wide body days. Floquil didn’t have any greens bright enough to work with–their BN green was darker and less intense. I ended up mixing Jade green and Reefer yellow rather than trying to “drift” a regular green like the BN. Well, actually, I did try to drift the color, but it wouldn’t work. You pretty much can’t go from a less intense color to one that’s more–the other direction is usually pretty easy.
Ed
Try a 50/50 mixture of Floquil coach green and roof brown. That yeilds a nice shade of olive drab which many railroads used for their heavyweight coaches. I’m afraid I’d have to say that using the same mixture on your F3 will not result in a very handsome locomotive. Excursion engines usually have a brighter color palate.
Since the matching process has been described, it’s worth mentioning that several companies make C&NW green. They likely vary, but one may be “close enough.”
Then there is always the big box store paint dept. Lots to choose from, one may also be close enough.
Yes what Wayne said. I didn’t do C&NW but I did a 1930s Mopac Colorado Eagle bright blue. The match actually ended up being a Pollyscale acrylic from the fantasy line called something like balrog blue. It was an exact match. Who would have every guessed that?
Say, “HO Gramp”, how about some feedback?
Are we helping you any?
Mixing your own colors is kinda fun, I think.
Ed
Sorry guys ,I’ve been away for a while. I used a few test combinations on an old car and ended up with a combo of the C &NW green,and a little grimy black . It came about as close as I could find after scouring all the Big Bix stores looking for colors. Took the car along with me for a match. The old F-3 looks pretty good and has a little Metalic glow to it like the cars.
Thanks all